Company director and investor, John Williamson, has been appointed as the new Chair of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, the Crown entity that oversees the NZ Super Fund and the Elevate NZ Venture Capital Fund.
Announcing the appointment today, Finance Minister, Nicola Willis said Mr Williamson (pictured) will take up his new position on 1 March, replacing current Chair Catherine Drayton.
“Catherine Drayton has made a significant contribution to the Fund, helping to steer it through extremely challenging waters. I thank her for her service,” said Minister Willis.
Mr Williamson is an experienced company director and former chief executive of ACG Education and Hellaby Holdings who has been a member of the Guardians’ Board since May 2016. He has chaired the Board’s Employee Policy and Remuneration Committee since April 2021.Â
Ms Drayton joined the Guardians’ Board in November 2018 and was appointed Chair in April 2021. During her time as Chair, the NZ Super Fund continued to outperform its long-term investment benchmarks despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and significant market volatility.
Last year the Fund, now worth $70 billion, was ranked the world’s top-performing sovereign wealth fund based on 10-year returns by global state-owned investor think tank Global SWF.
