Platinum Asset Management has confirmed the new successor for Andrew Clifford as chief executive and managing director.
It was announced in August that Clifford, who co-founded the business in 1994, would be stepping down after five years as CEO, although he will remain as co-chief investment officer.
In an ASX announcement, the fund manager said it has now appointed Jeff Peters from the US to step into his role.
He is expected to start once his work visa is approved but the firm noted if this was delayed beyond 31 March 2024, his offer may be withdrawn. His fixed remuneration is $1 million plus long and short-term incentives.
Peters has a long history in fund management, spending 10 years as managing director and head of global institutional business at Columbia Threadneedle and eight years at Putnam Investments including as senior managing director and head of international business.
Prior to this, he ran the asset management practice at McKinsey.
Peters said: “I’ve long respected Platinum through my prior work dealing with Australia. I’m excited by the leadership opportunity presented to me; Platinum has excellent foundations and an admired culture that has been built on the back of a differentiated investment approach and strong client focus. I’m keen to work with the team to see the company through its next growth phase.”
There will also a board restructure at the company as Clifford, Elizabeth Norman and Andrew Stannard will step down.
They will remain in their respective roles at the business, reporting to Peters, but no longer sit on the board.
Platinum said this decision had been taken as its structure had previously been driven by Clifford’s dual CEO and CIO roles.
“Jeff’s appointment is an opportune time to revisit the board structure, which has been largely driven by the combined CEO and CIO roles. Now that these roles have been separated, it is appropriate to restructure the board’s composition so that it aligns more closely to that of other listed companies in Australia.”
