Apex Group NZ chief, Anthony Edmonds, is to step aside in favour of Donna Mason, who joined as head of the firm’s fund administration arm last year.
Edmonds will remain in a business development role “with a focus on sales and strategic growth opportunities” for the company among a raft of other leadership and board changes, according to a client note sent yesterday.
“This is a great endorsement of the work that Donna has done since she joined us at the beginning of the year,” Edmonds said in the client note.
“My focus will move to working on sales and growth opportunities, working alongside Nick Bradford and Nic Tait. This is an area that I have always enjoyed…”
Under the revamp, ex BNP Paribas Securities NZ head, Doug Cameron, comes aboard as chief operating officer while former executive director, Gareth Fleming, has been named in the same role for the wider Apex Asia-Pacific business.
Cameron left BNP Paribas after about 20 years at the custodian including the last eight as NZ country head.
Fleming moved to Sydney recently to work alongside Apex Asia-Pacific managing director, Nick Happell.
Meanwhile, Wellington-based Rebecca Palmer has joined various Apex boards as an executive director.
Palmer is “a key member of our director services team in the Caymans, and she will also work on strategic projects where needed”, the client note says.
“She worked in investment management auditing to a partner level in New York and has been a professional director on a large number of funds. She is also looking to complete a PhD in ESG investment management.”
The executive reshuffle comes amid a period of strong growth for Apex NZ including the launch of 22 new hosted funds in the first half of 2024 and the yet-to-be-approved purchase of the Trustees Executors unit-pricing and fund-accounting division.
“We have also welcomed Bank of China and Consilium as fund administration clients in the last few months,” the note says.
Mason, who formally takes the reins at the beginning of August, told clients the Apex NZ business was well-placed to take advantage of the group’s global capabilities to expand and improve service offerings.
“I have spent considerable time reviewing our strategy and how we evolve our service to deliver on what clients need from us in the future,” she said. “It is clear we need to stay ahead of the game in terms of our technology and how we provide data-driven solutions.”
The Bermuda-based Apex global group entered NZ in 2021 with the pre-Christmas purchase of fund administration pioneer, MMC. In 2022 Apex also snapped up the Wellington-headquartered fund-hosting and investment platform provider, Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS), founded by Edmonds.