Meet the CI Team

Peter founded Cooper Investors in 2001. As Chief Investment Officer, Peter created and implemented the firm’s VoF investment philosophy which is applied across the international and domestic strategies. He is responsible for mentoring investment team members and the standardisation and integration of the process across the investment teams.

Peter has over 30 years of investment management experience. In 1987 he joined the NSW State Superannuation Investment and Management Corporation as a specialist industry analyst and progressed to deputy portfolio manager of the $7bn portfolio. In 1993 Peter ran the Australian equities portfolios for BNP and then joined Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (formerly Mercury Asset Management) where he worked for 7 years, culminating in his position as Head of Australian Equities and Managing Director where he oversaw a team managing $7.5bn in Australian equities.

Stephen joined the Cooper Investors (CI) team in May 2024 as a Portfolio Partner. Alongside Peter Cooper (Founder & CIO) he supports Portfolio Managers and helps guide firm strategic growth.

Stephen has a track record in building high performance cultures and bringing unique expertise in partnering with extra-ordinary compounders. He has a care and a deep understanding that investing is both an ‘art and science’ driven by humans, culture and the authentic alignment to vision and values.

Stephen continues to work alongside Brett Blundy with a focus on human capital decisions at a global private investment firm, BBRC Worldwide and at an international proprietary trading firm, Epoch Capital.

Prior to CI, Stephen has 35 years diverse experience in ASX listed and private companies as a CEO, commercial and talent advisor, advisory board member, founder and co-investor.

Amos Hill joined CI in 2014. He has had over 20 years experience in Australian financial markets, principally in equities funds management.

Prior to CI, Amos worked as an investment analyst and portfolio manager in the Australian equities business of BlackRock Investment Management and also at boutique fund manager, Alpha Investment Management. In these roles Amos was responsible for undertaking company analysis on Australian listed companies and making investment recommendations.

During his career Amos has had exposure to most sectors of the Australian equities market. At BlackRock he also had responsibility for managing a number of the Australian equities portfolios and he was a member of the Asset Allocation Committee for the multi-asset class portfolios. Amos began his career in 1996 at HSBC Securities Australia where he worked as a research analyst in strategy and economics.

Justin joined CI in April 2016 to assist Peter Cooper on the Brunswick Fund, becoming Co-Portfolio Manager in 2018.

He has more than 20 years’ experience with the last 15 years in listed equities markets. Justin previously worked in equity research with specialist firm Diogenes Research in Melbourne and Credit Suisse HOLT in London.

Gordon joined CI in June 2022.

Prior to joining CI, Gordon worked in the corporate development team at Wesfarmers where he spent 4 years working in M&A and strategy.

Piers joined CI in March 2024.

Prior to this, Piers worked as a sell-side equities analyst for more than 7 years at Barrenjoey, CLSA, and EL&C Baillieu. During this time, Piers covered a range of small cap sectors including Agriculture, Consumer, Technology, and Industrial Services.

Allan is the Lead Portfolio Manager for the Family and Founder Fund. Allan joined Cooper Investors in 2007 and has over 17 years of experience investing in international equities markets.

Having been a foundation member of the Cooper Investors global equities team, Allan has been instrumental in refining and implementing the VOF investment philosophy and the CI Way in global equities markets. This has enabled the team to deliver consistent performance and to build the global equities platform to over $2bn in assets under management.

Chris is the lead portfolio manager for the Cooper Investors Global Endowment Fund and Global Stalwarts Strategy. During more than a decade at CI, Chris has been instrumental in implementing the CI Way across the firm’s international equities platform that today has grown to manage >$1.5bn.

With over 20 years of experience in capital markets Chris has operated in a variety of roles and travelled extensively, living in four countries and investing across multiple asset classes.

Prior to joining Cooper Investors in 2011 Chris was Head of Capital Markets for Richard Chandler’s family office in a broad role that covered portfolio management, investment strategy, fundamental research, risk management and dealing. Prior to that he spent several years managing equity derivatives at Lehman Brothers. Chris is a certified Chartered Accountant having qualified with Ernst & Young in London.

Marcus joined Cooper Investors (CI) in November 2012 as a member of the Global Equities team.

In September of 2024 along with Geoff Di Delice, Marcus was appointed Co-Portfolio Manager of the Global Equities Strategy.

In partnership with Geoff, Marcus established the CI Endeavour Fund in September 2021.

Prior to joining CI Marcus completed studies at The University of Melbourne before beginning his career in 2009 as an equities analyst at Diogenes Research, an independent equities research house.

Geoff joined Cooper Investors (CI) in March 2014 as a member of the Global Equities team.

In September of 2024 along with Marcus Guzzardi, Geoff was appointed Co-Portfolio Manager of the Global Equities Strategy.

In partnership with Marcus, Geoff established the CI Endeavour Fund in September of 2021.

