Rest appoints Chief Investment Officer

Rest, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds, has appointed Andrew Lill as the fund’s Chief Investment Officer.
 
Mr Lill brings extensive strategic investment management and executive leadership experience. He joins Rest from Morningstar Investment Management where he has been the Chief Investment Officer of their US$25-billion Americas mutual fund and managed portfolios operations since 2018, based in Chicago.
 
“The appointment of our first Chief Investment Officer for the whole fund is the culmination of more than 12 months’ work to refine our investment structure and governance and position the fund for further growth,” said Rest Chief Executive Officer Vicki Doyle.
 
“Andrew’s experience and expertise will be a valued addition to Rest. We are well placed to pursue attractively priced assets in investment markets on behalf of our members as a result of our active management approach.
 
“Andrew will play a key role working with our investment managers and Board Investment Committee as we look for investment opportunities that generate strong long-term returns for our members and can support Australia’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.”
 
Prior to his most recent role, Mr Lill was the Chief Investment Officer of Morningstar’s Asia Pacific business from 2014 to 2018, and was the Head of Investment Specialists & Investment Solutions at AMP Capital from 2009 to 2013.
 
He also led Russell Investment’s consulting business in Asia Pacific from 2005 to 2009, is a qualified actuary and has a Master’s degree in economics from Cambridge University. Prior to his business career, Andrew represented England in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in track athletics.
 
The new Chief Investment Officer role was announced in August 2019, following a review into Rest’s investments structure and governance framework.
 
Following the review, Rest’s wholly owned investment arm Super Investment Management (SIM) was integrated into the fund’s internal investments team to focus all of Rest’s investment expertise in a single group. The Chief Investment Officer will manage this combined team.
 
George Zielinski has been Rest’s interim Chief Investment Officer since the changes were announced. He will continue at Rest until the end of August, whereupon he will retire.
 
“George has been with Rest since 1997 and has made an enormous contribution to the fund,” said Ms Doyle.
 
“He established SIM and has managed a proportion of Rest’s direct investments into property, infrastructure and project finance debt as well as multiple other asset classes. These assets have been strong performers for our members over the long-term.
 
 
“I’m also grateful for George’s experienced counsel during this recent period of market volatility. On behalf of everyone at Rest, I wish him the very best in retirement and thank him for his incredibly valued service.”
 
Mr Lill is an Australian citizen and will return to Australia to start the role on 17 August. Simon Esposito will continue as Rest’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer and will support Mr Lill as he transitions into the role.



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