VFMC names new equities head

Victorian Funds Management Corporation has appointed Stuart Birkett as its new head of equities, replacing Michael Stavropoulos who moved to AustralianSuper as head of portfolio construction and strategy for equities.

In the new role, Birkett will report to VFMC's chief investment officer, Russell Clarke.

He joins from HESTA where he most recently headed up the industry fund's international equity and active currency programs.

Before joining HESTA, Birkett worked as a senior portfolio manager at Mercer and director of implemented equities at Queensland Investment Corporation.

"I am delighted that Stuart will be joining VFMC in this key investment leadership role," said Clarke.

"He brings extensive experience in equities management across superannuation and institutional investment management, and we look forward to welcoming his ideas and insight into the team."

For his part, Stavropoulos joined the Victorian quasi- sovereign weath fund in 2008 and was most recently senior portfolio manager looking after external mandates.

Before arriving at VFMC, Stavropoulos held research and portfolio management roles at Intech Investment Consultants and AXA.

The fund has been on a hiring spree recently bringing on board former Frontier analyst Hui Goh to work in the portfolio risk team.

Earlier,  Lucy Carr and Paul Shanley were appointed chief operating officer and finance and risk officer respectively.

Leanne Taylor joined in March to run portfolio strategy and asset allocation.