JPMorgan Asset Management has appointed Claude Kurzo as Head of Middle East, signalling a push to expand its regional footprint. The move is effective immediately.
Kurzo, who joined the firm in 2012, previously served as UK Country Head and has held senior roles in Zurich, New York and London, including Global Head of Strategy. He will report to Patrick Thomson, JPMAM’s EMEA CEO.
The appointment comes weeks after JPMorgan’s Asset and Wealth Management CEO Mary Callahan Erdoes told the Qatar Economic Forum that the firm plans to hire over 100 employees across the Middle East. The expansion will raise JPMorgan’s headcount in the region from 370 to nearly 500.
Kurzo’s experience includes earlier work at McKinsey in the Middle East and Switzerland. His return to the region comes as JPMorgan intensifies efforts to grow its asset management business amid rising client demand in markets such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.
JPMorgan has been scaling its regional operations across both private and institutional asset management, aligning with broader trends of capital inflows and sovereign diversification strategies in the Gulf. According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, Middle East sovereign wealth funds have increased their allocation to global equities and alternatives, pushing firms like JPMorgan to deepen local coverage and advisory capabilities.
