Count CFO to depart
Count chief financial and operating officer, Laurent Toussaint, will depart the firm in September after five years.
The firm has commenced an executive search process for a new CFO.
Toussaint will remain at Count until the end of September to ensure a smooth transition and deliver the firm’s financial year results then depart to join Mason Stevens as chief financial officer. He will also join the Mason Stevens executive committee.
He will succeed Wayne Twomey who will be retiring from Mason Stevens.
He joined Count in 2018 as chief financial officer and also spent six months as its interim CEO prior to the appointment of Hugh Humphrey. He was then appointed to chief financial and operating officer in July 2022.
As well as his work at Count, Toussaint has held non-executive director roles at actuarial firm Accurium and accounting and tax advice firm AdviceCo until March 2023.
Humphrey said: “The board of Count and I would like to sincerely thank Laurent for his significant contribution to the company’s success since joining the group in 2018. Personally, I am very grateful for his service and outstanding support to me in my time as CEO.”
Toussaint said: “I would like to thank Hugh, the board, and the entire team at Count for the opportunity to work in the company for the last five and half years. While the time is right for a new and different challenge, I am very proud of the role I played in Count’s success and remain a vocal advocate of the company.”
Tim Yule, chief executive at Mason Stevens, added: "Laurent’s strategic guidance and financial acumen, coupled with his track record of providing effective leadership, and experience in the IT and wealth sectors, made him a perfect fit for Mason Stevens. We’ve set our sights on ambitious growth targets and the CFO is an important part of that journey."
Last month, Count welcomed private equity specialist Tim Martin to its board as a non-executive director.
As part of the move, Martin will chair the firm’s acquisitions committee and be a member of its technology and innovation committee and the remuneration and nominations committee.
He previously spent 11 years as a partner at private equity investment firm Crescent Capital Partners and 12 years at consulting firm Bain & Company. Martin had previously served two terms as a director on the Australian Investment Council.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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