COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENTS LIMITED - Key Persons


Anthony Lane - Chief Risk Officer

Job Titles:
  • Chief Risk Officer
  • CFS Group Chief Risk Officer
Anthony is the Chief Risk Officer for Colonial First State and is responsible for enterprise-wide risk management and the Office of the Trustee, amongst other functions. Anthony has over 25 years' experience in wealth management and corporate development. He has held executive positions at National Australia Bank and Westpac. Anthony has also held domestic, regional and global general management positions in Mercer's investments and superannuation business. At Mercer he led teams in UK/Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Anthony also has experience as a corporate lawyer specialising in M&A and financial services law. Anthony has degrees in Law and Commerce and a Masters of Law degree, all awarded by the University of New South Wales, and Graduate Diplomas in Legal Practice and Applied Finance & Investment. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has served as a director of various entities since 1999.

Ben Heap

Job Titles:
  • Independent Non - Executive Director
  • Founding Partner of H2 Ventures
  • Independent Non - Executive Director of Avanteos Investments Limited
Ben Heap has wide-ranging experience and expertise in asset and capital management as well as financial technology and digital businesses. Ben is a founding partner of H2 Ventures, a financial technology, data and artificial intelligence focused venture capital investment firm and a non-executive director of The Star Entertainment Group Limited and Pendal Group Limited. He is also a non-executive Chair and Director of CBA New Digital Businesses Pty Limited, a non-executive director of Gymnastics Australia, a Director of Red Bubble Limited, Complectus Limited and a Director of Mud Australia Pty Limited. He is also a member of the Australian Commonwealth Government's Fintech Advisory Group. Ben was previously Managing Director and the Head of Australasia for UBS Global Asset Management and prior to this, Head of Infrastructure for UBS Global Asset Management in the Americas. He held a number of directorships associated with these roles and was a non-executive director of the Financial Services Council. Ben is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Avanteos Investments Limited (AIL). He is also Chairman of the AIL Board Investment Committee and a member of the AIL Board Audit and Risk Committee.

Bryce Quirk

Job Titles:
  • Chief Distribution Officer
Bryce Quirk is the Chief Distribution Officer responsible for managing the distribution of CFS products and services through the external intermediated Channels. Formerly he was General Manager, Advice Relationships for CFS. Prior to joining CFS, Bryce was Head of Account Management at BT Financial Group. Bryce has also held other executive management roles within BT Financial Group specialising in Product Distribution, Account Management and Project Execution. Bryce holds a Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin University.

Darren McKenzie - COO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer
Darren McKenzie is the Chief Operating Officer for Colonial First State, and is responsible for driving the Digital transformation of CFS. He has accountability for technology, operations and program management with a mandate to drive the digitisation of our future business end-to- end. Prior to joining CFS, Darren was the Chief Technology and Operations Officer at MLC. He led the technology and operations functions that were tasked with separating MLC from NAB. Darren spent time as the Chief Operating Officer UK & International at RSA Insurance. Darren also spent six years as Chief Information Officer at Banco Santander and three years as Chief Information Officer for Alliance & Leicester.

Gregory Cooper - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Independent Non - Executive Director
  • Deputy Chairman and Director of the Financial Services Council
Greg Cooper has considerable experience across Australia, the UK and Asia in Financial Services, with Investment industry experience spanning over 26 years.

Jo-Anne Bloch

Job Titles:
  • Independent Non - Executive Director
  • Director of Avanteos Investments Limited
Jo-Anne Bloch's career has been predominantly in financial services spanning financial advice, insurance, investment, benefit administration and education, in roles such as sales, marketing, product development and product management, business leadership and innovation. Jo-Anne was most recently at Mercer where she was a Senior Partner and Business Leader, responsible for Mercer's Superannuation Services segment. Jo-Anne has worked for Mercer in Australia as head of the newly acquired Pillar Administration Services business and Head of Financial Advice, in the UK in product development, and in the US as Global Head of Mercer's Innovation Hub. Prior to joining Mercer Jo-Anne was Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA). Jo-Anne has served on numerous boards and advisory committees supporting the needs of women, working for government-based agencies in financial services, pensions and retirement, and for not-for-profit groups in financial literacy and mentoring. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has been a mentor with the Cherie Blair Foundation and now Mentor Walks. Jo-Anne is a graduate of the University of NSW and has completed Foundations in Financial Planning, along with being an accredited Design Thinking facilitator. Jo-Anne is a Director of Avanteos Investments Limited (AIL). She is also a member of the AIL Board Investment Committee and Chairman of the AIL Board Audit and Risk Committee.

