HONG KONG — Brian Rhoads has departed the South China Morning Post (SCMP) to become regional head of reputation at HSBC.

Rhoads leaves SCMP after almost a decade as managing editor. He previously spent 16 years with Reuters, where he led news coverage across Greater China.

At HSBC, Rhoads reports to Asia-Pacific communications head Jessica Lee and group global reputation leader Lucy Yurek. Lee joined HSBC last year to oversee regional communications, following the arrival of Steve John as chief communications officer in 2019. 

"[Rhoads] has deep experience across Asia and China from his career in journalism," John told PRovoke Media. "He’ll play a key role in further building our efforts to generate and share content that’s interesting and relevant to our customers, our investors, our people and others."

HSBC's 'pivot to Asia' involves a specific focus on China's $45tn financial services market, where HSBC remains one of the largest foreign banking investors. The company has pledged $6bn worth of investment in the region, with capital allocation rising from 42% to 50%.