Fiona Reynolds will return to Australia in the new year to become chief executive of Conexus Financial, the publisher of Professional Planner.
For the past nine years Reynolds has been based in London as the chief executive of the Principles for Responsible Investment, a UN-supported network of investors that has grown to more than 4,000 signatories, representing $US 121 trillion in AUM and 180 staff around the world.
“I want to make a difference in my own country while also contributing globally, and I am genuinely excited to be able to combine my superannuation background and sustainability experience,” she said. “There is a lot to be done in the Australian superannuation industry, particularly on the retirement income side, and Conexus Financial provides a meaningful platform to guide the industry to global best practice.”
As the Australian superannuation market further professionalises, with new legislation and consolidation among funds, Reynolds will be able to bring her global view to the domestic landscape and contribute to super funds and providers developing global best practices.
Prior to joining the PRI, Reynolds spent seven years as chief executive of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees where she played an active role in advocating for superannuation policy changes for working Australians. In 2012 and 2018 she was named by the Australian Financial Review as one of Australia’s top 100 women of influence for her work in public policy.
Reynolds said she was attracted to Conexus as a purpose-driven organisation and platform for change and was passionate about contributing to solutions focused on delivering better outcomes for all Australians.
“How do we really build a financial system that works for the many not the few?” she said. “We need to think about the world into which people are going to retire, in addition to their retirement income. People, profit and planet must go together. For me personally I’ve always worked in areas and with people I believe are mission driven and that is evident at Conexus Financial.”
Founding CEO of Conexus Financial, Colin Tate AM, will become executive chair of the business focusing on expanding its global offerings and its domestic impact through The Conexus Institute.
“I am proud of what we have achieved at Conexus Financial so far and we have much growth in front of us,” he said. “I’m looking forward to working with Fiona and to building Conexus to become an even more influential platform for change.”
Reynolds also serves on the board of the UN Global Compact, the council of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), the Global Advisory Council on Stranded Assets at Oxford University, the UN Business for Peace Steering Committee and the Steering Committee for Investors on Climate Change, Climate Action 100+ and the Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking global committee, the Advisory Board of the UK Green Finance Institute and the Advisory Board for Greening the Belt and Road – a UK/China Initiative.
Conexus Financial is the publisher of Top1000funds.com, Investment Magazine and Professional Planner, and host of more than 20 annual events in the global and Australian institutional and wholesale markets.