John Brogden

Job Titles:
  • Independent Non - Executive Director
  • Non - Executive Director
John Brogden has extensive experience as a non-executive director and a deep understanding of superannuation gained during his career spanning the private and public sectors. John was appointed as the Independent Chair of AusPayNet (the Australian Payments Network) in January 2022 and in February 2022 joined the Board of Colonial First State (CFS) Superannuation Fund and Avanteos Investments Limited (AIL). In January 2012 John was appointed the Chairman of the NSW Government State Owned Corporation Landcom and was its CEO from May 2018 to April 2022. From 2015 to 2017, John was the Managing Director & CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Prior to this, he was CEO of the Financial Services Council from 2009 to 2015 and CEO of Manchester Unity from 2006 to 2008. John is the President of LifeLine International and Patron of Lifeline Australia, serving as its Chairman from 2012 to 2021. He is a leading international advocate for suicide prevention. From 1996 to 2005, John was the Member for Pittwater in the NSW Parliament. In 2002, he was elected Leader of the Opposition - the youngest person ever to lead a major political party in Australia. In January 2014, John was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the community. He holds a Masters of Public Affairs from the University of Sydney and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. John is a Director of Avanteos Investments Limited (AIL). He is also a member of the AIL Board Audit and Risk Committee.

Joshua Grace

Job Titles:
  • Chief Customer Officer
Josh joined Colonial First State in April 2022, tasked with refreshing the Brand & Marketing Strategy. He was promoted to Chief Customer Officer in July 2022 and is accountable for all aspects of CFS's Customer Experience for both business to business and business to customer, including: brand and marketing strategy and execution, customer retention and engagement, customer analytics, customer advocacy and complaints. Prior to CFS, Josh led the transformation of the marketing function at Samsung Australia as their Chief Marketing Officer. He drove significant improvements to the Samsung brand and sales growth in a highly competitive retail market. Josh also has an agency background of over 20 years, and previously worked closely with CFS leading the account agency side for 8 years. He re-joins CFS with a great understanding of the business and industry. In 2020, Josh was named the B&T Marketer of the Year and placed #20 in CMO50. He has a Bachelor of Business degree, majoring in Marketing and Finance.

Kelly Power - CEO

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Member of the Executive Leadership Team
  • CFS As General Manager Product
  • Chief Executive Officer of Colonial First State Superannuation and Executive Director of the Trustee Board
  • Director of the CFS Superannuation Trustee Board
Kelly Power was appointed CEO Colonial First State Superannuation in July 2021. This role is accountable for oversight of the superannuation business, including as a member of the Trustee Board. In this role Kelly is also responsible for investments, product and strategy. Kelly joined CFS as General Manager Product in 2018, adding marketing and strategy and responsibility for the Wrap business in October 2020. Prior to joining Colonial First State, Kelly was the Head of Platforms at BT Financial Group. Kelly held a number of other executive management roles at BT. Kelly holds a Bachelor in Communications from UTS, a Diploma of Management from the Australian Institute of Management, a Diploma of Financial Services from Integratec and has also completed the Company Directors course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Kelly is a Director of the CFS Superannuation Trustee board and a representative on the Financial Services Council's Superannuation Board Committee and is a Director of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.

