After fifteen years with the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, the manager of the $60b NZ Super Fund, Chief Executive Officer Matt Whineray has advised the Board that he has decided to resign and will leave at the end of the year.
Catherine Drayton, Chair of the Guardians, thanked Mr Whineray for his service to the Guardians: “Matt is a values-led CEO, for whom the long-term goal of the NZ Super Fund, to smooth the cost of superannuation between today’s taxpayers and future generations, has always been front of mind. His legacy will be his commitment to high performance, his commitment to our people and his commitment to sustainable investment. He will be sorely missed.
”In his five years as CEO, and previously as Chief Investment Officer, Matt has presided over significant growth in the NZ Super Fund, well in excess of our investment performance benchmarks. Earlier this week the Fund was recognised by Global SWF as the best-performing sovereign investor globally, over the last 10 years.”
Announcing his decision, Mr Whineray says he feels privileged to have worked with such a talented and committed team to develop the Guardians into a world class investor, generating significant value for current and future New Zealanders.
“I am proud of our team’s stewardship of the NZ Super Fund, which has seen global recognition for the Fund’s strong investment performance, our work in responsible investing, and reporting and transparency. This success is the result of the combined efforts of all members of the Guardians’ team and the Board over many years.”
“With a strong workplace culture developed by successive leaders and a clear purpose – sustainable investment delivering strong returns for all New Zealanders – the Guardians has successfully met the many challenges it has faced as a long term investor over its first 20 years. I am confident that the team is well placed to meet new challenges – and take advantage of new opportunities – as they arise.”
Mr Whineray will be working with the Board over the remainder of the year to lead a number of significant current programmes of work which, with the Fund expected to double in size to more than $120 billion in the next decade, aim to set the Guardians up for a new phase in its evolution.
Mr Whineray will be finishing before Christmas, and then taking some time out to consider what next.
“The Board appreciates Matt’s preparedness to stay through to Christmas as we search for his replacement.”
The Board will begin the process to find that replacement shortly.
