Tan served as managing director of FPI Asia since July 2012 and left the business at the end of December, following a restructure which saw his role disappear.
FPI chief executive Adrian Emery, shortly after his appointment in September 2015, said that the company had decided to focus its attention on new business from the UAE, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
In September 2015, FPI closed its UK offshore bond market operation to new business, as part of a restructuring at its Isle of Man headquarters. The withdrawal included Jersey and Guernsey.
The following month, the company further announced that it was abandoning all of its global operations, excluding Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and the ‘permitted jurisdictions’ of South Africa and Qatar.
Chris Gill, general manager of FPI Singapore, will assume the role of managing director Singapore. Both Barrows and Gill will report directly to Adrian Emery.
Barrows joins from Aviva, which acquired FPI in April 2015, where he was chief executive of Aviva Hong Kong, having previously served as chief financial officer of Aviva Asia and director of investor relations at Aviva.
New structure
The appointment of Barrows forms part of FPI’s new structure and is intended to support the future growth of the business, bringing it closer to its customers and distributers in Asia and the UAE.
Emery said: “I’m delighted to have Charles leading our Hong Kong Operations. His long-standing career with Aviva and local knowledge will help grow our business in the high net worth and expatriate spaces. We have committed to our customers and distributors in the Hong Kong market and, as such, it is important to have a dedicated country lead who reports directly into myself and is accountable for driving business growth.”
“In our new structure, each FPI branch; including Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, will take greater responsibility for expanding its customer service and product and marketing capabilities with governance and oversight being managed centrally across FPI,” Emery said.
