BlackRock names new Head of iShares, Australia

BlackRock has announced the appointment of Christian Obrist as head of iShares, Australia, effective 1 June 2018.

Based in Sydney, Obrist will be responsible for the strategy and day-to-day operations of BlackRock's iShares business in Australia. He will replace Jon Howie, who has recently taken on a new role as head of index strategy, Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong.

Obrist joined BlackRock in 2012 in Europe where he focused on institutional clients covering pensions, insurance and asset managers. He relocates from BlackRock's Hong Kong office, where he has been leading private banking and asset manager distribution for Asia ex-Japan since 2014. Prior to BlackRock, he worked at J.P. Morgan and UBS.

Commenting on his appointment, BlackRock, head of Australasia, Dominik Rohe, said: "Christian brings a wealth of experience covering client use of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to Australia and will strengthen our capabilities in this important area for our business."

Obrist added: "It is an exciting time to be joining the team as ETF use by Australian investors evolves across a variety of market segments. I look forward to building our offering of transparent and cost-effective investment solutions for our clients."

Obrist will also join BlackRock's Executive Committee for Australasia.