Investment Management Consultants Association appointed five new directors to the board at its annual general meeting on Monday.

The appointments represent an almost 40 per cent change to the 13-director board, as the professional association and credentialing organisation seeks to position itself in a changed investment environment.

The new appointments are Kim Bowater, director at Frontier Advisors; Annika Bradley, financial services consultant and director at Lodrino; Hendrie Koster, principal in Mercer’s investments business; Paul Newfield, senior investment consultant with Willis Towers Watson; and Keri Pratt, director at Women in Super. These appointments fill vacancies left by retiring directors Robert Hogg, Graeme Miller, Paul O’Connor, Ian Patrick, and Janice Sengupta.

IMCA Australia chair Brett Elvish said it was a time of transition and excitement at IMCA Australia.

“We have appointed a new education provider, a new general manager, and we are altering our direction slightly. It therefore was important that as a board we keep ahead of the industry and have directors that can guide the association through these changes,” he said.

Ensuring the board represented its traditional constituency, while bringing in new skill sets and experience to address an evolving investment environment, was a key consideration in the appointments, Elvish added.

“We also have been mindful of diversity with the three female appointments to improve the board’s gender diversity. We are also pleased to make an appointment that is based outside of Sydney and Melbourne.”

As they tackled new roles and responsibilities that had brought about additional pressures and demands on their time, the retiring directors were thanked for their contributions to IMCA Australia and wished well for the future.