New Zealand Super Fund CEO Will Step Down at End of Year

Matt Whineray, CEO of Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, which manages the NZ$62.3 billion ($38.8 billon) New Zealand Superannuation Fund, has announced his plans to retire at the end of the year.

Matt Whineray

Whineray will leave after more than 15 years at the pension fund, having joined in 2008 as general manager of investments. He was promoted to CIO in 2014 and promoted again four years later to CEO.

“Matt is a values-led CEO, for whom the long-term goal of the NZ Super Fund, to smooth the cost of superannuation between today’s taxpayers and future generations, has always been front of mind,” Catherine Drayton, chair of the Guardians’ board, said in a release. “His legacy will be his commitment to high performance, his commitment to our people, and his commitment to sustainable investment.”

Drayton added that during Whineray’s five-year tenure as CEO, he “has presided over significant growth in the NZ Super Fund, well in excess of our investment performance benchmarks.”

According to the pension fund, Whineray will work with its board during the rest of the year to lead “a number of significant current programs,” which it said is expected to double the fund’s size to more than NZ$120 billion over the next decade. NZ Super announced the board will begin the process of finding Whineray’s successor shortly.

“I am proud of our team’s stewardship of the NZ Super Fund, which has seen global recognition for the Fund’s strong investment performance, our work in responsible investing, and reporting and transparency,” Whineray said in a release. “This success is the result of the combined efforts of all members of the Guardians’ team and the Board over many years.”

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In a LinkedIn post, Whineray said he was not leaving to take up a new role and was “looking forward to having some time to think about what’s next,” adding that, “I intend to continue my interest in the sustainable finance space.”