Specialist consulting firm, Mosaic Financial Services Infrastructure, has appointed Nicole Buisson to its advisory board.
Buisson, who has held senior roles in various industries both in NZ and offshore, was until recently Xero NZ small business and platform director.
Prior to Xero she worked in several sectors including private equity, telecommunications and fintech.
In a release, Myles Allan, Mosaic founding partner, said Buisson would “bring further depth and fresh perspectives as the business continued to grow”.
“We are delighted to welcome Nicole to the board,” Allan said. “In particular, her experience in the FinTech sector is well aligned to both Mosaic’s strategic direction and that of our clients.”
Buisson returned to NZ in 2015 after a long career overseas that began with a venture capital role at the San Francisco arm of the firm now known as EY. She later worked for private equity manager 3i in the US, Hong Kong and the UK.
Back in NZ, Buisson served a stint at Vodafone as head of digital product and innovation before joining Xero. She also was on the advisory board of the government’s Small Business Council from September 2018 until the end of last year.
“I’m looking forward to using my business, investment and strategic skills to support Mosaic as it gears up for further growth,” she said. “As trends such as FinTech,
RegTech, digital transformation and the move to the cloud accelerate, financial services businesses will need guidance from independent sector specialists like Mosaic to help them make the most appropriate choices.”
Mosaic launched in 2010 to service the growing need for financial technology advice in NZ’s banking, insurance, broking and financial advisory sectors. With over 20 staff the firm is now the largest of its kind in NZ.
Elsewhere, Pie Funds founder, Mike Taylor, has returned to portfolio management duties following an 18-month hiatus.
According to the latest Pie monthly newsletter, Taylor has stepped in to run the manager’s conservative fund as it switches to a new investment strategy.
Earlier in August, Pie changed the conservative product asset allocation settings from 80/20 split between in-house funds and term deposits to a more diversified approach. Under the new conservative model, Pie will invest in about 20 direct equities plus a range of fixed income instruments covering “government bonds, corporate bonds and high yield, as well as retaining some term deposits”, the newsletter says.
“I will be overseeing the implementation of the revised strategy,” Taylor says in the publication. “I will also be drawing on the experience of our Wealth team which includes Simon Hepple and James Paterson, to ensure this product is designed and managed in accordance with our clients’ needs.”
It is understood Bianca Fledderus, who was co portfolio manager on the conservative fund, has recently left the business.
Taylor stepped away from most portfolio management affairs in March 2019 to focus on his chief executive role. He remained as portfolio manager for the Pie multi-strategy fund, which closed last November after a run of poor performance.