Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Group has recruited finance executive Aaron Hood to take charge of its expanding commercial investment activities.
Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Group has recruited finance executive Aaron Hood to take charge of its expanding commercial investment activities.
Business News understands Mr Hood will work alongside Grant Vernon, whose responsibilities encompass Minderoo’s extensive philanthropic activities.
Mr Hood was previously an executive director of private equity group Catalyst Investment Managers, having established its Perth office in 2012.
In that role, he led investments in Bhagwan Marine and Vesco Foods.
In his new role, it is understood he will be responsible for managing Minderoo’s investment portfolio, which helps to fund its extensive philanthropic activities.
The scale of Minderoo’s investment activities is unknown, though it has enjoyed large cash inflows in recent years courtesy of Mr Forrest’s one-third stake in iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group.
Mr Forrest was paid $208 million in FMG dividends last year.
Mr Hood’s move is the latest in a string of high-profile appointments to the family offices of wealthy Western Australians.
The Bennett family recently appointed former Macquarie Capital director Michael Ashforth as executive chairman of AMB Holdings, which also employs former Wesfarmers executive and Sirona Capital director David McMahon.
Other examples include Jon Biesse, who runs Hoperidge Capital, established by Navitas founder Rod Jones, and Ben Bartholomaeus, who runs DR Capital for Denby Roberts, daughter of Multiplex founder John Roberts.
Minderoo’s current investments include cattle stations in the Pilbara, most notably the Forrest family’s historic Minderoo station, and beef processor Harvey Beef, which was purchased in May for a reported $30 million.
Mr Forrest has talked up the importance of building agricultural ties with China, likening food export opportunities in the coming decade to the boom in iron ore exports in the past decade.
Minderoo also holds investments in listed companies.
It has a 27 per cent stake in Energy and Minerals Australia, and could lift its stake by exercising 400 million options in the listed uranium play.
It also holds a 23 per cent stake in Poseidon Nickel.
