VFMC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director - Appointed September 2020
- Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
Andrew Nicolaou is a highly experienced risk management, assurance, consulting and regulation professional in financial services and government.
He is the Chair of the Audit Committees at Department of Transport, Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water, Fire Rescue Victoria and the Victorian Parliament. He is also a member of the Audit Committee for Education in Victoria and has served on the Audit Committee of State Trustees.
Andrew previously specialised in the financial institutions of government, with senior roles covering the Treasury portfolio in Victoria over a period of 30 plus years. He provided services to TAC, VWA, VMIA, Rural Finance and DTF. Andrew also supported the Victorian Treasury in the development and implementation of the Financial Management compliance, risk management and prudential assurance regimes.
Andrew is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia.
Job Titles:
- Director - Appointed September 2014
- Secretary of the Victorian Department of Treasury
David Martine has extensive budget, finance, policy and organisational leadership experience and has been involved in wide ranging strategic policy reform.
He is a director of Treasury Corporation Victoria, a member of the Infrastructure Victoria Board, and a member of the Advisory Board, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute - Crawford School of Public Policy at ANU.
David is currently Secretary of the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance. He leads the department providing economic, policy and service delivery advice to the Victorian Government. Before this, David worked as a senior executive in the Commonwealth public sector, providing strategic advice to governments on a range of economic and other policy issues.
David has a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from Monash University and a Master of Business Administration.
Job Titles:
- Director - Appointed August 2018
- Non - Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Link Administration Holdings
Fiona Trafford-Walker is a non-executive director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Link Administration Holdings, a non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at the Prospa Group, a non-executive director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at FleetPartners and a non-executive director at Perpetual Limited. She is a member of the Investment Committee at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and a Strategic Advisor to the Australian Retirement Trust Investment Committee.
Fiona is a former Investment Director at Frontier Advisors, where she previously held the positions of Managing Director and Director of Consulting. In 2013, Fiona was named as the inaugural ‘Woman of the Year' in the Money Management/ Super Review Women in Financial Services Awards, as well as one of the top 10 global Asset Consultants by the US financial journal Chief Investment Officer from 2013 to 2016 inclusive, and again in 2019. She was announced as a winner in The Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards for 2016 in the Board/ management category. Fiona holds a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) from James Cook University, receiving a University Medal, a Master of Finance from RMIT and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Job Titles:
- Head of Portfolio Management Group
Gary joined VFMC in October 2020 as Head of the Portfolio Management Group within VFMC's Investment Team, responsible for determining portfolio strategy and asset allocation, measuring and calibrating investment risk and implementing VFMC client portfolios.
Gary has more than 25 years' experience in institutional investment, spanning investment strategy formulation, portfolio construction and risk management, and investment management across global listed and unlisted asset classes. Prior roles include Chief Investment Officer at State Super NSW, General Manager of Portfolio Strategy and Risk at HESTA, Managing Director (Asia Pacific) for Wilshire Associates, Head of Private Markets at the Future Fund, Manager, Investment Strategy and Head of Private Markets at UniSuper.
Gary holds a Bachelor of Economic Science from the University of Witwatersrand and a Certificate in Actuarial Techniques from the Institute of Actuaries. He is also a CFA Charterholder and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Johanna joined VFMC in November 2018 as Head of People. Prior to this, Johanna spent nine years at Cbus Super Fund as the Executive Manager People & Culture, developing and leading the people strategy, initiatives and practices of the Fund as part of the Executive team.
Johanna also spent six years at ESSSuper and prior to this worked in human resources teams across the manufacturing and professional services sectors in both Australia and London.
Johanna holds a M.HRM from Deakin University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
Kate joined VFMC as CEO in October 2021.
Kate spent eight years in commercial legal practice, before transitioning into management. Kate has led businesses in global and Australian companies across financial advice, asset management, private, corporate and business banking. Before joining VFMC, Kate was at NAB where she was responsible for NAB's Health business, leading a national team of corporate and business bankers. Prior to NAB, Kate held multiple roles with JBWere and Goldman Sachs JBWere, including Managing Director, JBWere and Executive Director and Partner, Goldman Sachs JBWere.
Kate holds Bachelor's degrees in Economics and Law and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is currently on the Board of the Mercy Health Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Head of Portfolio Strategy and Asset Allocation
Leanne joined VFMC in March 2022 as Head of Portfolio Strategy and Asset Allocation.
Leanne has over 20 years' experience in macroeconomic analysis and research, investment strategy and asset allocation. She was previously Head of Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction at Cbus Super responsible for the formulation of investment strategy at the asset allocation level, as well as the macroeconomic framework informing total portfolio decisions. She has also held senior roles with Allard Partners Limited, IAG, Merrill Lynch and Westpac. Leanne commenced her career at the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Leanne holds a Master of Economics from The Australian National University, a Bachelor of Economics with Honours from University of Tasmania, and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investments.
Job Titles:
- Acting Chair - Appointed August 2023 ( Appointed As Director May 2016 )
Lisa Gay is a highly regarded legal and compliance professional with financial services experience in funds management, investment banking and stockbroking.
