Mr François is a highly respected professional with more than 20 years of experience working with institutional investors throughout Australia and New Zealand, and brings with him a deep working knowledge of investment management requirements and portfolio implementation. He will report to Dan Charles, global head of business development and client service.

“Alex has a proven track record of leading investment management businesses in the Australian market and we are extremely pleased that he has joined our team,” said Michelle Seitz, CFA, head of William Blair Investment Management and a member of the firm’s executive committee. “Despite the volatile markets, William Blair has been fortunate to have long-term consistent performance of its investment strategies, and we are excited about the opportunity to serve a fast-growing and sophisticated client base in Australia and New Zealand.”

Mr François added, “I was attracted to William Blair’s impressive track record across various investment strategies, which I believe are well-suited for the Australian and New Zealand institutional market.”

Mr François spent the last two years as head of distribution-investments at Provident Capital Limited in Sydney, Australia. Before that, he was a managing director, head of sales and marketing for Principal Global Investors Australia for six years, where he was responsible for the successful relaunch of Principal in Australia following the sale of BT to Westpac. Prior to his position at Principal, Mr. François held senior roles at Schroders Investment Management Australia, Deutsche Asset Management, and ING NZ Ltd. He received his M.B.A. and a graduate diploma of funds management from Macquarie University.

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