JohnHamer, the head of master trust services atChallenger, has left the business after the first round of restructuring took place at the group in line with announcements made at its annual general meeting last year.
In leaving the group, Hamer is joined by a number of senior executives including the chief operating officer Gary Simon, general manager for investment banking Alistair Davidson and socially responsible investment (SRI) funds product manager Bill Hartnet.
News of their departures comes just one week after the Kerry Packer controlled CPH Investment Corp proposed a merger with the Challenger group.
The group will also close its Global Choice product range, which it launched in April 2001.
Hamer, who finished at Challenger earlier this month, says the changes were earmarked last year by company chairman Gil Hoskins. Since then, Challenger has focussed on its core businesses of funds management and annuities, and disposed of non-core assets and divisions.
Challenger’s successful annuities business recorded $466 million in sales to the end of November last year, while its Howard Mortgage Trust attracted inflows of $280 million for the year to October 31, 2002.
Hoskins said at the annual general meeting the changes would aim for a $20 million reduction from the operating budget over this calendar year.
Challenger head of funds management Kim White confirmed the departures and closures had taken place.
He added that in light of the comments made at the annual general meeting and the proposed merger with CPH Investment Corp, the group “was being robustly tested to ensure it was solid and profitable in the market”.
Hamer’s two year role at Challenger was his first in retail financial services and he says he is likely to return to the institutional side of the industry in a business development roll, but had yet to make a final decision.
