Board of Directors

Mr Cooper has been an Independent Non-executive Director of Perpetual since September 2019. In February 2025, Mr Cooper was appointed Chairman. 

Skills and experience 

Mr Cooper has more than 30 years of global investment industry experience in the UK, Asia and Australia with a deep understanding of international funds management. 

Mr Cooper brings strong financial services and strategy expertise to the Perpetual Board predominantly gained from his executive career at Schroders Australia where he was the Chief Executive Officer from 2006 to 2018 with responsibility for Schroders’ institutional business across Asia Pacific and then globally and his current non‑executive career across the superannuation, banking and technology sectors. 

Mr Cooper currently serves as a Non-executive Director of NSW Treasury Corporation, where he also chairs the Investment Committee. He is currently the Chairman of Avanteos Investments Limited (part of the Colonial First State Group).

Mr Cooper is a Non-executive Director of Australian Payments Plus Limited and some of its subsidiaries/related entities and a Director of Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and Edstart Pty Ltd. Previously, Mr Cooper acted as a Non-executive Director to the Financial Services Council and held the position of Chairman from 2014 to 2016. 

FIA, FIAA, BEc (Actuarial Studies)

Listed company directorships held during the past three financial years

Nil 

Board Committee memberships

Chairman of the Nominations Committee (Appointed Chairman in February 2025)

 
Mr Bernard Reilly is an experienced asset management executive with more than 30 years’ experience in international and domestic asset management, banking and the finance sector.

For the past two years, he was Chief Executive of Australian Retirement Trust (ART), overseeing the successful merger and integration of Sunsuper and QSuper to form ART in February 2022. Today, the fund manages over A$300bn on behalf of 2.4 million members.

Prior to Australian Retirement Trust, Mr Reilly was CEO of Sunsuper (2019-2022) and Head of NAB Asset Management (2015-2016).

Mr Reilly spent over 24 years at State Street Global Advisors in various senior roles, including Executive Vice President, Global Head of Strategy (Boston) and Head of Asia Pacific, Hong Kong and Sydney. As Head of Asia Pacific, Mr Reilly oversaw State Street’s Asia business and the doubling of Assets Under Management (AUM) in the region to US$325bn, while growing profitability.

Mr Reilly is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA Institute) and has a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University.

Ms Aboelnaga Kanaan has been an Independent Non-executive Director since June 2021. 

Skills and experience 

Based in New York, USA, Ms Aboelnaga Kanaan is a seasoned CEO, director, entrepreneur and asset management executive having held leadership positions over a distinguished career spanning more than thirty years. She is currently the Managing Partner of K6 Investments LLC, an independent private equity firm which she founded in 2011. 

Previously, Ms Aboelnaga Kanaan served as President and CEO of Proctor Investment Managers, a private equity firm she founded in 2002 to acquire and scale traditional and alternative asset managers. Ms Aboelnaga Kanaan sold the firm to National Bank of Canada in 2006, acquired affiliates managing nearly $14 billion in assets under management and continued as Proctor’s President and CEO until 2013. 

Ms Aboelnaga Kanaan is currently a Director of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE: WBS) and is Chair of the Technology Committee and a Member of the Executive and Enterprise Risk Committees; a Lead Director of Mondee Holdings (Nasdaq: MOND) and is Chair of the Nomination and Governance Committee and member of the Audit Committee. 

BSc (Econ) MBA

Listed company directorships held during the past three financial years

Webster Financial Corporation, NYSE: WBS (from February 2022 following merger with Sterling Bancorp - Present) 

Mondee Holdings, Nasdaq: MOND (July 2022 – Present)

Sterling Bancorp, NYSE: STL (from May 2019 – February 2022)

FinTech Acquisition Corp VI (from February 2021 to December 2022) 

Board Committee memberships

Chairman of the Technology & Cyber Security Committee (appointed Chairman in August 2023)

Member of the Investment Committee

Member of the People and Remuneration Committee

Member of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee

Mr Jones was appointed as an independent Non-executive Director of Perpetual in January 2023 following the acquisition of Pendal Group.

Skills and experience 

Mr Jones is based in New York City, USA. He has over 40 years’ experience in the financial services industry across both investments and funds management. Most recently, Mr Jones was Principal of CMVJ Capital LLC, a private investor and adviser in the financial services, asset management and technology industries. Prior to this, he was Head of Blackrock’s US Global Fundamental Equity and Co-head of Global Active Equity. Previously, he spent 32 years in a range of roles at Robert Fleming and Co and JP Morgan Asset Management. 

