Japanese funds house Nikko Asset Management has hired Blair Pickerell, a veteran of the Asian asset management industry, to lead its efforts in the region. The high-profile appointment comes a year after the asset manager was acquired by a Japanese bank that pledged to support its efforts to "aim for listing" in the near future.

Pickerell, a fluent Chinese speaker, will be the company's head of Asia as well as its global chief marketing officer, according to a statement from Nikko. He was chief executive of Morgan Stanley Investment Management in Asia for three years, and left earlier this summer in the midst of a reshuffle of senior management at the company. Previously he held a similar role at HSBC Asset Management.