Mercer NZ sales chiefs have an extra trans-Tasman reporting line after the investment consulting and multi-management firm established a new Australian-based “leadership position” last week.
According to a Mercer spokesperson, current “investments and financial services sales leaders in Australia and New Zealand” will report to Brian Zanker, who takes on the new head of sales role.
“The sales leaders will also report to their respective business and country leaders,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement, Mercer said it created Zanker’s role to “build on recent sales success in its financial services and investments businesses in Australia and New Zealand”.
Ben Walsh, Mercer Pacific head, said Zanker would “help us communicate” the firm’s retooled superannuation admin and investment products in both markets.
“Recent product and platform developments for Mercer have resulted in a significantly enhanced and scalable super fund administration and customer experience capability, and some very attractive investment products,” Walsh said in the statement.
The Mercer spokesperson said in New Zealand the group has released a range of new services over the past two years including an upgraded super fund member registry system as well as integrating the global customer relationship management software, Salesforce, in its processes.
Mercer NZ has also recently constructed a KiwiSaver website “built specifically for mobiles, contextualised for individual members”, the spokesperson said.
In June Mercer also adopted Bravura’s new ‘Sonata’ fund administration platform for its Australasian products, including KiwiSaver.
Zanker comes to Mercer after an almost 30-year career in the Australian financial services industry, including a string of roles with National Australia Bank-owned subsidiaries, JANA Investment Advisers, Plum Financial Services and MLC Group Insurance.
Meanwhile, AMP Capital has named Adam Tindall as replacement for retiring chief executive, Stephen Dunne. Tindall, currently AMP Capital chief investment officer property, will assume the role this October.
Dunne, who announced his retirement in May after more than a decade in the job, would help Tindall during a brief transition period, AMP Capital said in a statement.
Prior to joining AMP Capital in 2009, Tindall worked in senior property investment positions at Macquarie and Lend Lease.