Mint Asset Management has hired Gretchen Drake for the newly created role of head of investment operations as the boutique business continues to expand.
Drake will support Mint chief operating officer, Simon Haworth, in an operations team than also includes Gina Delgado and Matt Kenward.
She returned to NZ recently following a seven-year stint in the UK, most recently serving as head of investment accounting and settlements for the J Rothschild Capital Management business, a subsidiary of listed investment trust, RIT Capital.
“During this role she gained experience overseeing back office operations and fund accounting with exposure to a variety of investments, both listed and private across international markets,” a Mint statement says.
Previously, Drake spent six months in a legal entity control role with Goldman Sachs in London after more than three years as a senior accountant with Staples Rodway in Auckland.
Based in Auckland, Mint – now part of the Amplifi group – manages almost $2 billion.
Elsewhere, Public Trust head of corporate trustee services, Andrew Hughes, resigned last week, ending an almost three-year term with the government-owned supervisor.
Hughes joined PT in 2019 following a short turn as chief financial officer for a privately owned retail company and more than 15 years in senior roles for Japanese loan-servicing firm, Capital Services Group, based in Tokyo. Before moving to Japan in 2002 he was national manager of corporate services and CFO for Trustees Executors.
In a note to clients, Hughes said: “The decision has been a difficult one to make, as I have thoroughly enjoyed my last three years with the organisation, but now is the right time for me to consider other opportunities.”
He will leave Public Trust at the end of June with David Callanan, chief legal and risk officer, to assume his duties in the interim.
“I know that you will be in good hands with David with the support of the existing CTS leadership team,” Hughes said.
Public Trust has about $100 billion in assets under supervision.
Across the Tasman, the ASX-listed investment manager, Pendal, has named Peter Lambos as head of institutional business for Australia and NZ.
Lambos has held institutional sales roles with Pendal dating back almost 16 years to when the-then Westpac-owned firm was known as BT Investment Management.
He replaces Nicki Ashton who took up a senior relationship manager position at Citi Australia in April.
Pendal, which manages about A$125 billion, was recently the subject of a takeover bid by fellow storied Australian fund manager, Perpetual.