Sophie Jelleff has been appointed head of investment execution at HESTA, effective 8 April 2024.
Her remit will include shaping and leading the fund’s investment execution strategies, collaborating closely with the executive and investment management teams.
“Sophie’s extensive experience in investment operations will undoubtedly bring value to HESTA’s members,” said HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey.
“Her appointment signals our commitment to further strengthening HESTA’s investment capabilities and delivering the best financial returns for members.”
Jelleff brings more than two decades of investment experience to the role, most recently serving as director at Citi Australia for two years.
Previously, she was a general manager for the asset servicing operations team at NAB for almost three years and an executive director at JP Morgan for almost 15 years.
Jelleff’s résumé also includes one year as vice-president, corporate development at BNY Mellon and four years as a client manager at Deloitte.
HESTA outlined Jelleff’s wealth of expertise towards enhancing its investment operating platform for current and future multi-asset class investment management activities.
“Sophie’s leadership and operations experience, domestically and globally, will benefit members and align with HESTA’s commitment to investment excellence,” said HESTA’s chief operating officer Stephen Reilly.
Commenting on her appointment, Jelleff added: “I am thrilled to be joining HESTA and helping to deliver exceptional investment outcomes for its 1 million plus members.”
The appointment marked a second senior investment appointment at the $82 billion fund in recent months.
In September 2023, HESTA welcomed Dianne Sandoval as head of portfolio design, where she was tasked with leading the research and asset allocation processes to enhance the probability of achieving investment objectives, oversee the rebalancing and currency overlays, portfolio risk management, and evaluating performance.
The fund has hired a former ART executive as its new head of group strategy.
The sovereign wealth fund has revealed six internal hires to support the execution of key strategies.
The fund has announced the departure of a second senior executive in as many months, with its chief member officer to finish up mid-December.
The $89 billion fund has announced a new leadership role within its private markets team.