PEOPLE

New CEO for Craigs

Craigs Investment Partners, has appointed a new chief executive.

Simon Tong has been appointed as the company’s new CEO.

Tong was previously the chief executive at Paymark and Fairfax NZ and for the last three years has been ASB Bank’s digital, data and brand executive general manager.

Tong is also a director at Payments NZ and a former director of The Instillery (formerly Origin IT) and Paymark.

Tong has a strong background in technology and strategy and is highly regarded as a leader who has driven change, performance, and customercentricity at the companies he has worked with.

“As Craigs embarks upon the next phase of its growth, the board determined that Simon’s track record and leadership attributes are those characteristics that fit our ambitious objectives,”.

Craigs has 600 employees and 173 investment advisers across 19 branches and $25 billion of client funds under management.

Two additions at Rival Wealth

Rival Wealth has expanded its business and has appointed a general manager to head up its brand new Auckland office, along with an experienced financial adviser to help grow its operation in the country’s largest city.

Spokesman and co-founder Tim Fairbrother says since opening their doors in 2008, Rival has grown from just three staff to a team of 22, along with opening sister company – Rival Accounting – in 2018, which has six staff.

Barry Read

Rival’s latest growth phase sees well-known industry figure Barry Read make the move to the company. He will oversee its new Auckland operation from within the ANZ Centre on Albert St.

“I have been lucky enough to work with Tim and Carissa in an advisory capacity over the last 10 years watching them successfully grow the business from their HQ in Masterton,” says Read.

Fairbrother says as general manager of the Auckland office, Read will be an integral part of Rival’s business development strategy.

A large chunk of Read’s time will be dedicated to acquiring and merging adviser practices, along with growing capability to provide advice to Auckland clients.

Daryl Buckingham

Joining Read in Auckland as a financial adviser is Daryl Buckingham, who has worked for more than two decades in the private banking sector for both ANZ and BNZ.

“I love the fact that Rival Wealth clients are not just a number,” says Buckingham. “I have found the philosophy and principles of Rival Wealth fit nicely with my own.”

“Rival Wealth has a team approach to reviewing their portfolio mix, so Daryl will be a lot more hands-on than he was in his previous role,” says Fairbrother.

“Daryl has the expertise and core values that make him a perfect fit with our team. It feels like the stars have aligned and the timing of Daryl joining couldn’t have been better.”

Fairbrother says the introduction of the new financial advice regime on March 15 has highlighted how important it is to have compliant and consistent processes.

Fairbrother says as general manager of the Auckland office, Read will be an integral part of Rival's business development strategy.

A large chunk of Read's time will be dedicated to acquiring and merging adviser practices, along with growing capability to provide advice to Auckland clients.

“With the new regulations that began in March transitional licensing is becoming testing for some,” Fairbrother says.

“We have a very clear philosophy about how we give exceptional service to clients rather than seeing people get tipped into a large pot.”

“As we offer Discretionary Investment Management Services (DIMS), our process had been thoroughly checked, giving our advisers the ability to focus on putting client relationships first,” he says.

Five vital recruits for AIA

AIA NZ has welcomed five new faces to front its business interests around New Zealand.

Tim Coltman

Tim Coltman is AIA’s new southern business development manager and joined the team in April.

He has an extensive background in high-performance sport, both as a sailor, coach and event manager after holding roles with Sport NZ, High Performance Sport NZ, and Snow Sports NZ.

AIA says Coltman brings solid planning, negotiation and project management skills to his new role at AIA NZ and will be based in Wanaka serving the lower part of the South Island.

Anna Corbin

Anna Corbin will take on the role of lower North Island business development manager and brings almost 10 years of experience as an adviser to AIA NZ.

Before running her own advice business, the former international cricketer spent 12 years with IAG New Zealand in a variety of leadership roles, excelling in key sales and service measures.

Rakesh Masalawalla

AIA’s new Wellington BDM is Rakesh Masalawalla.

He joined the AIA NZ team in March, bringing with him over 25 years of experience in the insurance and trustee industries, working with brands such as AMP Wealth Management and Perpetual Guardian.

Hannah Anderson

Former fitness instructor and bodybuilder Hannah Anderson will be AIA’s new Christchurch business development manager after a stint with Coca Cola Amatil.

She also spent several years with Air New Zealand, worked as a group fitness instructor with Les Mills and represented New Zealand in bodybuilding.

Laura Holyoake

And Laura Holyoake is AIA NZ’s new vitality coach after being involved with AIA Vitality since its launch in 2019.

She has a background in insurance and is heavily invested in living her "healthy" each and every day.

“We are incredibly pleased to welcome Tim, Anna, Rakesh, Hannah and Laura to the team,” says chief partnership insurance officer Sam Tremethick.

“They each bring their own individual skills and enthusiasm to their respective roles and we believe these appointments provide the market with a strong indication of our future direction.”

As the industry continues to adapt to new regulation and changing consumer demands, Tremethick says they have a lot to learn from other industries and high-performance sport.

“As an industry it is important we look for ways to grow and evolve by ‘training smarter, not harder’.

“Our new team members have demonstrated they can compete at the highest levels, and their ability to share this knowledge will no doubt help advisers take their business to the next level.” A