More women needed in industry: NZ Super Fund boss

Bloomberg has launched the Australia & New Zealand chapter of the Bloomberg Women’s Buy-side Network (“BWBN”), expanding its growing buy-side community beyond chapters in Singapore, India, Hong Kong and Japan. Comprising a few of the region’s most influential asset owners and asset managers, the chapter aims to inspire next generation investors, elevate female role-models, and grow the pipeline of female leaders in asset management.

Established in 2018, the BWBN is a community for women in the asset management industry, who hold a shared vision of building the next generation of female buy-side leaders in Asia. The network’s activities have served to promote meritocracy and inclusion in the industry and educate on the diversity of buy-side career paths through meaningful engagement and active mentorship. 

The executive members for the Australia and New Zealand chapter are Susan Buckley, Managing Director, Liquid Markets Group at QIC; Sue Brake, Chief Investment Officer at the Future Fund; Cassandra Crowe, Vice President at T. Rowe Price; Sonya Sawtell-Rickson, Chief Investment Officer at HESTA, Matt Whineray, Chief Executive Officer at New Zealand Superannuation and James Bell, Head of Bloomberg Australia & New Zealand.

“We aim to ‘inspire, elevate and grow’ our next generation of leaders. As an industry, we   can do better to inspire more young women to forge a career in the exciting world of investing, to make meaningful impact as custodians of capital, and be a part of solving future challenges like climate and sustainability,” Buckley said.

Matt Whineray, Chief Executive Officer, Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, said: “Finding a way to attract women into our industry is one of the biggest challenges we face; however, it’s likely to have a significant effect on how our industry changes for the better over the long term. Long-term success as an investor requires us to seek out and support more diverse thinking and perspectives. We are committed to building our pipeline of female talent and enabling the exceptional female talent we already have.”

If you are interested in being part of this network, please reach out to bwbnausnz@bloomberg.net. For more information on the Bloomberg Women’s Buy-side Network, click here.