Martin Codina

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Leadership Team
  • Group Executive Strategy, Reputation and Corporate Affairs
Martin Codina is Group Executive Strategy, Reputation and Corporate Affairs for Colonial First State. He is responsible for leading our business and strategic planning processes, government, regulatory, industry and media relations as well as internal and external communications. Martin is also responsible for CFS' Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy. Martin's professional career has spanned both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining CFS, Martin was Chief of Staff to the former Federal Treasurer and he has also held senior leadership roles at BT Financial Group and the Financial Services Council. Martin holds an Economics and Law degree from the Australian National University.

Rob Coombe - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Executive Chairman
  • Member of the Executive Leadership Team
  • Board Director of CIMB Group
Rob is currently Executive Chairman-Elect of Colonial First State, he joined the group in April 2021. In addition, he is Chairman of Generation Development Group (previously Executive Chair 2017-2020) an ASX listed financial services company, which owns Generation Life, Ascalon Capital and operates a Pooled Development Fund licence. Rob also chairs Tibra Capital, a privately owned global multi strategy hedge fund business and Expert360, Australia's leading online talent market place. In addition to the above Chairmanships, Rob is a main board Director of CIMB Group, one of the largest universal banks in the ASEAN region with operations in each of the 10 ASEAN countries. He is also the Board's sustainability sponsor and Chair. On top of Rob's commercial interests, he is a founding Director and Deputy Chair of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) and Deputy Chairman of Surfing Australia. Between 2013 and 2019, Rob was firstly CEO (2013-2017) then Chairman of Craveable Brands, the largest Australian owned Quick Service Restaurant business. Rob's tenure with this business was during its ownership by Archer Capital and culminated in a successful exit to PAG in August 2019. Before joining Craveable Brands, Rob was responsible for all of Westpac's Retail, Business and Agri banking operations. Prior to this role, Rob spent six years as the CEO of BT Financial Group, responsible for all of Westpac's funds management, financial planning, insurance, private banking, broking, platform and superannuation businesses in Australia. In total, he has close to 40 years of corporate experience in both Australia and Asia, primarily in financial services. He has had extensive experience on the boards of both listed and private companies. In 2011, Rob was awarded the prestigious UTS Alumni of the Year for Excellence in recognition of his achievements in the business community and social sector.

Shenaz Waples - CHRO

Job Titles:
  • Chief People Officer
Shenaz joined Colonial First State (CFS) as the Chief People Officer in July 2021. She is accountable for all aspects of human resource management, including culture and leadership, learning and development, talent management and performance and reward. Shenaz has over 25 years of experience in Banking and Financial Services in a variety of leadership roles, both in leading large business teams and for the past 15 years leading Human Resources teams. Prior to joining CFS, Shenaz was the Chief Human Resources Officer at MLC Australia. Shenaz also held a number of senior executive roles at the Westpac Group, including leading the Human resources strategy and HR transformation programs across the Westpac Group. Shenaz's formal qualifications include eMBA (UNSW) with Distinction, completing the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course (AICD), Global General Managers Program at Insead (Fontainbleau) and the Strategic IQ program at Harvard. Shenaz served as a Director of the MLC Wealth Board and has also held Board positions on several not for profit Boards, most recently as a Director of the Women's Community Shelter Board.

Tania Foster

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Leadership Team
  • Group Executive, Finance and Fund Services
  • Group Executive, Finance and Funds Services
Tania was appointed Group Executive, Finance and Funds Services in October 2022. Tania is accountable for all financial and statutory reporting, treasury, tax, payroll, procurement and fund services activities. Tania has more than 30 years of experience across numerous regions and industries, including agriculture, mining, manufacturing, accounting, transport, engineering, utilities, payments and financial services. Prior to joining CFS Tania's most recent role was CFO of ASX listed Elders Ltd within the agriculture sector. Tania has also held a number of senior roles at NAB and ANZ across a broad range of functions including finance, product and sales management, transformation, data and operations. Tania holds an MBA (Melbourne Business School) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Deakin). She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA), and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course (AICD). Tania has previously served as director and chair of the BPAY Board and chair of Port Philip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority (Victorian government board).