The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global representative of alternative investment managers, has bolstered its expanding footprint in APAC with the appointment of Lilian Lee as Director and General Manager for Singapore.  Her appointment follows the recent hiring of Michael Bugel as Co-Head of APAC for AIMA.

Lilian brings to AIMA a wealth of experience and expertise in alternative investment management. She joins from GIC Private Limited, the sovereign wealth fund, where she was most recently Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager within the External Managers Department. Part of her job entailed helping to manage GIC’s exposure to equities-related hedge funds.

Michael Bugel joined AIMA’s Hong Kong office last year from HSBC, where he managed senior relationships within the asset management sector for the firm’s Financial Institutions Group. His experience also extends to sales and trading and he previously held leadership positions at Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.

Michael works closely with fellow Co-Head of APAC Kher Sheng Lee in shaping and delivering AIMA’s strategy for APAC. Kher Sheng, who previously worked as a General Counsel for a Hong Kong-based hedge fund firm, also leads AIMA’s policy and regulatory initiatives in the region.

Michael and Lilian will support AIMA members and spearhead growth in the region. Last year, AIMA increased membership by around 10% across Asia-Pacific.

AIMA’s CEO Jack Inglis said: “I am delighted to welcome people of the calibre and experience of Michael and Lilian to AIMA’s expanding APAC operations. We now have branches in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Japan and Australia. Lilian joins a strong team and brings additional experience that will be key to supporting our members across the APAC region.”

The appointment of Lilian comes shortly before AIMA’s flagship Asia-Pacific conference, the AIMA APAC Annual Forum, which will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 19 January. The event is open to AIMA members.