Challenger beefs up

Challenger International has gone a recruitment spree, luring industry notables Jamie Kelly away from a 12 year career with Mercantile Mutual and Sharon Knightley from two years with Resnik’s ProQuest.

Challenger International has gone a recruitment spree, luring industry notables Jamie Kelly away from a 12 year career with Mercantile Mutual and Sharon Knightley from two years with Resnik’s ProQuest.

Kelly says his parting with Mercantile Mutual was completely amicable and was prompted purely by a desire to spend more time with his family.

He describes his new role as around 70 per cent business development and around 30 per cent “strategic”.

“That means I’m advising on product, the structure of distribution and compliance and training,” he says.

Kelly’s 17 year history in the industry began with the Commonwealth Bank in 1983. He went to work for Mercantile Mutual in 1988 when the funds management team numbered 34. Mercantile Mutual now has a funds management team of 900. Kelly has also held prominent positions with the Financial Planning Association, taking on the task of Treasurer for last year’s Sydney convention.

Sharon Knightley describes her new role with Challenger as business development with a difference. “I will be implementing new client management and sales databases, and building communication strategies using the Internet,” she says.

Challenger has also recruited Paula Parsons, who was previously with Colonial and Helene Cleare from St George Margin Lending.