H2 2025
By Yamen Cheung
During the second half of 2025, the market for senior legal, compliance and risk positions remained steady but competitive. Asset managers, insurers, and technology companies (besides Web3 ventures) hired with a clear strategic purpose instead of expansion as their sole aim. Businesses preferred lateral transfers, strengthening of senior positions and rearranging existing leadership rather than hiring.
Even amid the precarious economic climate, businesses have continued to pour money into governance so that they can successfully navigate new rules and adopt new technology. Senior postings that combine legal, compliance and risk duties are increasingly visible, which shows how tightly these areas are intertwined, especially during the era of technology and AI.
Market Dynamics
Looking at the figures/data, we observe that the total number of senior moves has hardly altered – 61 in the first six months and 58 after June – but the style of hiring has undoubtedly shifted. In the first half of the year, companies promoted primarily from within: 33 internal promotions against 28 outside hires. After June, the pattern reversed; 52 external appointments against only six internal ones. Businesses now hunt for external experts with the precise skills they cannot/have not developed internally.
Sector Trends
As evidenced in the data, banking remained the most active sector, rising from 16 to 17 senior appointments. Insurance also secured its leadership, increasing from four to six moves as companies reinforced compliance and risk lines. Roles in Crypto or Web3 are maturing quickly; they rose from five to eight as the sector seeks institutional-grade governance. Technology and information services also increased, jumping from one to seven, reflecting how deeply regulation is now integrated into tech businesses.
Meanwhile, traditional sectors quieted down. Asset management dropped from nine to six moves, and hiring in Investment, VC, and PE dropped from nine to four as firms became much more selective. Other industries like logistics and manufacturing saw only sporadic appointments, usually tied to specific transformation projects.
Talent Flow
The question then arises as to where the talent is coming from. The majority originate from major global banks, law firms, and exchanges; there is clearly a premium on regulatory fluency right now. While banks and insurers relied on internal promotions to keep things stable, Web3 and tech platforms looked outside to build credibility. We saw a lot of movement from industry leaders such as HSBC, Citi, and Standard Chartered into the fintech, crypto, and payments spaces.
Outlook for 2026
Looking ahead, senior hiring in Hong Kong will likely remain strategic. Firms will prioritise leaders who can navigate complex regulations and wear multiple hats across legal, risk, and compliance. Demand will stay high in regulated tech, payments, and digital assets, as these organisations strengthen their governance.
The good news is that if you are an experienced in-house professional with cross-disciplinary expertise, you will be in high demand in 2026.
List of market moves H2 2025
Sectors
- Asset Management
- Banking
- Construction and Real Estate
- Crypto and Web3
- Education
- Insurance
- Investment, VC and PE
- Professional Services
- Retail and Consumer Goods
- Technology and Information Services
Asset Management
Alex Hung has been appointed to Executive Director, Responsible Officer (Type 1, 4 & 9), Head of Compliance, MIC-OMO at Yuan Tong Global Securities Limited & Yuan Tong Global Asset Management Limited from their previous role as Responsible Officer (Type 1, 4 & 9) at Purple Legend (HK) Ltd. (Hangzhou Wahaha Group Family Office).
Charles Mok has been appointed as Head of Legal and Compliance at Leo Wealth from their previous role as Partner at Robertsons.
Gilbert Chan has been appointed as General Counsel at E Fund Management (HK) Co., Ltd from their previous role as Legal Consultant at PIMCO.
Kevin Lee has been appointed as Head of Compliance Hong Kong at Optiver from their previous role as Global Markets Compliance at Goldman Sachs.
Kristy Chen has been appointed as Head of Compliance APAC at Schonfeld from their previous role as Compliance at Marshall Wace.
Hui Tin Kay has been appointed as Chief Compliance Officer at Merits Trust Limited from their previous role as Responsible Officer / Director / Founder at ETF Capital Management Limited.
Banking
Betty Lok, CFA, CPA has been appointed to Section Head – Corporate Risk & Compliance (1LOD) at Bank of East Asia from their previous role as SVP, Regional Control Leader at Wells Fargo.
