ABN Amro has appointed Curtis Chen to its newly created post of chief strategic development officer for Asia. Chen will continue to be based in Hong Kong.

Chen joined ABN in 2000, after seven years, heading business development for Aetna in Asia and six years with Booz, Allen and Hamilton in New York. At ABN Amro he successfully led the insurance client business in the region, which grew four fold since 2002.

“ABN Amro has considerable ambition for developing its franchise in Asia, so standing still is not an option for us. The bank is looking for Curtis to use his diverse experience to help identify growth opportunities for our franchise,” comments Samuel Zavatti, member of the executive committee of ABN’s wholesale clients strategic business unit.

ABN Amro has made a clear commitment to both organic and strategic expansion in the region. Recently the bank announced ventures with Xiang Cai for asset management and China Galaxy for futures. The appointment of Chen comes shortly after the hiring of Catherine Cai from JPMorgan to lead ABN’s China team.

Also joining ABN this month is Li Tian from Bank of China International’s investment banking division. Li will lead ABN Amro’s financial institutions coverage team in China.