Former VFMC CEO joins Challenger board

Challenger Limited has invited a former chief executive of Victorian Funds Management Corporation onto the board.

Lisa Gray will serve as an independent non-executive director of both Challenger Limited and Challenger Life.

Gray has  30 years of experience leading strategic, digital and cultural transformations including at VFMC.

Long before the coronavirus crisis hit in 2020,  Gray had famously put in place plans to prepare the sovereign wealth fund for market shocks.

Early in her six-year tenure at the helm of the quasi-sovereign wealth fund, Gray had run internal 'fire drills' to heighten the fund's readiness and preparedness for shock events.

So, when the pandemic hit, financial markets crashed and rebounded, creating the widest performance gap seen between funds for some time.

Gray had already introduced new liquidity strategies to overcome any potential short-term hit as well as new asset allocation practices that would perform late in the cycle.

Three years later,  the former chief executive sits on the boards of ING Bank Australia where she is chair of the risk committee and Victorian Funds Management Corporation where she chairs the people and remuneration committee.

Gray previously served on the Government's Financial Sector Advisory Council and is also an associate of the Melbourne Business School.

Aside from serving as head of VFMC for six years, she was group executive of personal banking at National Australia Bank, head of MLC Insurance and managing director of Plum Financial Services.

Commenting on Gray's appointment, Challenger noted her board experience having chaired risk, audit and remuneration committees across several boards in Australia.

"Her expertise and leadership across financial services, particularly in investment and wealth management will complement the capability and skills of our existing directors," the firm said.

"Lisa also brings a strong focus on customer and digital innovation, which will be highly valuable as Challenger implements its strategy to meet more customer needs across a broader range of channels."

Gray said she has a  long-held interest in the sustainable wealth for Australians through their lifetime and is delighted to be joining a company that plays an important role in the Australian retirement ecosystem."

Challenger said the appointments of Gray and Matthew Michelini to the board reflect the firm's commitment to board renewal and maintaining a strong mix of experience and industry knowledge.

Michelini joins the board as a result of an origination partnership with Apollo Global Management.