Candy Law has been appointed to Senior Vice President – Group Compliance, Head of Monitoring & Corporate Function at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) from their previous role as Executive Director – Head of CIB Banking & Finance Audit, Asia Pacific at J.P. Morgan.
Derek Ng has been appointed to Legal Head, Japan, Asia North and Australia Cluster, and Hong Kong General Counsel at Citi from their previous role as General Counsel, Hong Kong at HSBC.
Donna Chan has been appointed to Head of Regulatory Compliance, CMB & GBM at Hang Seng Bank from their previous role as Head of Compliance, Alternate Chief Executive at East West Bank.
John Kanatas has been promoted to Head of Regulatory Compliance, CIB (ex. MSS), Asia (Managing Director) at HSBC from their previous role as Regional Head of Surveillance, Asia (Interim).
Michael Yang has been appointed to Associate General Counsel (Global Markets Sales & Trading Legal) at Jefferies from their previous role as Senior Vice President (Associate General Counsel) at Citi.
Patty Lo has been appointed as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at JPMorganChase from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at Standard Chartered Bank.
Peter Lee has been appointed as Head of Control Room, Legal and Compliance at BOCI from their previous role as Assistant Vice President at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX).
Rebecca Hui has been promoted to Head, Legal, Affluent Clients, GCNA at Standard Chartered from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel, Affluent & Wealth Management Legal, GCNA.
Rebecca Lu has been appointed to Deputy General Counsel (Litigation, Regulatory Enforcement and Investigations, Asia and Middle East) at HSBC from their previous role as Managing Director, Regional Head Investigations APAC at UBS.
Victor Lee has been appointed as Head of Financial Crime Oversight, Hong Kong at HSBC from their previous role as Head of Financial Crime Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer at Hang Seng Bank.
Vivian Chan has been appointed as Head of Legal Asia Pacific at CIBC from their previous role as Head of Legal, Greater China at Rabobank.
William Leung has been appointed as Head of Regulatory Compliance at Hang Seng Bank from their previous role as Deputy Head of Incentives, International Wealth and Premier Banking at HSBC.
Yibin Alaya Ren has been appointed as Assistant General Counsel at J.P. Morgan from their previous role as Vice President at Bank of America.
Joe Fan has been appointed to Head of Core Compliance, Legal & Compliance at BOCI from their previous role as Vice President, Team Head, Listed Issuer Regulation, Listing Division at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX).
Jimmy Hai has been appointed to Head of Markets and Operations Compliance (SVP) at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) from their previous role as Director, Global Markets Compliance at Mizuho.
Gary Hau has been promoted to Head of Legal HK & Greater China, North Asia at Standard Chartered from their previous role as Interim Head of Legal, HK & Greater China North Asia.
Construction and Real Estate
Yan Wang has been promoted to General Counsel at Hitachi Rail from their previous role as Legal & Contracts Director and Compliance Officer.
Crypto and Web3
Alice Ooi has been appointed as Deputy General Counsel at OKX from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at IG.
Amanda LI has been appointed as Director of Legal and Listing at Hong Kong Virtual Asset Exchange (HKVAX) from their previous role as Legal & Compliance Director, MLRO at Atopia Consultant Limited.
Chimene Chung has been appointed Senior Legal Counsel and Head of Compliance at Amber Group from their previous role as Group General Counsel at EX.IO.
Debra Au has been appointed to Chief Compliance Officer & Alternate Chief Executive at RD Innotech from their previous role as Managing Director, Head of Legal, Compliance and Secretariat Hong Kong and China at DBS Bank.
Donald Hui has been appointed as Head of Compliance & AML – Web3 Business Department at Ant Digital Technologies from their previous role as Head of Compliance & AML at RD Technologies.
Kevin So has been promoted to Head of Markets and Product Compliance at OKX from their previous role as Global Head of Markets Compliance.
Rosa Leung has been appointed as Head of Compliance at EX.IO from their previous role as Head of Compliance at HKbitEX.