Prior to joining CI, Geoff worked at Access Capital Advisers where he focused on unlisted investments. Geoff started his career in 2008 with CP2, a specialist infrastructure investor.

Tom joined CI in April 2018 as a research analyst. As a member of the Global Equities team, his focus is on European companies.

Prior to joining CI, Tom spent 5 years working at the specialist equities research house, Diogenes Research. At Diogenes, Tom gained exposure to a variety of sectors including Banks, Retail and Media, with a focus on earnings & financial quality analysis.

John joined CI in February 2022. As a member of the Global Equities team, he focuses primarily on North American companies.

Prior to joining CI, John spent four years working within the management consulting division at Deloitte. He began his career at Transurban and Jemena.

Jefta joined CI in June 2022 as a Research Analyst in the Global Equities team. In this role he focuses primarily on North American companies.

Prior to joining CI Jefta began his career at ANZ, followed by four years as an analyst at Karara Capital.

Samantha joined CI in April 2024 as a research analyst in the global equities team.

Prior to joining CI, Samantha worked at Tanarra Capital for four years in the investment team which included secondments to Oxford and London. Prior to this, Samantha worked in investment banking at a boutique investment bank. Samantha represented Australia at the International Olympiad of Linguistics in 2010.

Will joined CI in October 2024 as a research analyst in the Global Equities team.

Prior to joining CI, Will spent three years at Diogenes Research where he developed expertise in financial quality analysis across both Australian and International companies.

Sagar has worked with CI since April 2019 as a research analyst for the Asian Equities Fund.

Prior to this, Sagar spent 5 years working at Bligh Capital in Sydney as an equities analyst, focusing on the mining and technology sectors. Prior to this Sagar was at ICICI in Mumbai researching the Indian technology sector. He began his career at Morgan Stanley in Mumbai in 2005.

Girish joined CI in October 2023.

With over 25 years of expertise spanning Research, Global Markets, and Fund Management, Girish is a seasoned financial professional. Prior to joining CI, Girish spent 19 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he held dual roles as the head of APAC ESG Research and Global/Asia Pacific Quantitative Strategist. In these capacities, Girish conducted macro, fundamental, and alternative research, providing systematic investment recommendations to long-only and hedge fund managers. Before his tenure at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Girish served as a Business Analyst at Ord Minnett, contributing significantly to financial advisors’ stock selection processes. Additionally, he gained valuable experience as a Financial Analyst at CIFAR Emerging Capital Markets.

Leslie joined CI in November 2022 as a Quantitative Analyst.

She holds a PhD in Finance and previously worked as a graduate researcher and teaching assistant at the University of Melbourne and RMIT University. She also interned as a data analyst at Sumitomo Pharma’s Beijing Office. Leslie completed her Master of Economics at Kyushu University in Japan and both her Bachelor and Master of Economics at Renmin University of China.

Cliff joined CI in October 2020.

As Head of CI Institutional Business, Cliff has overall responsibility for CI’s client engagement in the Institutional (both Domestic and Global) channels.

Cliff has over 30 years of financial services experience and has held senior distribution roles at various organisations. Prior to joining CI, Cliff was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

Natalie joined CI in 2016. Natalie’s career has spanned across senior roles in public health, finance and philanthropy. She has specialised in the advice, development and implementation of philanthropic investment strategies and practice models for some of the largest private philanthropists in Australia.

As Head of CI Private Business, Natalie leads the client engagement for UHNW Families, Family Offices, Churches Charities and Endowments. She also oversees the brand and marketing initiatives at Cooper Investors.

She serves as the Chair of the 16th Street Foundation and Director of Habitat for Humanity, Victorian Chapter. Natalie is also an Advocate and Funder for improved access to care in the Mental Health System.

Damien joined CI in November 2007 as an assistant Fund Accountant.

Throughout his time at CI Damien’s role has grown with the business and he is now General Manager of Operations. Prior to joining CI, Damien spent 3 years working with the National Australia Bank in their custodial services business as a Fund Accountant.

Jacqueline joined Cooper Investors as Compliance Manager in July 2013. She has more than 15 years’ experience in compliance, risk, and legal.

Prior to joining CI, Jacqui had a senior legal & compliance role working for an international financial trading firm in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She also provided legal support for private equity transactions.

Brad initially joined CI in 2016.

Prior to joining CI, Brad worked at Praemium as a systems administrator. In the role, Brad’s responsibilities, includes management of Cyber Security, IT Risks and IT Infrastructure.

Jay is a skilled and experienced operator in the field of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) administration and business systems analysis, with strong communication and IT skills, a high-level attention to detail and a creative mind. Having worked for a variety of organisations in Australia and the UK, he has acquired a diverse set of skills and experience in the higher education, community banking and not-for-profit sectors before arriving at Cooper Investors in July 2022.