Global Custodian is pleased to reveal the four nominees shortlisted for the 2026 Industry Person of the Year award for Asia Pacific, recognising individuals who have made a significant impact over the past 12 months across custody, securities services and market infrastructure in the region.
The accolade will be presented at Leaders in Custody Asia on 28 May 2026 at Raffles Hotel, Singapore, bringing together senior leaders from across the regional securities services and fund services ecosystem.
In Asia, the award continues to highlight individuals shaping the evolution of post-trade infrastructure, digital assets and cross-border market connectivity.
At our Leaders in Custody awards in London this month, Phil Brown, CEO of Clearstream Banking, was named Industry Person of the Year following a live vote by more than 300 attendees.
Given the breadth and depth of leadership talent across Asia Pacific’s rapidly evolving financial markets, making the shortlist itself remains a notable recognition.
Global Custodian congratulates all nominees, listed below in alphabetical order.
Alvin Chia
Alvin Chia is head of digital assets innovation, APAC at Northern Trust, where he leads the firm’s digital assets innovation strategy across the region, working with regulators, industry bodies, fintechs and market participants on the development of next-generation market infrastructure.
Over the past year, Chia has been closely involved in a number of major digital asset initiatives across Asia Pacific, including engagements linked to MAS’ Project Guardian, HKMA’s Project Ensemble and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Project Acacia.
Alongside his role at Northern Trust, Chia serves as chair of the Digital Assets Working Group at the Australian Custodial Services Association, contributing to broader industry discussions around digital asset regulation and market structure.
Northern Trust has emerged as one of the most nominated firms in Global Custodian’s innovation and technology awards segment through multiple tokenisation initiatives.
With more than a decade of experience in innovation leadership, Chia has held senior roles across consulting and financial services. Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2022, he held senior innovation and transformation roles at Bain & Company and DBS Bank, focusing on digital transformation, venture building and product innovation initiatives across Asia.
Francois Verlaine
Francois Verlaine is managing director and head of ASEAN & South Asia for financing and securities services at Standard Chartered, where he oversees the bank’s securities services business across a diverse regional franchise spanning markets with differing levels of maturity and regulatory complexity.
Under Verlaine’s leadership, Standard Chartered has expanded its presence across investor, asset owner and insurance segments in ASEAN and South Asia, broadening the franchise beyond its traditional focus on global custodians and broker dealers. Recent mandates have included wins with Thailand’s Government Pension Fund and Singapore-based institutions including LGI and FWD.
His tenure has also coincided with continued recognition for the franchise across industry surveys and awards, including strong performances in Global Custodian’s Agent Banks in Emerging Markets surveys, where several of the bank’s ASEAN markets have consistently ranked among both global and local outperformers.
Verlaine joined Standard Chartered in 2013 and previously led strategy and new business development for the bank’s securities services business, with responsibilities spanning strategic planning, pricing, client implementation and corporate development initiatives.
Prior to joining Standard Chartered, he spent more than eight years at JP Morgan, where he held a range of product, sales and strategic business development roles across the investor services franchise. Earlier in his career, he worked in strategy consulting focused on investment, corporate and private banking.
Rehan Ahmed
Rehan Ahmed is chief executive officer of Marketnode, where he leads the development of digital market infrastructure solutions spanning funds, fixed income and digital assets.
Over the past year, Ahmed has overseen a number of strategic initiatives aimed at advancing next-generation infrastructure within Asia’s capital markets ecosystem.
These included Marketnode’s collaboration with Euroclear on an end-to-end funds processing solution for retail and institutional funds in Singapore, combining Euroclear’s FundsPlace platform with Marketnode’s blockchain-enabled funds infrastructure.
He has also been involved in Marketnode’s partnership with Euroclear and Microsoft to develop AI-driven solutions for financial services workflows, tokenisation and fund distribution use cases.
Another milestone this month saw Marketnode appointed as an authorised distributor of WisdomTree’s digital funds to institutional investors in Singapore.
Prior to joining Marketnode in 2021, Ahmed was head of fixed income products and digital assets within FICC at SGX Group, where he was involved in the development of fixed income and digital asset initiatives across the exchange.
Ahmed is recognised for his work at the intersection of digital infrastructure, tokenisation and capital markets innovation, particularly within the Asia Pacific region.
Wai Mei Hong
Wai Mei Hong is managing director, senior country officer for Singapore and ASEAN head of global corporate banking at JP Morgan, where she oversees the bank’s corporate banking franchise and client strategy across the region.
Over the past year, Hong has been closely associated with several major securities services and institutional client mandates in Asia, including Income Insurance’s appointment of JP Morgan as custodian for its SGD40 billion asset base. The mandate saw the bank selected to provide a full suite of services spanning global custody, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, collateral management, securities lending and data solutions.
The appointment followed another significant regional transition for JPMorgan involving the Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia’s developed market global equity and fixed income assets, valued at more than $40 billion.
Hong has spent nearly two decades at JP Morgan, joining the firm in 2007. During her tenure, she has held a number of senior leadership roles across corporate banking and client coverage in Singapore and ASEAN.
Prior to joining JP Morgan, she spent close to nine years at ABN AMRO in Singapore, where she served as executive director.
She is recognised for her leadership across the ASEAN corporate banking landscape and for supporting the expansion of JP Morgan’s institutional and securities services relationships across the region.