Hawksford appoints new CEO; Asia growth and expansion a priority

• Will design and lead the delivery of Hawksford’s global growth strategy
• Hawksford plans to double in size over the next three to five years

HAWKSFORD, a corporate services, private client and fund administration business leader, has announced the appointment of fintech business leader Michel van Leeuwen.

The new group chief executive brings thirty years of financial services industry expertise gained in leadership roles at Cordium, Misys and Microsoft Capital Markets. Van Leeuwen will design and lead the delivery of Hawksford’s global growth strategy.

The appointment underpins Hawksford’s focus on accelerated growth, which will see the business expand its core service lines while simultaneously introducing additional services to benefit its expanding client base.

The growth strategy comprises both organic and acquisitive growth.

Hawksford, backed by UK private equity firm Dunedin, plans to double in size over the next three to five years while at the same time increasing its global jurisdictional footprint.

As part of Hawksford’s commitment to Asia, van Leeuwen will work closely with the regional executives as the company gears up for rapid expansion in the region to benefit its clients and partners by providing them with additional services and jurisdictions. 

Speaking on his appointment van Leeuwen said, “We believe that the Asian time zone offers a plethora of organic and acquisitive growth opportunities that we intend to fully explore. A doubling of our size, across all metrics, in the region is at the lower end of our ambitions as we look to expand our presence into other markets such as China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.

“I am extremely excited to lead this phase of rapid growth and expansion and to harness our local and global experience and expertise. By implementing software solutions that enable our staff to support our clients and partners in taking their business to the next level, we will differentiate ourselves in the market.

“Asia’s economic dynamism is beyond dispute. About two-thirds of the world's middle-class will live in Asia by 2025. This growth is fueled in large part by a significant increase in the number of small and medium enterprises in the region. We will continue to invest in Asia and seek to capitalize on the international appeal of the region.”

The appointment is significant for Asia and specifically Singapore, Hawksford’s regional HQ, as the country continues to focus on facilitating business with nearly 6,000 new companies being formed every month.

Van Leeuwen’s experience includes leadership roles at several major companies. Most recently he was group CEO of Cordium, a provider of regulatory compliance consulting services to the asset management and securities industry.

Prior to that, he served as managing director of Microsoft Worldwide Capital Markets, where he was responsible for delivering nearly US$1 billion in revenues across the global capital markets industry.

He has also held senior roles at State Street Bank and Algorithmics, and also served as CEO of the Risk Management division at Misys plc, where he was a member of its operating board. 
 
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