Temasek hires Goldman veteran Vaske to oversee Americas push

[SINGAPORE] Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore's state-owned investment firm, has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc's John Vaske to oversee its push into North America.

Mr Vaske, most recently a co-chairman of global mergers and acquisitions at Goldman, will start as joint head of North America at Temasek International Jan 16, the company said in a statement on its website late Thursday.

Dilhan Pillay, the current Americas head, will continue to provide oversight on Temasek's investment activities in North and Latin America, the company said.

Temasek is stepping up investments in the US and Canada and said in July it plans to open an office in San Francisco this year to scout for tech investment opportunities. It already has an office in New York.

During the fiscal year ended Mar 31, Temasek loaded up on stakes in US pharmaceutical and health-care firms including Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, which develop treatments for serious medical conditions.

The share of North America investments increased to 10 per cent of Temasek's portfolio as of March, up from 8 per cent two years earlier.

Mr Vaske joined Goldman in 1988 as an analyst with the mergers and acquisitions team in New York and subsequently worked in Tokyo and London, according to the statement.

He returned to New York as co-chairman of Goldman's natural resources group in 2010, and assumed his most recent post in 2015.

BLOOMBERG