Alvin Chia

Chicago-headquartered asset manager Northern Trust has hired Alvin Chia as its head of digital assets innovation for Asia-Pacific, with responsibility for delivering innovations aligned to the company’s digital asset strategy for clients in the region while collaborating closely with industry bodies, fintechs, regulators and government entities.

Chia, who is based in Singapore and reports to Justin Chapman, global head of digital assets and financial markets, was most recently the expert senior manager of innovation at Bain and Company. Prior to this, he was the vice-president of innovation at DBS Bank.

Northern Trust announced the formation of its digital assets and financial markets group in June 2022, unifying its digital and traditional market functions across its asset servicing business, which provides its Whole Office solutions to institutional asset managers and owners around the globe.

“We continue to see the pace of innovation continuing across the funds administration and custody sector, with the Asia-Pacific region experiencing a transformational period of change in light of new technologies,” Chapman says. “We are pleased to leverage Chai’s deep skills in fintech to help us continue to drive change and support our clients’ requirements.”