Platinum appoints new chief executive

Platinum Asset Management has named the successor for Andrew Clifford as chief executive and managing director.

Monday, December 11th 2023, 11:27AM

Clifford, who co-founded the business in 1994, is stepping down after five years as chief executive, although he will remain as co-chief investment officer.

The beleagued fund manager has appointed Jeff Peters as the new CEO. 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.

“I’ve long respected Platinum through my prior work dealing with Australia," Peters says. "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.”

He is expected to start once his work visa is approved but the firm noted if this was delayed beyond March 31, 2024, the offer may be withdrawn. His fixed remuneration is A$1 million plus long and short-term incentives.

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.”

Tags: Platinum Asset Management