NZ super fund appoints interim chief

New Zealand's sovereign wealth fund is close to finalising the appointment of Matt Whineray's replacement and will announce a new permanent chief executive before Christmas.

But just in case there is a gap between announcing the appointment and the appointee's start date, The Guardians of New Zealand superannuation has recruited Paula Steed to replace Whineray in an acting capacity.

Steed - who joined the super fund in July 2021 - takes over from the outgoing Whineray, who departs the $65 billion fund on December 8 after announcing his resignation earlier in the year.

Whineray has led the sovereign wealth fund since 2018, when he took over from former Adrian Orr, now the Reserve Bank Governor.

The executive most recently served as general manager of strategy and shared services, responsible for strategic development, finance, tax and investment operations teams.

She earlier held various executive and management roles at ASB Bank, ANZ Bank and AMP.

Guardians chair Catherine Drayton said the board's search for a permanent chief executive was progressing well, and it expects to name a new permanent chief executive this year.

Since NZ Super was founded in 2001, it has earned an average annualised return of 9.59 per cent - well above its benchmark measure of treasury bills -the reward for taking market risk.