In a busy month for appointments, the under-review superannuation and KiwiSaver industry body, Workplace Savings NZ (WSNZ) has plumped for a new chair as part of its triennial Council refreshment.
Under the Council reshuffle, WSNZ, currently in merger talks with fellow lobby group the Financial Services Council (FSC), named David Biegel as chair.
Biegel, head of compliance for the SBS Bank-owned Funds Administration NZ (FANZ), replaces Kerry Haycock in the role. However, Haycock remains on the WSNZ Council, which has seen a few resignations of long-term councillors including David Boyle, David Wallace, and Alister van der Maas.
Mercer’s Stephen Dunn and Noah Schiltknecht, from Russell Investments, have since filled two spots on the now nine-member Council.
Biegel, a WSNZ councillor since 2010, will be assisted by Guardian Trust’s Vanja Thomas, as deputy chair while ANZ head of wealth products, Ana-Marie Lockyer, continues her role as treasurer.
Last month WSNZ appointed former Financial Markets Authority head of external communications, Owen Gill, as executive director, replacing the long-serving Bruce Kerr. Gill, who also heads the FSC, is exploring a range of options for closer co-operation between the two industry groups, including a full merger.
In a member update last week, Biegel said the FSC talks were ongoing.
“Personally, I support closer working relationships with bodies that have similar interests to Workplace Savings, the key is how this would work,” he said in the update.
Meanwhile, award-winning NZ fintech firm, SuiteBox, has appointed two new directors including former AIG life insurance NZ and Australia chief, David Whyte, as chair.
Whyte is joined on the SuiteBox board by fellow NZ resident, Craig Anderson, an ex-pat Australian who founded Dual Insurance NZ. Anderson, who currently runs a consultancy firm, previously headed corporate and specialist risk for insurance firm QBE in NZ.
SuiteBox, which bills itself as a ‘virtual office’, is initially targeting financial advisory firms – from individual to institutional levels – in Australia and New Zealand.
The SuiteBox system, which allows advisers to interact with clients online (including signing legal documents and recording for compliance purposes), has won a number of global awards such as the mobile category in the KPMG Fintech Innovation Challenge this February.
Finally, the $2.3 billion Wellington-based boutique investment firm, Harbour Asset Management, has bumped up its marketing resources with the appointment of Sophie Parlane.
In a statement, Harbour said Parlane will take up the position of marketing coordinator.
“This appointment reflects the growth in Harbour’s business and our dedication to continually grow our client experience,” Harbour said in the release. “… Sophie has a background in communication, marketing, event management and content management. This experience will enable Sophie to immediately contribute to deepening Harbour’s relationship with our clients.”
Prior to joining Harbour, Parlane was project coordinator at the Young Enterprise Trust. She has BA from Victoria University in Wellington – majoring in social policy and political science as well as a minor in media studies – and is close to completing a post graduate diploma in business administration (communications).