Team

Founders & Principals

Andrew Macken

Chief Investment Officer

Andrew Macken

Chief Investment Officer

Andrew established Montaka in 2015 in Sydney. Prior to this, Andrew lived in New York working as a senior member of Jim Chanos’ research team at Kynikos Associates, a multi-billion dollar global long short hedge fund. It was here where Andrew developed particular expertise in short portfolio management.

Prior to this, Andrew worked as a management consultant at Port Jackson Partners (PJP), a leading advisor to corporates based in Australia and abroad. At PJP, Andrew focused on corporate strategy for major clients in Australia and overseas.

Andrew holds a Master of Business Administration (Dean’s List) from the Columbia Business School in New York. Previous to this, Andrew also graduated with a Master of Commerce (High Distinction), focusing on Finance; and First Class Honours with a Bachelor of Engineering under a Co-Op Scholarship from the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Andrew is a founding shareholder in Montaka Global Investments.

Christopher Demasi

Portfolio Manager

Christopher Demasi

Portfolio Manager

Christopher joined Montaka in January 2015 after more than four years with LFG, the private investment group of the Lowy family. Christopher was a senior member of the LFG investment team – a group focused on investing the family’s significant capital directly in public equities across a broad range of geographies and industries. After an initial period in Sydney, Christopher relocated to help LFG establish its New York office.

Prior to this, Christopher worked as a Research Analyst at One East Partners, a multi-billion dollar global long/short fund based in New York, where he concentrated on fundamental and event-driven global equity investments. He began his career in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs in Sydney.

Christopher holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Double Major in Actuarial Studies and Finance) with High Distinction under a Co-Op Scholarship from the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Christopher is a founding shareholder of Montaka Global Investments.

Investment Research

Amit Nath

Director of Research

Amit Nath

Director of Research

Amit joined Montaka in April 2018 after spending seven years as a credit analyst at Credit Agricole and Citigroup, based in New York. Prior to this, Amit was an investment banker with Citigroup for five years in New York and Sydney, focusing on Media and Telecoms; Metals and Mining; and Consumer Products.

Amit holds a Master of Commerce and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

George Hadjia

Research Analyst

George Hadjia

Research Analyst

George joined Montaka in September 2015 as a Research Analyst.

Prior to joining Montaka, George was an investment analyst at Private Portfolio Managers where he covered global equities across various industries, using a value investing framework. George’s prior experiences include equities research and investment banking roles at both Citi and Greenhill & Co.

George studied at the University of Sydney and holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction and a Bachelor of Laws.

Lachlan Mackay

Research Analyst

Lachlan Mackay

Research Analyst

Lachlan joined Montaka in July 2018 as a Research Analyst after studying at the University of California, Berkeley where he holds a Bachelor of Arts (Applied Mathematics and Computer Science).

Business Development

Matthew Briggs

Investment Specialist

Matthew Briggs

Investment Specialist

Matthew is an Investment Specialist at Montaka and was asked to expand his role covering institutions in June 2020 to lead all intermediary and adviser relationships, including consultants, researchers, and advisers.

Previously Matthew was a director of institutional distribution at Bennelong funds management covering institutional investors and consultants in Australia. Prior to that he had an eleven-year career at the investment bank, Citi starting in London and subsequently Sydney, where he was most recently head of prime finance in Australia.

Giles Goodwill

Account Manager

Giles Goodwill

Account Manager

Giles joined Montaka in August 2021 as an Account Manager.

Prior to joining Montaka, Giles was an associate at Morgan Stanley and an adviser assistant at Ord Minnett. Giles holds a diploma and an advanced diploma in Financial Planning.

Aafreen Awad

Marketing Director

Aafreen Awad

Marketing Director

Aafreen (Aafy) joined Montaka in August 2019 to help coordinate Montaka’s marketing and communications. She holds an MBA in Marketing and has nearly a decade of experience in fields such as market research, business consulting, digital and offline marketing.

Jeremie Stanojevic

Finance Manager

Jeremie Stanojevic

Finance Manager

Jeremie joined Montaka in August 2022. She comes to Montaka with over two decades of experience in Financial services, Investment Management and IT sectors across financial control, accounting, administration, business operations and systems implementation. Jeremie is a CPA member and holds a Bachelor of Business, Accounting degree from Western Sydney University.

Hillcrest Strategic Partners

Alistair Dunne

Hillcrest Strategic Partners

Alistair Dunne

Hillcrest Strategic Partners

Alistair founded Hillcrest Strategic Partners in 2021 and partnered with Montaka to expand the coverage of the Australian intermediary market, also in 2021.

Alistair is a distribution executive with over 20 years’ experience in the industry, building strong relationships across advice groups across Australia. He most recently ran distribution for Contango Asset Management and is best known for his time at BT Investments and UBS Asset Management.

Damian Craven

Hillcrest Strategic Partner

Damian Craven

Hillcrest Strategic Partner

Damian founded Hillcrest Strategic Partners in 2021 and partnered with Montaka to expand the coverage of the Australian intermediary market, also in 2021.

Damian is a distribution executive with over 20 years’ experience in the industry, building strong relationships across advice groups across Australia. He most recently ran retail distribution for Contango Asset Management and is best known for his 6 years with Magellan Financial Group starting to 2010.

Team

Founders & Principals

Andrew Macken

Christopher Demasi

Investment Research

Amit Nath

George Hadjia

Lachlan Mackay

Business Development

Matthew Briggs

Giles Goodwill

Aafreen Awad

Jeremie Stanojevic

Hillcrest Strategic Partners

Alistair Dunne

Damian Craven

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