She is a non-executive director of Computershare Limited and Koda Capital, and a member of the Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria and Board Member of Fed Square. Lisa was formerly Deputy Chair of the Indigenous Land Corporation, Chair of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, Chair of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission's Markets Disciplinary Panel and a non-executive director at Interim Melbourne Arts Precinct Board.
From 1990-2010, Lisa was General Counsel and Managing Director of the Goldman Sachs Group Australia and its predecessor JBWere & Son.
Lisa was appointed as Director in May 2016 and Acting Chair in August 2023.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Company Director
- CEO of Victorian Funds Management Corporation ( VFMC ), Today Announced the Appointment of Russell Clarke.
- Director - Appointed January 2022
Lisa Gray is an accomplished CEO and company director of large, distributed customer businesses across private and public sectors. With more than 30 years experience, Lisa has led strategic, digital and cultural transformations, through multiple business cycles, delivering substantial business value.
Currently, Lisa is a non-executive director of ING Bank (Australia) where she is Chair of the Risk Committee.
Lisa was the CEO, VFMC from 2016 to September 2021. Prior to working with Government, Lisa had an extensive career in the Financial Services sector. Her more recent senior executive roles were at NAB including Group Executive, Enterprise Services and Transformation and Group Executive, Personal Banking. Before joining NAB, Lisa was CEO, MLC Insurance and Managing Director, Plum Financial Services.
Lisa's qualifications include an Advanced Management Program from INSEAD, MBA from University of Melbourne and Columbia University (NY), Graduate Diploma in Management from RMIT, and a Bachelor of Town and Regional Planning (Hons) from University of Melbourne. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of Chief Executive Women.
Lucy Carr - Chief Risk Officer, COO
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Risk Officer
Lucy Carr joined VFMC in December 2019 as Chief Risk Officer, where she had accountability for leading the Legal, Risk and Compliance function and working with the Board and its Committees in the management and over-sight of VFMC's legal, risk and compliance obligations.
In May 2022, Lucy was appointed to the role of Chief Operating Officer with accountability for leading the Data and Analytics, Digital and Technology, Investment Operations and Projects and Change portfolios at VFMC.
Lucy has extensive risk and operational management experience across the funds management, insurance, superannuation and consulting/advisory sectors. Prior to joining VFMC, Lucy spent eight years in executive roles at Vanguard Australia and was also a member of Vanguard Australia's Board of Directors. She was previously Group Operational Risk Manager at AXA Asia Pacific for six years and held Manager and Senior Manager roles at EY New York and Melbourne.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Spirit Super
- Director - Appointed January 2017
Maria Wilton has broad experience in business, finance and governance having held leadership positions in investment management and superannuation.
Maria is Chair of Spirit Super and Growth Farms Australia Pty Ltd, a Governor of the global Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, Deputy Chair of Infrastructure Victoria, Director of Dexus Wholesale Property Fund and Member of the State Investment Advisory Board (Qld).
Maria holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Tasmania, is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Job Titles:
- Head of Investment Risk and Absolute Returns
Mark joined VFMC in 2018 and is currently Head of Investment Risk and Absolute Returns. Mark is responsible for both Investment Risk (which covers risk analysis, portfolio construction and defensive overlays) and Absolute Returns (which covers Hedge Funds, Private Credit and Emerging Market Debt).
Mark has 18 years' experience across financial markets in both banking and funds management. Prior to working at VFMC, Mark was global Head of FICC Structuring at the National Australia Bank from 2010 to 2017, where he built a leading institutional derivatives structuring and sales business in Australia and the UK. Mark also spent four years in London with NAB, working in both market risk and in front office on a rates trading desk.
Mark holds Bachelor degrees in Law and Science (both with Honours) from Monash University and a PhD in Mathematics jointly from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics and the Free University of Berlin, Germany. Mark is also the co-author of a book on securitisation swaps which was published by Wiley Finance in 2019 and has published several finance papers.
Nick joined VFMC in October 2009 and has over 25 years experience in the management of fixed income, inflation linked bond and cash portfolios. He joined as a Senior Portfolio Manager to establish an active fixed income capability across the internally managed fixed income portfolios.
Nick is currently the Head of Fixed Interest and leads VFMC's Rates and Internal Credit team.
Prior to VFMC he was Deputy Head of Fixed Income at Aviva Investors which was formerly known as Portfolio Partners and prior to that Norwich Investment Management Ltd.
Nick holds a Bachelor of Business (Economics and Finance) from RMIT.
Job Titles:
- Chief Finance and Risk Officer
Paul Shanley joined VFMC on 1 August 2022 as Chief Finance and Risk Officer (CFRO). This new executive role is responsible for overseeing VFMC's finance, risk, compliance and legal portfolios.
Paul joins VFMC from Australia's leading impact investment funds manager, Impact Investment Group (IIG), where he was Chief Executive Officer. He also brings a further 20 years' experience across finance, tax and operational roles with organisations including Australian Unity, JBWere and Aviva.
