CLSA CEO Rick Gould quits after 16 months, no reason given

CLSA's chief executive Rick Gould is leaving the Chinese-owned firm after 16 months in the top job, the brokerage said on Saturday without offering any reason.

Gould was based in CLSA's New York office for five years until April last year, when he relocated to Hong Kong to become the global chief executive, according to his LinkedIn profile.

CLSA is owned by Citic Securities , which bought the Hong Kong-based firm in 2013.

"I have enjoyed leading and working with our team immensely over the past six years, both in New York and in Hong Kong, and I look forward to the firm's continued success," Gould said in a statement CLSA sent to Reuters.

A CLSA spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the statement on the departure, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In April, CLSA hired Charles Lin, the former Asia head of Vanguard Group, as vice chairman.