The resignation of the RBF CEO

From the Saturday Mercury, page 18:

RBF loses wealth of experience

THE man who oversaw the retirement incomes of thousands of Tasmanians has resigned.

The chief executive of the Retirement Benefits Fund Tasmania, Simon Gillies, will finish up in the job in February.

RBF has about $3.5 billion in funds under management including the superannuation savings of nurses, public servants, ambulance officers and fire service personnel.

Believed to be returning to Sydney, Mr Gillies has spent 30 years working in the finance industry, specifically wealth management and superannuation industries.

Under his stewardship RBF-Tas invested $99.8 million into the $350 million Hobart Airport with Macquarie Global Infrastructure. The investment was written down by $5.1 million.
Late last year the RBF sold the Myer building for $16 million to Kalis Properties. Before it was destroyed by fire the building had returned 18 per cent a year since 1987.

RBF reported a negative return in 2008-09 of minus 10.41 per cent.

And, fromThe Financial Standard …

RBF-Tasmania CEO resigns

Wednesday, 20 January 2010 12:20pm

Simon Gillies, chief executive of the $3.5 billion RBF-Tasmania for the past five years, has resigned from the fund.

Gillies is leaving the fund in February, but declined to mention specifically why he is leaving RBF-Tasmania in an email interview.

During his tenure as chief executive, he oversaw several large-scale projects, including RBF entering the Tasmanian Gateway Consortium – which had the backing of Macquarie Capital Group – to purchase the Hobart International Airport for $350.5 million in 2007.

He also oversaw the sale of a vacant Myer site in Hobart – which was part of RBF’s investment portfolio – late last year.

“It has been an exciting business development period and having seen RBF through this, I am looking forward to the next phase of my career,” he said in an email response.

Gillies has over 30 years working in the finance, wealth management and superannuation industries.

Prior to his role as chief executive, Gillies was portfolio manager with RBF’s investment trust.

He was a director of stockbroking firm, Shadforths, and managing director of Synergy Capital Management.

Gillies also has experience as director of Garrisons.

After a short holiday, Gillies expects to return to Sydney to seek new job opportunities.

He could not be reached for a phone interview by the time this article went to print.

RBF has more than 80,000 members Tasmania-wide, with more than $3.5 billion in funds under management.

The fund has serviced Tasmanian public sector employees for more than 100 years.

Ruth Liew

This story was found at:
http://www.financialstandard.com.au/news/view/27854

Bob McMahon on Tasmanian Times raised serious questions about RBF’s investment in Hobart Airport: HERE: The scandal of Hobart Airport