Ardmore Shipping has brought on a new director who has two decades of finance experience in Asian markets to replace a board member who stepped down in November.

The New York-listed tanker owner has appointed James Fok to its board of directors to take the seat previously held by Brian Dunne. Fok’s appointment will restore the panel to its prior six-member status.

Fok, a financial and strategic advisor in the public and private sectors, will join the board as a Class III director and also serve on the audit and nominating committees.

He currently serves as an advisor to Bain & Company and is on the advisory board of Hex Trust, a provider of bank-grade custody for digital assets.

He also serves as an international member of Ireland for Finance’s Industry Advisory Committee.

He has particular expertise in Asian cross-border capital markets transactions and mechanisms, having worked as a senior executive at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) from 2012 until 2021.

He played a major role in a number of landmark capital markets internationalisation initiatives in this position, Ardmore said.

Previously, Fok was an investment banker at multiple bulge bracket firms in both Europe and Asia, focusing on the financial services sector.

Fok holds a bachelor’s degree in law and Chinese from the School of Oriental & African Studies of the University of London and is a published author on the subject of Sino-American financial relations.

“We are delighted to welcome James to the Ardmore board, where we expect to benefit from his extensive expertise in Asian financial markets and business culture, along with his unique perspective on the macro-economic and geopolitical factors shaping our industry,” chairman Curtis Williams said.