Doug Hymas has become the chief executive of ING Investment Management Asia/Pacific (ING IM).

Hymas will assume the leadership and management of ING IM Funds Japan when he officially takes over on 20 April - pending approval from the board of directors.

Hymas has spent nearly 20 years in Tokyo in various management positions across front-, middle- and back-office in multinational corporations including Lehman Brothers, Barclays Global Investors, and Legg Mason Asset Management (formerly Citigroup Asset Management).

Prior to this role he was the Representative Director/President for Wachovia Securities (Japan) Co. Ltd., a company set up for the local structuring, marketing, and the sales of securities for the Wachovia Group.

Alan Harden, chief executive of ING IM, said: "I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Doug. He has a great track record from his senior roles in a number of leading financial institutions and, in his most recent post, has already enjoyed country responsibility in Japan. Coupled with the fact he has lived and worked in Japan for nearly two decades, this makes him ideally suited for this position."