MA (Cantab) CFA

Listed company directorships held during the past three financial years

Pendal Group Limited, ASX:PDL (2018 until delisting in January 2023). 

Board Committee memberships

Member of the People and Remuneration Committee

Member of the Investment Committee

Member of the Technology and Cyber Security Committee

Ms Trafford-Walker has been an Independent Non-executive Director of Perpetual since December 2019. 

Skills and experience 

Ms Trafford-Walker has over 30 years of experience within the investment industry, bringing extensive knowledge of investment management and a strong institutional and international perspective to the Perpetual Board. 

Ms Trafford-Walker began her career in institutional investment consulting in 1992, spending most of her career at Frontier Advisors (Frontier) where she was, at  various times, its Managing Director, Director of Consulting and Investment Director. 

Currently Ms Trafford-Walker is a Non‑executive Director of Victorian Funds Management Corporation,  and FleetPartners Group Limited, an Investment Committee Member of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and Independent Advisor to the Investment Committee of the Australian Retirement Trust. 

BEc, M.Fin

Listed company directorships held during the past three financial years

Prospa Group Limited, ASX:PGL (from March 2018 to August 2024) 

Link Administration Holdings, ASX:LNK (from October 2015 to May 2024) 

FleetPartners Group, ASX:FPR (from July 2021 to present) 

Board Committee memberships

Member of the Nominations Committee

Member of the Investment Committee

Member of the Technology and Cyber Security Committee

Member of the Audit Risk and Compliance Committee

Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee

Mr Ruiz was appointed as an Independent Non-executive Director of Perpetual Limited in September 2024.

Skills and experience

Mr Ruiz was an audit partner with KPMG until 2016. During his audit career, he specialised in the audit of financial services businesses and led the delivery of assurance services to a number of major financial services groups in Australia and internationally. In addition to Mr Ruiz’s deep financial services experience, his leadership skills include external and internal audit, financial reporting, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, divestments and capital raisings. 

Mr Ruiz currently serves as a Non-executive Director of TAL Dai-ichi Life Australia, one of Australia’s leading life insurers, where he chairs the Audit Committee. Mr Ruiz previously served on the boards and chaired audit committees of AMA Group (ASX:AMA), the Financial Planning Association of Australia, the Fred Hollows Foundation and its controlled entity, Alina Vision, as well as serving on a number of NSW Government audit and risk committees.

Mr Ruiz is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Listed company directorships held during the past three financial years

Board Committee memberships

Chair of the Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee

Member of the Technology & Cyber Security Committee

Member of the Nominations Committee

Mr Wagstaff was appointed as an Independent Non-executive Director of Perpetual in November 2023.

Skills and experience 

Mr Wagstaff has over 35 years’ experience in asset management and has served on the executive committee of several large global asset managers including Janus Henderson, M&G and Gartmore . Mr Wagstaff brings strong expertise in sales, marketing, brand and product development together with experience of mergers, acquisitions and integrations across the asset management sector. 

Mr Wagstaff is also Chair of You Investments Limited in the UK and was previously Chair of Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Limited and Henderson Investment Funds Limited.

BA(Hons) Accounting

Listed company directorships held during the past three financial years

Nil

Board Committee memberships

Member of the People and Remuneration Committee

Chairman of the Investment Committee (Appointed Chairman in February 2025)

Member of the Nominations Committee

Sylvie Dimarco was appointed Company Secretary of Perpetual in April 2020. 

Ms Dimarco joined Perpetual in 2014 and is currently Global Head of Governance and Company Secretary at Perpetual. She is also Company Secretary of Perpetual Equity Investment Company Limited (ASX:PIC) and all of Perpetual’s subsidiary boards. She is a member of the Perpetual Limited Continuous Disclosure Committee. 

Skills and experience 

Ms Dimarco has over 16 years’ experience in company secretariat practice and administration for listed and unlisted companies. Before Perpetual, she practised as a commercial lawyer in Sydney and Canberra for 11 years, working in predominantly mid-sized law firms. 

Ms Dimarco holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Sydney and has completed the Governance Institute of Australia’s Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors course. 

LLB, GradDipAppCorpGov, FGIA, GAICD