Grant Hackett to grow Ascalon as GDG's new CEO

Generation Development Group (GDG) has announced the appointment of Grant Hackett as chief executive officer, effective immediately.

The firm said the appointment follows GDG's recent announcement of its "intention to invest in and own" Ascalon Capital Managers (Ascalon).

In his new role, reporting to executive chair, Rob Coombe, Hackett's focus will be to grow the Ascalon business with the launch of a seeding vehicle to invest in alternative investment fund in the APAC region, GDG said. He will also retain responsibility for the distribution of Generation Life's investment bond business in Australia, until the 2019 financial year end.

Hackett joined GDG, then known as Austock Group, in September 2017 as the firm's head of distribution. Previously, he held senior marketing, distribution and wealth management roles with Westpac and BT Financial Group.

Before embarking on a corporate career, Hackett represented Australia as an Olympic champion swimmer.