CFA Institute Strikes Blow For Women

Tom Burroughes

12 July 2018

Striking a blow for advancement of women in global financial services, Heather Brilliant, CFA, has been elected the new chair and Diane C Nordin, CFA, the vice chair of the board of governors of CFA Institute.

Brilliant is managing director, Americas, of First State Investments where she is responsible for expanding First State’s market presence across the Americas. She was previously CEO of Morningstar Australasia, and was global director of equity and corporate credit research for seven years prior to this. Before joining Morningstar, Brilliant spent several years as an equity research analyst for boutique investment firms.

Nordin brings more than 35 years of experience in the investment industry to her position as vice chair. She is a director of Fannie Mae, where she serves as chair of the compensation committee and member of the audit committee. Recently, she was elected to the Principal Financial Group Board, and is also on the board of Antares, a spinout of GE Capital. Nordin is a former partner of Wellington Management Company LLP, where she held numerous global leadership positions, including director of fixed income, director of global relationship management, and director of fixed income product management. She has served on the CFA Institute Board for two years and is chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and CEO Search Committee.

The advancement of women in wealth management, as well as the need for greater recognition of women as clients, is an issue this publication has tracked for some time, and new insights of research are being explored as at the time of writing. (To see an example of recent research on the space, see here.)

Some five of the 15 board positions (30 per cent) for fiscal year 2019 will be filled by women – a goal CFA Institute set in 2016 and realized ahead of schedule in 2017, it said.

Brilliant will assume the role on 1 September, succeeding Robert Jenkins, FSIP, who will continue on the all-volunteer board.

“Heather’s depth of experience in the investment management industry and her passion for the mission of CFA Institute are a powerful combination,” Paul Smith, CFA, president and CEO of CFA Institute, said.

“Building a better world for investors involves challenging industry norms and closing the gender gap, as well as raising standards in our profession. That sounds like a tall order but with Heather at the helm of our board, supported by Diane Nordin as vice chair and the rest of the Board, I am confident that we will continue to make meaningful progress,” he said.

In addition, CFA Institute elected Alex Birkin; Robert Bruner, DBA; Dan Fasciano, CFA; Punita Kumar-Sinha, PhD, CFA; and, Geoffrey Ng, CFA, as first-term governors of the board, and Daniel Gamba, CFA, and Zouheir Tamim El Jarkass, CFA, as second-term governors. The new Board lineup was elected by the membership at the annual meeting of members on 11 May.