BNP Paribas Securities Service (BNP PSS) deputy head of product, Wendy Leong, will shortly leave the custodian.

Leong joined BNP PSS’ Melbourne office just over three years ago after 15 years as a consultant on investment administration, most recently for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu after founding Towers Perrin’s custody consulting business in 1999. It is understood Leong will not be joining a competitor custodian, and there is speculation she may return to consulting, possibly by opening the Melbourne office of Thomas Murray, which is currently advising the Future Fund investment operations tender. Speaking last week, Leong laughed that “;everyone is guessing that”; but declined to comment further. Leong was to have been responsible for this year’s local implementation of BNP PSS’ global alternative assets platform. That responsibility will now go to Hugh Stevens, who became head of the New Zealand office on January 29 after several years at JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services, where he managed design and delivery of its Alternative Investments Operations technology platform. BNP PSS head of product, Daryl Crich, is leading the search for Leong’s replacement, with an internal promotion understood to be likely.