Saxo appoints Damian Hitchen as Regional Head of APAC and MENA, Mahesh Sethuraman as Singapore CEO

SINGAPORE, 12 November 2024 - Saxo, a global leader in multi-asset investing and trading, today announced the appointment of Damian Hitchen as Regional Head of APAC and MENA. Hitchen has led Saxo’s MENA business since 2021 and will now take responsibility for developing and further growing Saxo’s business across both the APAC and MENA regions.

Hitchen has 20 years of experience in the global financial services industry. Before joining Saxo as Head of MENA, he was the CEO of Swissquote based in Singapore. Prior to moving to Singapore, Hitchen established Swissquote’s regional MENA business while based in Dubai.

With Hitchen in place, Mahesh Sethuraman is appointed Singapore CEO of Saxo. Together with the Singapore leadership team, Sethuraman will be responsible for driving and accelerating the growth of the Singapore business. This includes the business areas that the Singapore office covers. Sethuraman will team up with Thomas Qvistgaard Hansen, Deputy CEO and COO, to drive the team and the business.

Sethuraman joined Saxo Singapore in 2018 and previously headed the Global Sales Trading team, responsible for interfacing with retail and institutional clients. With over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, Sethuraman brings to the role a deep understanding of financial markets, Singapore’s investing landscape, and Saxo’s market-leading range of global investment products.

Commenting on the new regional leadership team, Kim Fournais, Founder and CEO of Saxo, said: “I have utmost confidence that Damian and Mahesh will succeed in their new roles. Damian and Mahesh are both true Saxonians – laser-focused on servicing our clients and partners, as well as running a prudent and compliant business. In line with Saxo’s purpose to “allow curious people being invested in the world”, entrusting the future leadership of our APAC and MENA businesses to existing talent within the firm, is a natural step for Saxo to further grow our great talent base.”

Together, Hitchen and Sethuraman will succeed Adam Reynolds, previously APAC and Singapore CEO of Saxo. Reynolds steps down after a decade at Saxo, having played an important role in consolidating the firm’s presence in the APAC region.

Commenting on his appointment, Hitchen said: “I look forward to the challenge of building on the opportunities across the MENA and APAC regions in close collaboration with Mahesh, Thomas and the wider APAC team. With on-ground experience of leading “digital-platform first” propositions across Singapore and the UAE over the last decade, I am excited to re-connect with the growth potential that the Singapore and APAC markets offer, in addition to continuing to build our MENA business.”

Commenting on his appointment, Sethuraman said: “It is an immense honour to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading Saxo Singapore. While I joined Saxo in 2018, my relationship with Saxo started more than a decade ago when I was a client on the buy side. My experience as a satisfied client makes my job of growing our business in Singapore and the region very fulfilling. Having been in Singapore since 2006, Saxo has grown substantially over the years but given the strength of our comprehensive offering, we still have a long way to go. I am excited to drive the next phase of growth for Saxo Singapore together with Thomas and the wider team.”