Industry musical chairs never stop
The turnover of industry names in 2002 was one of the biggest in recent years and it seemed unlikely to be repeated, but 2003 has not disappointed.
In fact, since November 2002, the last timeMoney Managementpublished a round-up of the major industry moves, more than 160 senior executives in funds management, research and financial planning have changed roles, with another 200 positions in middle management being filled either internally or externally.
The biggest moves to close out last year were the sudden departure ofMorningstar’s head of research Daisy Chee, Mark Rantall moving from Stockford to head upGodfrey Pembroke, which in hindsight has been a good move, and Nick Basile heading up St George’s investment management division after doing similar work at the Commonwealth Bank.
The new year got off to a big name start when in January Chris Cuffe confirmed his plans to leaveColonial First Stateand move toCPH Investment Management, which was closely tied to theChallenger Internationalgroup.
The move was not just a good one for Cuffe, who will gain the top job as chief executive if Challenger is successful in corporatising its structure, but also for a number of his colleagues at Colonial.
Cuffe has over the past 10 months put the band back together and today has a host of Colonial staff working with him again, including Rob Adams who was lured back from the UK to work at Challenger.
Towerbegan to put an end to months of uncertainty about its future with Jim Minto confirmed in the chief role after moving across from the New Zealand operation. Stephen Robertson also joined the group, heading up its sales division after finishing with Citigroup some months before.
In a surprise move,INGhead of advice Mike Goodall went back to his roots heading up a Millenium 3 financial planning practice. He was replaced by Tony Hartley in February.
That month also saw John Pearce take over the big chair from Cuffe at Colonial, moving from investments general manager, while Paul van Rooyen stepped away from the Colonial group after only a handful of months working as head of retail distribution.
Anthony Serhan, who leftAssirtin August 2002, re-emerged at Morningstar as head of consulting and was joined the following month byIOOF’s Geof Marsh who took on the national account executive role.
Michael Parsons and Paul Kofod both moved into private banking roles in April, shifting fromInvescoto Deutsche Bank and St George to the Commonwealth Bank respectively, while Rob Garnsworthy called it quits atNorwichand retired from the role of chief executive.
Industry stalwarts Bill Ireland and Graham Bradley both made news in May for different reasons with Ireland joining Australian Assets Corporation as managing director and Bradley stepping away from that role atPerpetual.
Westpacnamed Scott Walters as its new head of financial planning in May also, filling the space vacated by Brett Himbury earlier in the year. Himbury now heads up the Commonwealth’s distribution arm, having signed on in September.
Westpac’s newest addition,BT, bid farewell to head of wrap distribution Sean West and product innovation director Peter Horne, who went to Sealcorp and JDV respectively.
Marc Mengler followed the lead of Garnsworthy and left the role ofNavigatormanaging director in July, while Paul Bedbrook returned from heading up theINGbusiness in Canada to lead the local arm of the group.
Jim McKay’s move fromJB Werehead of retail to Synergy managing director opened the way for Gordon Thoms to succeed McKay, while Ben Bruck took over from David Deverall at Macquarie after the latter moved to Perpetual, taking over from Bradley.
Perennialmanaging director Ian Macoun stepped down from his role in September after the group moved to change its structure, while Ian Knox added to theSealcorpmoves with his exit last month.
October was also the month Ken Breakspear quit as chief executive after 15 years with theFinancial Planning Associationand KimWhite stepped away fromGarrisons, the dealer group he had led for the past 18 months.
This month, Rohan Mead and George Haramis re-established their place in the market with Mead heading toAustralian Unityafter leaving Perpetual and Haramis heading up ING’sRetireInvestdealer group — both after a time away from the market.
And it isn’t going to stop.AMPhead of retail distribution Krystyna Weston will finish with AMP at the end of this year before unveiling her own business in 2004, opening the way for ex-Perpetual staffer Andrew Keay to take on that role.
As the table shows, this year has not only seen high turnover but people being employed from varying backgrounds as industry players seek to find a competitive edge. If you have business cards for these people it may be worth keeping them, not because of their accuracy but their historical value. If they get past three years and the details are still the same, consider them a long-term stayer.
AUTHOR
Jason Spits
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