Pinebridge Investments Middle East appoints Chief Operating Officer and Head of Client Service

Mr. Kumar and Mr. Fierens will be based at PineBridge's MENA headquarters in Bahrain.

Commenting on the appointments, Talal Al Zain, Chief Executive Officer of PineBridge Investments Middle East said: "We are delighted to have Arun and Janick on board and expect them to have an immediate and positive impact. Their experience and expertise will be crucial in building our regional presence and enhancing our offering of products across multiple asset classes and world class investment management."

Mr. Kumar will be responsible for all corporate functions and providing strategic support for execution of PineBridge's mandate in MENA. Prior to joining, Mr. Kumar was the Chief Financial Officer at Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, and held senior positions at the Singapore offices of 3i Investments plc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank.

He holds a B.Com from Madras University (India) and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant.

Mr. Fierens joins as Managing Director in charge of Client Service. He was previously Managing Director in Investcorp's placement team in Bahrain. He also held positions with McKinsey and Citigroup in London; and the Boston Consulting Group and Generale Bank in Belgium.

He has an MA and an MBA from KU Leuven in Belgium and was a Chazen Scholar to the Columbia Business School in New York.

PineBridge recently received a Category 1 investment license from the Central Bank of Bahrain and to establish its regional headquarters in Manama. The new firm, PineBridge Investments Middle East B.S.C. (c) will cover the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey and serve as a link between Asian and Middle Eastern investors.