Veteran FNZ executive and director, Charlie Trotter, has stepped down from a key board role for the mega global investment technology firm.
Trotter officially left the board of FNZ Group on April 1 in a move notified early in May. FNZ Group houses the main global reporting entity that re-domiciled in NZ in 2022.
The global business is currently facing an employee legal challenge over an equity overhaul that allegedly dilutes staff shareholders to the tune of US$4.5 billion in favour of institutional owners.
Trotter was one of four director signatories missing out of a-then 14 board members from a formal FNZ Group certificate approving the most recent equity reshuffle on April 6: fellow NZ-based director, Charlotte Boyer, along with FNZ founder, Adrian Durham, and independent director, Antonio Lorenzo, also skipped the signing.
A group of FNZ staff shareholders, understood to represent 300 or so employees, has hired law firm, Meredith Connell, to file legal proceedings this month, barring an out-of-court settlement.
Trotter joined FNZ in 2005 in a client services role, subsequently filling several senior positions including head of the NZ business for more than seven years until September 2020.
He remains as director on several associated FNZ companies.
FNZ last reported about US$1.7 trillion of global funds under administration.
Elsewhere, Booster has lured Geoff Romjin from NZ private equity firm, Pencarrow, as direct investments associate director.
Romjin spent the last six-and-a-half years at Pencarrow in senior investment roles following two shifts at Deloitte broken by a short two-month spell at Z Energy.
He joins former Z Energy and Macquarie director, Nicholas Williams, on the growing Booster private asset team. Williams was named as Booster head of direct investments last year.
In his new role, Romjin has prime responsibilities for the Booster Private Land and Property Fund – a real estate portfolio targeting the NZ agriculture and horticulture sectors.
Recently appointed Booster chief, Diana Papadopoulos, said in a release that the “property fund is in its next phase to further diversify and grow its investments”.
Last year, for example, the fund bought a “large-scale logistics warehouse in Canterbury”, according to the Booster statement.
Booster is also facing a Financial Markets Authority (FMA) civil action over alleged governance breaches over certain wine-based investments in a landmark case slated for early 2027.
The Wellington-headquartered investment firm has more than $7 billion under management including $5.4 billion in its KiwiSaver scheme: Booster is one of six default providers.
Meanwhile, MAS – the health industry mutual formerly known as the Medical Assurance Society – has settled on Jo McCauley to assume the chief executive job as at August this year.
McCauley will take the reins from, Suzanne Wotton, who replaced Jason McCracken last April. McCracken also served about a year atop MAS after taking over from long-time CEO, Martin Stokes in March 2023.
McCauley will come to MAS after an eight-year career at Southern Cross Travel Insurance including the last four years as chief. Previously, she held senior marketing roles with GE Capital, Southern Cross Health as well as with two financial institutions in Scotland, HBOS and Tesco Bank.
MAS has more than $2 billion of assets under management across its insurance, superannuation and KiwiSaver funds – the latter reporting $1.4 billion at the end of March.