Jonathan Muthana has been appointed to Chief Legal Officer & Co-Founder at Anchorpoint from their previous role as Senior Legal Counsel at Standard Chartered Bank.
Education
Shawn Poon has been appointed as General Counsel at The University of Hong Kong from their previous role as Director, Legal Counsel at HKSTP – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.
Ivy Fung has been appointed as General Counsel at Bei Shan Tang Foundation from their previous role as Chief Legal Counsel and Company Secretary at CUHK Medical Centre.
Insurance
Cora Lam has been appointed as Head of Legal & Business Affairs Greater China at Universal Music Greater China from their previous role as General Counsel & SVP Legal & Business Affairs, Warner Music Asia at Warner Music Group.
Carlie Chan has been appointed to Chief Compliance Officer at Chubb Life Hong Kong from their previous role as Senior Director Compliance at Prudential plc.
KP Lee has been appointed to Global Chief Compliance Officer at Chubb Life from their previous role as Global Head of Distribution Risk & Conduct at HSBC.
Malgorzata Phalaris has been appointed to AVP, Head of Asia Regulatory Compliance Management at Manulife from their previous role as Head of Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime, Wealth & Personal Banking, Hong Kong at HSBC.
Sandy Tsoi has been appointed as Regional Head of Compliance Operations and Governance at Generali Asia from their previous role as Vice President, Compliance at Peak Re.
Sheree Chan has been appointed to AVP & Senior Regional Counsel, Asia Segment at Manulife from their previous role as General Counsel at Chubb Life Hong Kong.
Terrence Lim has been appointed as Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Blue Insurance Hong Kong from their previous role as Head of Compliance APAC at iptiQ by Swiss Re.
Investment, VC and PE
Christina (Wei) Mao has been appointed as Director, Legal at CVC from their previous role as Counsel at Linklaters.
Oscar Lin has been appointed to Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel & Company Secretary at CAI Corp from their previous role as Vice President (Legal & Structuring) at CMB International.
Rahul Mehta has been promoted to General Counsel at ZKsync Foundation from their previous role as Senior Counsel.
Gretchen Goodall has been appointed as Chief Compliance Officer at BlackRock from their previous role as Managing Director, Compliance Head Japan, Asia North & Australia at Citi.
Professional Services
Alicia Cai Lushi has been appointed as Head of DCM Legal, Asia at GLAS from their previous role as Director at China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited.
Jeremy Gill has been appointed to Director, Global Trust & Agency / Legal Counsel, GCM at CSC from their previous role as Director at Madison Pacific.
Retail and Consumer Goods
Iris Deng has been appointed to General Counsel, China/Asia/Pacific at Albaugh, LLC from their previous role as Head of Legal, HKTW & Greater China Hygiene at Reckitt.
Jennifer R. has been appointed to Group General Counsel at Epic Group from their previous role as Co-Founder & Group Operations Director (Legal & Sustainability Lead) at Bureau Group.
Lily Chan has been appointed as Group General Counsel at Dah Chong Hong Holdings Limited from their previous role as Group General Counsel at Daniel Wellington.
Tina Chu has been appointed to Senior Legal Counsel – Employment (APAC) at lululemon from their previous role as Senior Group Corporate Counsel at Kering.
Technology and Information Services
Berton Bian has been appointed to General Counsel, LDC at LianLian from their previous role as Head of Legal at HashKey Group.
Cindy Chen has been appointed to Global Head of Compliance, LDC at LianLian from their previous role as China Compliance at The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Mable Law has been appointed to Senior Lead Corporate Counsel at Airwallex from their previous role as Executive Director at Mizuho.
Miguel Aguila has been appointed as Director – Legal APAC at Delivery Hero from their previous role as General Counsel at Grab.
Sandy Tam has been appointed as Global Head of Compliance at TripLink International from their previous role as AML Compliance Officer- SVP at Citi.
Sunny Guan has been appointed as Chief Compliance Officer at Xiaohongshu from their previous role as Director, Legal & Compliance at Alibaba Cloud.
Derek Li has been appointed as Executive Vice President and General Counsel at VNET Group from their previous role as Associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates.
