Maple-Brown Abbott appoints new lead

The Fund manager's new chief executive leaves Janus Henderson in Singapore for an October 14 start.

Tuesday, July 30th 2019, 10:14AM

Sophia Rahmani

Sophia Rahmani takes the position of chief executive and managing director on October 14.

She is currently with Janus Henderson Investors, in Singapore, as chief operating officer.

Maple-Brown Abbott's current managing director Garth Rossler told the board last year that he wanted to focus only on his investment responsibilities as chief investment officer.

Robert Lee, chairman of Maple-Brown Abbott, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Garth for the outstanding leadership he has provided over the past decade as managing director and look forward to his ongoing contribution to the firm and our clients.

“In recent years the firm has enjoyed impressive growth, and we believe that it is an appropriate time to appoint a managing director whose sole focus is managing the business. Sophia has extensive experience in managing and growing global asset managers gathered in Australia, Asia and the US. We look forward to her joining the firm at a time when it is well-positioned for growth.”

The firm launched a global listed infrastructure business in 2012.

Its Asian equities strategy has also experienced strong momentum in the past five years. Now, more than 50% of funds under management are from non-Australian investors.

Rahmani said: “In addition to the listed infrastructure team, who I have long known and respected, I have a very high regard for the MBA Australian and Asian equities strategies. These capabilities are run by very experienced teams with long-dated proven performance track records which provides me with great confidence in the future of the business. MBA is widely respected as a firm with a long history of high integrity and focus on client outcomes, and I believe it has a culture of strong alignment between clients and employees. I am delighted to be joining the team and excited about what we can do together.”

Tags: funds management Janus Henderson