On Wednesday, Challenger confirmed that Nick Hamilton, who has been Challenger chief executive of funds management business since 2019, will take over as CEO from 1 January 2022.
As confirmed in August, Mr Howes will stay on in early 2022 to ensure a smooth transition.
Prior to joining Challenger in 2015, Mr Hamilton held senior leadership positions at a number of top tier companies in Australia, the US and UK.
Chairman Peter Polson said Mr Hamilton has the ideal leadership capabilities to drive Challenger’s next phase.
“In Nick, we have an outstanding candidate, with a proven track record of leading and growing high performing businesses and driving innovation, both at Challenger and across the financial services industry in Australia and internationally,” Mr Polson said.
“Under his leadership, our funds management business has gone from strength to strength and is now one of the fastest growing active asset managers in the country. He has played a central role in diversifying Challenger’s offering across Australia, Asia and Europe, securing a number of high-quality partnerships and bringing a suite of contemporary client solutions to market.”
Mr Hamilton said it is a privilege to take on the CEO position and credited Mr Howes for positioning the company in a strong position.
“With a burgeoning population of retirement age, Challenger’s role in providing customers with financial security for a better retirement is more important than ever,” he said.
“By focusing on meeting the needs of our diverse customer base as they prepare for and enter retirement, there’s a real opportunity to both meet a societal imperative and continue to grow our business.
“This is an exciting time for Challenger, and I look forward to leading our highly capable team to capture the great opportunity ahead for our business.”
Mr Howes said it has been a great honour to lead Challenger and he is delighted to be passing his duties on to Mr Hamilton.
“He is a talented and respected executive who will spare no effort to deliver for our people, customers and shareholders,” Mr Howes said.
“Challenger is a very special organisation – I am immensely proud of what we’ve achieved, and I have no doubt that Nick will lead Challenger to continued success.”
Challenger confirmed it will not commit to looking for a new chief executive of its funds management business.
Neil Griffiths
Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.
Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.