Paul's experience in delivering strong financial returns alongside measurable environmental, social and governance benefits is strongly aligned to VFMC's purpose.
Pete joined VFMC in 2008 and has over 25 years experience in asset management, consulting and funds management.
His role as Head of Property involves the responsibility for and management of property investments in a portfolio of core unlisted property funds and club style investments in Australia. In this role, Pete sits on advisory boards and investment committees relating to five funds.
Prior to joining VFMC, Pete held roles at Investa Property Group and Pinnacle Property Group. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from Melbourne Business School, Bachelor of Business from RMIT University and a Graduate Diploma in Finance and Investment.
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
VFMC's Russell Clarke: Russell Clarke believes the whole can be greater than the sum of its...
Russell joined VFMC in May 2017 as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) where he is responsible for overseeing the management of more than $72bn on behalf of a number of Victorian public authorities.
Russell joined VFMC from Mercer where he was the Global CIO (Mainstream Assets) since 2011 and CIO (Pacific) since 2003. This role saw him overseeing all discretionary equity, listed property, fixed income and multi-asset portfolios worldwide and was specifically responsible on a day-to-day basis for all portfolios based in the Pacific region. Russell also chaired the Mainstream Assets Global Investment Committee and Global Strategic Research Committees. Prior to this, he spent six years in Mercer Australia as an investment consultant and head of Investment Research.
Job Titles:
- Head of Client and Market Development Where She Is Responsible for Client and Stakeholder Management
Sarah joined VFMC in September 2020 as Head of Client and Market Development where she is responsible for client and stakeholder management, market development, investment performance reporting and communications.
Sarah has more than 25 years' experience in financial services, investment management and trusteeship across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Prior to joining VFMC, Sarah spent 18 years with HSBC in a range of leadership positions across investments, wealth management and private banking, latterly running their Private Bank across Canada before joining ANZ in Melbourne in 2010. At ANZ, Sarah was the MD of ANZ Trustees. More recently she held the roles of Country CEO Cook Islands and Country COO Taiwan. Sarah's final role at ANZ was the Head of Group Services prior to assisting Latitude Financial Services to establish their customer remediation and conduct and culture programs.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Classics, Latin and Modern Greek from the University of Leeds, UK and studied Modern Greek at the University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Sarah is also an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.
Job Titles:
- Head of Investment Stewardship
Shali joined VFMC in May 2020, initially as Senior Portfolio Manager in the Equities team. She was appointed as VFMC's ongoing Head of Investment Stewardship in February 2022, having acted in the role since August 2021. As Head of Investment Stewardship, Shali is responsible for leading VFMC's Investment Stewardship and ESG activities.
Shali was previously the Head of Investments at CCI Asset Management managing their $2Bn investment portfolio and has more than 20 years market experience having previously worked in investment roles at Macquarie Bank, Aviva, Lonsec and IOOF Investment Management.
Stephen joined VFMC near the end of 2006 and was appointed Head of Infrastructure in September of 2023. Prior to this appointment, Stephen was a member of the VFMC Infrastructure Team from 2011 and before this was a member of the VFMC Private Markets and Client Services Teams.
Prior to joining VFMC, Stephen worked in the Funds Management industry in London in the position of Client Service Executive at Western Asset Management and Account Manager at Citigroup Asset Management.
Stephen has a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) and has also completed his Investment Management Certificate in the UK, Graduate Diploma of Finance and Investment from the SIA and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Stuart Birkett joined VFMC in August 2022 as Head of Equities.
Stuart joined VFMC from industry superannuation fund, HESTA, where he was responsible for managing the fund's International Equity and Active currency programs. He also previously managed HESTA's Australian Equity and Alternative Credit programs. Prior to this, Stuart spent over 7 years at Mercer as a Senior Portfolio Manager responsible for the equities programs and over 12 years in senior portfolio management and analyst roles at QIC.
Stuart has a Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance and Accounting), and a Master of Applied Finance.
Reporting directly to the CIO and sitting on the Investment Leadership Team, Talieh is responsible for the central coordination of all investment related functions of the fund (spanning investment strategy, asset allocation and portfolio performance) as well as a range of broader organisation-wide strategic initiatives.
Talieh has worked in investment management for over 15 years and was previously VFMC Head of Investment Stewardship until August 2021. Prior to that, Talieh spent over 11 years at UniSuper, where she developed and led its approach to ESG, investment stewardship and sustainable investment.
Job Titles:
- Director - Appointed June 2021
Tom Considine has extensive experience in infrastructure, commercial policy and strategy, public sector financial management and risk management.
He is a partner in the advisory and investment business with the Sayers Group. Prior to this, Tom held a number of executive roles in the public sector, including Interim CEO, Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Group Head, Advisory and Civic Infrastructure at Development Victoria, and Chief of Staff to the Treasurer of Victoria.
Tom holds a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Melbourne.
VFMC is saddened by the recent passing of financial innovator and respected former VFMC Board Director, Jack Diamond. Mr Diamond served on the VFMC Board for six years between May 2006 and May 2012. His long and varied career across asset consulting and in multiple, impactful roles in the...