“We welcome Yong as the new general manager for our China business,” said Chris Puype, managing director of Asia Pacific for Wolters Kluwer’s Financial Services business. “We are excited to be utilizing his extensive knowledge of the local operating environment as we look to further develop our presence in North Asia.”

Zhao currently works at Wolters Kluwer as head of Professional Services and deputy general manager for China for the global provider of risk management, compliance, finance and audit solutions for the financial services segment. He brings more than 15 years of experience in software development, system implementation and project management to his new role.

Prior to Wolters Kluwer, Zhao worked for Lombard Risk, where he was responsible for managing all regulatory reporting projects across Asia. His responsibilities encompassed all regulatory product development streams and key software development projects. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tsinghua University.

Zhao assumes the role from Michael Thomas, who previously led the China operations as general manager and North Asia director. Thomas plans to retire at the end of June 2016 after a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years.

“We extend our gratitude to Michael for his significant contributions to our success in China and beyond,” commented Puype.

Thomas will continue to serve Wolters Kluwer in an advisory capacity to ensure a smooth transition and will continue to provide expertise in Anti Money Laundering as the firm takes the product across the region and beyond.