Bruce was, until earlier this week, international distribution manager and a spokesperson confirmed the role change would be a step up in terms of seniority for him.
In the new role, Bruce will report to Neal Armstrong, chief executive of the company’s Singapore office and will be responsible for relationships with a “range of global distributors, with a focus on Asian emerging markets”, said the company.
As part of a shift in the company’s focus towards emerging areas of the globe, Standard Life announced last year plans to open an “Asia hub” based in Hong Kong, in addition to the Singapore office it opened in October. The establishment of the new hub has meant some roles have been moved from the UK to Asia, with some staff facing the risk of redundancy, although Standard Life said it has “worked hard to mitigate redundancies and retain talent in the organisation with reasonable success”.
An early casualty of the changes was Nathan Parnaby who left the company after more than 30 years in February. He was replaced as Standard Life Asia and emerging markets chief executive by Alan Armitage.
The company also confirmed that Haydn Carr-Pollock, product manager, was also at risk of redundancy.
A spokesperson said: “Following our announcement earlier in the year to create a Hong Kong hub for our Asia and Emerging Markets business, we are progressing well. We have started the recruitment process for some roles and are working hard to retain talent where possible.”
