Morningstar names new Head of Sales & Distribution

Morningstar has appointed Heather Dawson as head of sales & distribution for Australia and New Zealand.

Dawson has more than 20 years' experience in business leadership roles in the financial services industry in Australia and the US. She served most recently as a consultant and mentor in leadership and sales excellence and as co-producer for the inaugural Conscious Capitalism Australia Summit.

From 2008 to 2013, she was a partner at Mercer, where she served as sales leader and led business growth and management for the Mercer Super Trust and Mercer New Zealand KiwiSaver scheme. She also worked at Russell Investments in Sydney as managing director, retirement services and was director of national sales development, retirement and investor services for the Principal Financial Group in the US.

Commenting on Dawson's appointment, Heather Brilliant, CEO of Morningstar Australasia, said: "She's a senior business leader with a proven track record in sales leadership, empowering sales teams to perform their best and achieve outstanding results, and has a passion for improving the investor experience. She'll make a significant contribution to developing new business relationships and deepening our existing ones, enabling our Australian clients to identify the Morningstar solutions that will help them add value to their businesses and produce better outcomes for investors."