FSI welcomes COO from Perpetual

First Sentier Investors (FSI) has appointed a new chief operating officer (COO), who departs from Perpetual as a replacement COO joins the investment manager.

Amanda Gazal has left Perpetual as its COO and chief integration officer after joining nearly four years ago.

Her time at the firm included assisting with Perpetual’s acquisition of Pendal Group in January 2023, resulting in a $200 billion fund manager.

The executive holds more than two decades of asset management and investment banking experience. Prior to her positions at Perpetual, Gazal worked at asset manager DWP Group, which is majority-owned by Deutsche Bank. 

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At the firm, she held the Singapore-based role of COO for Asia Pacific distribution and Singapore COO. Gazal also worked at Credit Suisse in London as chief operating officer of the European Emerging Market Debt Trading desk.

In her new Sydney-based role as COO of FSI, Gazal will oversee the firm’s daily operations and drive operational efficiencies alongside the executive leadership team to underpin the organisation’s growth vision.

She will also lead numerous departments, such as global operations, IT, data management, the project management office and supplier management. Gazal will commence in February 2024, taking over from interim COO Gary Cotton.

Mark Steinberg, FSI chief executive, welcomed Gazal to the team, stating: “Amanda’s proven track record of driving operational excellence and her strong leadership skills make her the ideal candidate to lead our operations as we continue to grow our business.”

Regarding her appointment, Gazal said: “I am very much looking forward to working with the executive leadership team and more broadly with the talented team at First Sentier Investors and to be part of the organisation’s continued growth journey.”

Following Gazal’s departure from Perpetual, the investment manager has appointed Craig Squires as its new COO. He will also take on the expanded role of leading the integration program of Pendal Group.

Squires joined Perpetual in March 2022 as a chief technology officer and is currently its deputy COO. 

With more than 35 years’ experience in financial services, he has held senior roles at firms such as Challenger, Barclays Global Investors, MLC Group and Westpac. 

“As we approach the midpoint of our two-year integration program, moving the integration oversight to the responsibility of our chief operating officer is an important milestone and will continue to enable long-term operational decisions to deliver the full synergy target of $80 million by January 2025, recognising that a number of the key integration initiatives have now been executed or have a clear execution path defined,” said Rob Adams, Perpetual’s chief executive and managing director.

Adams also welcomed Squires to the executive team and looked forward to his future oversight of the integration program to achieve its goals by 2025. 

MLC Life Insurance senior appointments

Alongside these announcements, MLC Life Insurance is another firm to welcome a new COO on 2 November.

Jane Murray will take on the role of chief operating officer alongside the appointment of Kristin Miller as chief people officer (CPO).

“Delivering for our customers and partners is the single most important thing we do and appointing Kristin and Jane to these roles continues our journey to delivering an enhanced total customer experience at MLC Life Insurance,” said Kent Griffin, MLC Life Insurance CEO.

Murray joined the firm as CPO three years ago and has held senior positions at firms such as AXA, AMP and Victorian Funds Management.

“Continuously improving our operational experience for our customers and striving for operational excellence is a crucial strategic objective for MLC Life Insurance. I’m looking forward to continuing that work to support great service experiences for our customers and partners,” she commented.