Islamic Bank of Asia appoints Toby O'Connor as CEO

He will lead the growth of IB Asia by ramping up investment banking, especially capital markets and private equity.

According to DBS, this will be in line with IB Asia's renewed focus on fee-income businesses.

Prior to joining IB Asia, O'Connor was most recently a Managing Director and Head of the Middle East and North Africa Sovereign Wealth Funds and Financial Sponsor group for Investment Banking at JP Morgan Chase & Co,. Over his 19-year career at J.P. Morgan, O'Connor worked in increasingly senior product and client coverage roles in Investment Banking in Mergers and Acquisitions, Capital Markets and in the Financial Sponsor private equity area.

Since 2007, he has been a part of J.P. Morgan's leadership team in the Middle East region based in Dubai and London. He was responsible for growing the business of Middle East region Sovereign Wealth Funds, investment companies, and financial sponsors. This includes mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, ratings advisory, bond and bank financings, restructuring, derivatives and capital raising.

Eric Ang, Director of IB Asia, who oversaw the bank's business in the interim, said: “We are very pleased to have Toby on board. IB Asia is committed to growing our Islamic banking franchise in Asia with a focus on investment banking and private equity. With Toby’s extensive investment banking experience and deep-rooted relationships in the Middle East, he is well-placed to bring IB Asia to the next level.”