HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brian Ovaert, a veteran Northern Trust executive, has been appointed Country Manager for Hong Kong. In this role, Ovaert will oversee an expanded Hong Kong office and Northern Trust sales and relationship teams delivering a range of services including global custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing and asset management solutions for institutional clients in the region.

A 21-year Northern Trust employee, Ovaert comes to the Hong Kong office from Bangalore, India, where he was Chief Executive Officer of Northern Operating Services, Pvt. Ltd., which employs more than 3,000 people performing back- and middle-office investment services for Northern Trust clients.

“Hong Kong is an important office for Northern Trust, as one of our first international locations now providing a broad scope of asset management and asset servicing solutions to clients ranging from government entities to start-up hedge funds,” said Teresa A. Parker, CEO of the Asia-Pacific region for Northern Trust. “Brian Ovaert has a strong background in client relations and deep experience in operations, technology and risk management that will benefit our clients doing business in Hong Kong and the region.”

In addition to his role as CEO of Northern Operating Services, Ovaert has been Asia-Pacific Regional Head of Operations & Technology (O&T) for Northern Trust since 2012. He will retain the O&T role, overseeing teams in Singapore, Hong Kong and Melbourne as well as Bangalore. Prior to his posts in India, Ovaert held executive roles in London and Chicago, including Senior Business Unit Risk Officer for O&T, European regional head of O&T and worldwide head of fund administration, since joining Northern Trust in 1992.

“Northern Trust is committed to Hong Kong as a center of investment and financial services in Asia, and I am eager to work with our diverse and growing client base here,” Ovaert said. “In a challenging regulatory and financial environment, we believe our superior client service and integrated global technology and operations architecture can empower clients to capture investment opportunities and reach their business goals in an efficient and effective manner.”

Northern Trust opened its Hong Kong office in 1995 and moved to larger quarters on the 19th floor of Two Pacific Place, 88 Queensway in 2012 to accommodate the growing staff. Significant recent additions to the Hong Kong staff include:

• Bradley Blackwell, sales and relationship management for securities lending clients in APAC. Prior to this role, Bradley was a securities lending relationship manager in our Chicago office and responsible for all North American large corporate relationships.
• Elmen Lo, relationship management for asset servicing clients in the North Asia region. Prior to joining Northern Trust, she worked in sales and relationship management for over 10 years at JP Morgan in Hong Kong.

In recent years, Northern Trust added capabilities in Hong Kong for global equity index portfolio management and equity trading as well as Global Fund Services, including hedge fund services and investment operations outsourcing. In 2013, Northern Trust expanded its fund administration and custody services to support locally domiciled Hong Kong funds, including exchange-traded funds, as well as other regional investment funds.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of investment management, asset and fund administration, banking solutions and fiduciary services for corporations, institutions and affluent individuals worldwide. Northern Trust, a financial holding company based in Chicago, has offices in 18 U.S. states and 17 international locations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of March 31, 2013, Northern Trust had assets under custody of US$5 trillion, and assets under investment management of US$810.2 billion. For more than 120 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader in combining exceptional service and expertise with innovative products and technology. For more information, visit www.northerntrust.com or follow us on Twitter @NorthernTrust.

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