NZ Super promotes two, hires from Cbus

NZ Super Fund has made three key appointments to its investment team, covering private equity, real assets and sustainable investment.

In an update, NZ Super Fund said it has promoted Sian Orr to the role of director, private equity.

Orr was previously portfolio manager, private equity, a role she'd held since July 2019. Prior, she worked for PwC UK, New Zealand Treasury, and Deloitte.

The fund also promoted Bryan Bennett to director, real assets.

Bennett was previously portfolio manager, direct investments. He took this role in December 2020 after about five years with the fund.

"With some 20 years' collective experience on the investment team, Orr and Bennett have been involved in some of the super fund's most important investments as portfolio managers and have held numerous governance roles on behalf of the fund," NZ Super Fund said.

Meantime, Chris Parks was named director, sustainable investment.

Parks will join from Cbus where he's been working in ESG portfolio integration. He's also previously worked as ESG manager at TelstraSuper, and as an ESG investment strategist at QSuper.

The fund said Parks is responsible for fostering cross-team collaboration to ensure sustainability considerations are fully integrated into all parts of the Guardians' investment process and leading the Guardians' stewardship activities.

NZ Super said it continues to hunt for a head of portfolio completion and head of private equity.

Parks' appointment comes after a judicial review found against NZ Super Fund, determining part of the fund's current sustainable investment policy was not compliant with legislative requirements.

The New Zealand High Court found the fund had failed to invest "in a manner consistent with avoiding prejudice to New Zealand's reputation as a responsible member of the world community" when it continued to invest in companies operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.