The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, which oversees the NZ$85B New Zealand Super Fund, has named Leona Cheffins as its new general manager of people and culture, effective November 17.
Cheffins joins from the Public Trust, where she also served as GM of people and culture for more than a year.
Prior to that, she served as the EM people transformation at insurers IAG for nearly a year and GM people and culture at One New Zealand for close to a year. Her earlier career includes senior human-resources roles at Vodafone, and consultancy and research firm Kantar.
In a news release, Guardians chief executive officer Jo Townsend said Cheffins’ mix of finance training, consulting experience and human resources leadership made her a strong fit for the role as the fund prepares for significant expansion.
“I am looking forward to Leona contributing to the future success of the Guardians as we focus on ensuring we are well set up to manage our expected growth,” said Townsend, noting Treasury projections that the fund’s assets could exceed NZ$150B within the next decade.
Cheffins said she was joining “a high-performing organization with an excellent reputation” and looked forward to supporting the work of the Guardians.
Cheffins holds a Bachelor of Management Studies (Honors) in finance and economics from the University of Waikato and began her career as a finance and strategy consultant before shifting into organizational development.
