Magellan names interim CFO amid search process



As Magellan Financial Group continues its search for a permanent chief financial officer, it has looked internally for an interim replacement.
In an ASX announcement last November, Magellan confirmed that Kirsten Morton had resigned from her position as CFO and COO, which she held for more than 11 years.
Morton first joined Magellan in 2013 and also served as interim CEO between December 2021 and July 2022.
The asset manager stated that she would continue in her role until the end of 2024 as it commenced a search process for a replacement and would “keep the market updated on progress as appropriate”.
On 14 January 2025, Magellan announced that it has appointed its deputy CFO Michelle Mutchnik as interim CFO in replacement of Morton, commencing on 24 January.
Mutchnik first joined the firm in December 2020 as a group financial controller and went on to hold the deputy CFO role from June 2022.
“Magellan continues its search for a new permanent chief financial officer and will keep the market updated on progress as appropriate,” it stated.
Mutchnik previously spent more than six years at Origin Energy and over a decade at KPMG in both the US and Australia.
Commenting on Morton’s departure in November 2024, executive chairman Andrew Formica said: “Kirsten has been instrumental to the company and its senior management team since she joined Magellan in June 2013.
“In particular, Kirsten provided outstanding leadership and stability when she stepped into the role of interim chief executive officer from December 2021 until July 2022. The board is grateful to Kirsten for her immeasurable contribution to Magellan over many years and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours.”
Prior to her decade-long tenure at Magellan, Morton spent over two years at Colonial First State Global Asset Management, now named First Sentier Investors, as its head of finance for property.
Earlier this month, Magellan announced its funds under management (FUM) update for the final month of 2024.
The investment manager saw its FUM decrease from $39.1 billion in November to $38.6 billion in December. It experienced net outflows of $0.4 billion during the month, equally divided between $0.2 billion each in retail and institutional channels. December’s total outflows were unchanged from the previous month.
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