Team
Access Capital Advisers has over 70 staff and over 50 investment professionals across five offices and three continents.
We are 100% owned by our staff. The management team comprises:
 |
Alexander Austin, FIAA, BEc (Hons). BSc. Partner, Director & CEO. Alexander is the Chief Executive Officer of Access Capital Advisers. Alexander provides actuarial analysis including asset/liability modelling for our clients. Alexander has expertise in the fields of investment analysis and structuring, bid strategy/deal negotiation, selection of fund managers in alternative asset classes and risk modelling, financial mathematics and statistical modelling of investment markets. His risk modelling encompasses traditional risk-return modelling of investment returns for strategic asset allocation reviews and the development of new models of business risk for superannuation funds. In addition to his twin degrees in economics and science from the ANU, Alexander is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia. |
 |
Ross Blakers, Grad Dip FinPlan, Grad Dip Fin&Inv, B.EngTech. Associate Director & Head of Portfolio Construction and Risk. Ross has been with Access for 5 years and heads the Portfolio Construction and Risk Group. Ross has extensive experience in investment markets and strategy, portfolio construction, risk management and manager selection functions. Before joining Access, Ross spent 4 years in the Risk Management Group of the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) where he focussed on credit and interest rate risk management. Prior to the AOFM Ross worked with the Commonwealth Government (Education and Defence Departments) over 8 years undertaking research and advising on government policy. Ross is a member of both the investment and management committees. |
 |
Steve Burns, CFA, Grad Dip. AppFin&Inv, B Comm, B Ec. European Head. Stephen has spent almost a decade working with Access Capital Advisers, both in Europe and Australia (seven years). Previously, Stephen spent three years with ANZ Investments, the funds management group of the ANZ Banking Group. Stephen has expertise in infrastructure, private equity and timberland deal sourcing, analysis and transaction negotiation/execution. His current focus is on unlisted equity and debt investments in the UK and Europe. He is also experienced in alternative/infrastructure manager selection, appointment and monitoring and investment market analysis and performance attribution. Stephen has extensive experience managing investee companies, dealing with complex governance issues and representing clients on a range of investee company Board’s and Committee’s. |
 |
David Chessell, PhD, MEc, BA (First Class Honours). Partner & Chairman. David Chessell established and led the investment advisory activities of the firm upon their introduction in 1995, including pioneering an investment strategy in Australia that brings a fresh perspective to portfolio construction. This investment strategy has resulted in ACA clients achieving attractive risk adjusted long term returns. David is a member of the ACA Investment Committee and has experience in acquiring and managing assets across the alternatives space. Prior to co-founding Access Capital Advisers, David was also co-founder of its predecessor in 1988, Access Economics – Australia’s leading economic advisory firm. Before that he held senior roles in key policy areas in the Federal Treasury, worked as an economic consultant at ACIL and represented Australia at the International Monetary Fund. David has a PhD from Yale, a Masters of Economics from ANU and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Melbourne University. |
 |
Don Conway, SA Finsia, Certified Securities Analyst Professional Institute of Finance Professionals (NZ), BCommerce & Administration, Victoria University, Managing Director Infrastructure Group. Don brings a wealth of infrastructure and private equity investing experience to Access. Prior to joining Access in March 2011, Don was Global Head of Direct Investments at CP2, Executive Director at Allco Equity Partners, where he had day-to-day responsibility for Allco Equity Partners Limited and Oceania Capital Partners Limited, and transaction leader on a range of deals including for Veda Advantage, Baycorp Holdings and Isoft. Prior to Allco, Don worked directly with Sir Ron Brierley for 17 years at Brierley Investments (BIL), where Don had overall responsibility for BIL's Australian investments, and was responsible for very substantive transactions such as acquisitions and divestments in Coles Myer, James Hardie Industries and John Fairfax Holdings, as well as the IPO of Air New Zealand on the NZ stock exchange. |
 |
Andrew Cunanan, FIAA, CFA, CAIA, BEc, BActuarial Studies. Partner & Head of Americas. Andrew has experience across a range of alternative investment areas including infrastructure, private equity, property, timberland and hedge funds. After a successful career with the firm, including developing and leading Access' business in the UK, Andrew temporarily left the firm and moved to Asia for family reasons. In mid-2010, Andrew re-joined the firm to develop the Access business in the Americas. He currently specialises in the sourcing, due diligence and execution of direct equity investments in infrastructure/private equity and the asset management and governance of direct investments in the Americas. |
 |
Belinda Farrelly, GAICD; MA (Public Affairs), BA (Public Relations). Company Secretary & Head of Compliance. Belinda specialises in corporate governance and all aspects of risk management. She has extensive experience in financial management, compliance and reporting as well as due diligence analysis and integration of businesses post acquisition. Prior to joining ACA, Belinda was CFO and Company Secretary for CPR Communications & Public Relations. |
 |
Graham Matthews, BEc (First Class Honours). Partner, Director & Chair of Investment Commiteee. Graham has expert corporate finance and advisory skills across the full range of unlisted asset acquisitions and management. He provides investment advice for superannuation funds and major institutional investors. Graham’s expertise includes investment analysis and modelling, financial structuring and taxation analysis and in business tax and macroeconomics. He oversees the acquisition and on-going management of clients’ direct investments in infrastructure, private equity, debt and timberland. Graham joined Access Capital Advisers following a career in the Australian Federal Treasury, including as the Treasury’s chief forecaster, and represented Australia at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. Graham is a member of the Investment Committee and Management Committee. Graham also chairs the Investment Committee. |  |
Kui Ng, CFA, LLB (First Class Honours), BEc (First Class Honours and University Medal). Partner, Head of Property Group & Head of Sydney Office. Kui is an experienced former investment banker and now investment manager with substantial experience advising public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising. Prior to joining Access, Kui was a senior investment banker with Citigroup and NM Rothschild & Sons where he advised on numerous major public M&A and capital raising transactions. Since joining Access, Kui has been responsible for oversight of property investments for clients. Kui is responsible for all aspects of real estate investment activity for Access, including sourcing and executing investments, asset management and divestments. |
 |
Tom Snow, FAICD, MPhil (Economics), BCom (Actuarial), BSc (Mathematics & Statistics). Partner, Director & Head of Infrastructure Australasia. Tom was apointed to Head of Infrastructure Australasia after leading the Infrastructure Australasia origination team. Tom is an experienced manager of infrastructure assets; having spent 6 years as the Executive Director of Canberra Airport where he oversaw the major redevelopment of the airport after privatisation. Prior to joining Access Capital Advisers, Tom was also a Rhodes Scholar, he worked with the UN Millennium Project's infrastructure development team, he was an actuarial consultant at Trowbridge Consulting (now Deloitte Actuaries and Consultants), and he was an investment manager at Portfolio Partners. Tom is a director of International Parking Group and an Alternate Director of Etihad Stadium. |
 |
Mark Thomas, SF Fin, GDFP, GDAFI, BE; Head of Business Development and Marketing. Mark’s current area of focus is strategic business development for Access. In a career spanning more than twenty years in financial services, Mark has worked in many roles, including futures trader, portfolio manager, administration, and relationship management. Prior to entering the finance industry Mark enjoyed a career as a Chemical Engineer. Mark is a regular speaker at industry events, he is a lecturer, a mentor, and is actively involved with several industry bodies. |