Transformation 2015 Update: Mark Smith starts in his role as Group Executive Perpetual Private

Mark Smith will today assume his role as the Group Executive of Perpetual Private, the wealth advice business of Perpetual Limited that includes the Private Client, Fiduciary, Fordham and Philanthropy offerings. Mr Smith was appointed earlier in the year and will take over from Acting Group Executive Nick Langton, who will revert to his role of General Manager Private Client Advice.

Perpetual Chief Executive Officer Geoff Lloyd welcomed Mr Smith to the company, noting that he was joining Perpetual at an important stage in its history. "With our Transformation 2015 strategy now well underway and the Perpetual Private business building a truly differentiated high net worth offer, Mark's considerable experience will provide the leadership team with invaluable insight into how we can extract greater benefits from our strong market position," he commented.

"Throughout 2012, the Perpetual Private team, under the guidance of Nick, has continued to pursue a number of initiatives to build on the scale and advocacy we have within the wealth advice business, as well as extend into new activities where we hold a competitive advantage," Mr Lloyd said.

Mark Smith expressed his delight at joining Perpetual at a time when a clear new direction had been set. "Perpetual Private's Path to Growth strategy is putting the business in a strong position to accelerate its growth when investor sentiment improves. Our objective must be to reap the benefits of the investments made, starting with the modernisation of the business' client service and product offering via Project ICE.

"At a company-wide level, it is clear that Transformation 2015 is also fundamentally improving the way the business operates and I am confident this new approach will help drive improved performance for Perpetual Private," he concluded.

Mr Smith will be based at Perpetual's Angel Place offices in Sydney and become part of the company's Executive Leadership Team, reporting directly to CEO Geoff Lloyd.

About Perpetual

Perpetual is an independent financial services group operating in funds management, financial advisory and superannuation provider. Our origin as a trustee company, coupled with our strong track record of investment performance, has created our reputation as one of the strongest brands in financial services in Australia.