IG adds Hong Kong banker Wu Gang to its board
London based online trading firm IG Group (LON:IGG) has announced that Wu Gang has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the Company. The appointment looks like a step toward expanding IG’s footprint in Asia, which has been the fastest growing online trading market over the past few years.
This is IG’s third new non-executive-director appointment this year, following the arrival of Company Chairman Mike McTighe in February, with Helen Stevenson joining the board in March and Rakesh Bhasin in July.
As part of IG’s focus on delivering returns and a more sustainable, diversified and global business, the company’s board alongside CEO June Felix have been working hard to add proven talent with international experience to the board (including Charlie Rozes who arrived as IG’s CFO in June).
As IG continues to become a more global platform, Mr. McTighe has stated his strong desire to add a more global and diverse viewpoint to the board reflecting its global business across, the UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the US.
IG Chairman Mike McTighe stated:
“In our strategy, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on developing our portfolio of Significant Opportunities in the US, Japan, China, Emerging Markets and Europe – through Spectrum, as well as our newly launched IG Prime institutional business. To support our wish to be a more sustainable, diversified and global business we need to keep seeding the Board and IG as a whole with additional, relevant skill, talent and experience. This will help us more fully understand how to operate successfully and sustainably in those markets. A natural by-product of this will be a more ethnically and culturally diverse Board.”
The company said that Wu Gang has significant experience within the financial services sector primarily across Asia.
Commenting on the appointment, Mike McTighe added:
“Following an extensive, externally facilitated search I am delighted to welcome Wu Gang to the Board. He has significant experience in global banking institutions and has valuable knowledge of the business environment in Asia. Wu Gang will complement and further diversify the skills, knowledge and experience of the Board.”
Wu Gang said of his joining IG:
“IG Group is an innovative financial services organisation with an exciting growth strategy and the capability to perform well in the current global economic environment. I’m looking forward to working with the Board and the management team to realise further the potential of the business.”
Wu Gang is currently a Non-Executive Director of Ashurst LLP and a senior advisor at Rothschild & Co Hong Kong Limited. He served as a Non-Executive Director and member of the Remuneration Committee of Laird Plc from January 2017 to June 2018.
Wu Gang has a strong strategic and financial advisory background and a wealth of international experience gained from a career of over 25 years in investment banking in Asia and Europe. He set up and led the European investment banking team at CLSA Securities, the international investment Banking platform of CITIC Securities, from 2015 to January 2019. Prior to CLSA Securities, he was head of M&A and General Industrials at ICBC International. Wu Gang also held senior level positions at Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong and London. He started his investment banking career at Goldman Sachs.
Wu Gang has an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, an MA in Asia Area Studies from SOAS, University of London, and a BA in English and American Literature from Fudan University in Shanghai.