GQG & MA Financial announce senior people moves



GQG Partners’ chief financial officer is set to depart, while MA Financial has welcomed a new independent non-executive director to its board.
In an ASX statement on 3 March, GQG announced its chief financial officer Melodie Zakaluk has submitted notice to the company that she will retire on 1 January 2026.
Zakaluk has held the Florida-based position for nearly nine years, having first joined GQG in late 2016. Prior to this, she also served in senior roles at Rainier Investment Management and Russell Investments.
GQG stated it will work towards the smooth transition of Zakaluk’s responsibilities to a successor over the coming months, who will be appointed and announced in due course.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude for Melodie’s dedication, acumen and tireless work ethic over her nine years at GQG,” said Tim Carver, chief executive of GQG.
“She has been instrumental in every step of our development from a true start-up, through our IPO to the global, listed company we are today. I speak for all of us in wishing her the absolute best for her retirement next year.”
Announcing its full-year results for 2024 last month, the fund manager reported net flows of US$20.2 billion, double the size of the US$10 billion it saw in net flows for 2023. GQG saw its funds under management rise 26.9 per cent from US$120.6 billion at the end of 2023 to US$153 billion by the end of December 2024.
In a separate ASX announcement on the same day, MA Financial Group confirmed the appointment of Cathy Yuncken to its board as an independent non-executive director.
She will also join the board’s audit and risk committee with immediate effect, the alternative asset manager said.
Yuncken brings more than 30 years of commercial and executive leadership experience in the financial services industry. She is currently a non-executive director on the board of State Super (SAS Trustee Corporation) and a non-executive director of FleetPartners Group.
She previously held several general manager roles at Westpac Group, St George Bank, and Commonwealth Bank, as well as investment banking roles at Bank of America and Barclays Capital.
“I am delighted to welcome Cathy to the board of MA Financial. Cathy brings exceptional experience to the group through the roles that she has held as both a director and executive across a broad range of financial services,” said Jeffrey Browne, MA Financial chair.
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