MMC chief, Vedran Babic, is to leave the business at the end of September with chief operating officer, Renée Tourell, stepping into the top role as the firm rebrands as Apex Group NZ.
In a release this afternoon (Wednesday, August 24), Apex confirmed Babic would finish up at the end of next month just over two years after assuming the top role.
He joined the-then MMC in February 2020 following a stint as chief operating officer for Fisher Funds.
The global investment administration firm, Apex Group, bought MMC last December for an undisclosed sum.
MMC has about $100 billion in funds under administration across KiwiSaver and other investments while also running the wealth management platform formerly known as Aegis.
Babic said in the statement: “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead MMC and to grow and work with an incredible team and numerous clients. MMC is a unique New Zealand success story that will continue to go from strength to strength as part of the Apex Group and under Renee’s leadership. I will be working closely with Renee in the upcoming weeks to ensure a seamless transition.”
Tourell joined MMC this April from Auckland legal firm, Meredith Connell, where she served as chief operating officer.
Peter Hughes, Apex Group global chief, said Babic had helped cement MMC as NZ’s “leading provider of investment administration services, underpinned by a collaborative culture, focused on achieving positive outcomes for clients”.
“We look forward to working with Renée to drive continued growth in the New Zealand investment market, and the opportunities that Apex Group’s single-source solution will create for our clients to access new markets through our globally connected operating model,” Hughes said.
Based in Bermuda, Apex has about 80 offices across 40 countries including in Australia where it acquired the investment administration firm Mainstream last year just before the MMC deal.