Mr John Piteo, Chief Executive Officer

John Piteo was appointed as Funds SA’s Chief Executive Officer effective 30 September 2023, recognising his strong leadership skills, experience, and expertise in financial management. Mr Piteo is responsible for the day-to-day management of the corporation.

Mr Piteo joined Funds SA in 1995 and has worked across a range of finance and investment operations related roles. In 2004, he was appointed as Funds SA’s inaugural Chief Financial Officer and served in the Chief Operating Officer role from 2016 until his appointment as CEO.

Mr Piteo holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy from the South Australian Institute of Technology (now the University of South Australia), and a Company Directors Course Diploma from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a Fellow of CPA Australia and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mr Con Michalakis, Chief Investment Officer

Con Michalakis commenced with Funds SA in February 2025 as the Chief Investment Officer and is responsible for leading the Investment Team. He is a highly experienced CIO, with a proven track record in delivering strong, consistent investment returns over many years. He is respected for his leadership, commercial acumen and ability to build deep stakeholder relationships within the investment management and superannuation communities.

Mr Michalakis’ recent role was the Deputy Chief Investment Officer – Portfolio Construction of Hostplus Superannuation, a $120 billion industry fund based in Melbourne. He assumed this role in March 2022 following the merger of Hostplus and Statewide Superannuation, where he held the role of Chief Investment Officer for fourteen years. Prior to this, Con held a variety of roles in Australia and abroad, including positions with Pzena Investment Management, Merrill Lynch, Alliance Capital and Watson Wyatt.

Mr Michalakis holds a Bachelor of Mathematical Sciences from the University of Adelaide, Masters in Financial Management from the University of London and an Executive Diploma in Financial Strategy from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Mr Tony Burrill, Executive Director, Governance & Strategy

Tony Burrill commenced with Funds SA in June 2019 and is the Executive Director, Governance & Strategy. He has extensive background in strategy, governance, risk management, compliance, and operations within the investment management industry.

Mr Burrill is responsible for Funds SA’s corporate strategy, enterprise risk management framework, corporate governance, and compliance function including policies and standards. He also coordinates the secretarial functions of the Board, Audit and Risk Committee and oversees the outsourced internal audit function.

Prior to his Funds SA appointment, Mr Burrill held senior executive positions with NBN Co Ltd, Federated Investors, Aviva Investors Australia, Portfolio Partners Ltd, and Invesco Australia.

Mr Burrill holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Tasmania and a Graduate Diploma of Finance and Investment from FINSIA. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand, a Fellow of FINSIA, and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mr Craig Hamilton, Executive Director, Finance & Operations

Craig Hamilton was appointed as Executive Director, Finance & Operations in September 2024. In this role he is responsible for activities in the functional areas of asset servicing, corporate finance, fund accounting, investment operations and tax.

Mr Hamilton joined Funds SA in October 2020 as the Head of Tax. Prior to joining Funds SA, his previous roles included Director, Fund Tax Asia Pacific at Franklin Templeton Investments, and positions at NAB Wealth and KPMG.

Mr Hamilton holds a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Melbourne and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.

Ms Emma James, Executive Director, Data & Technology

Emma James was appointed as Executive Director, Data & Technology in September 2024. In this role she is responsible for enterprise technology and the investment data and analytics architecture.

She is passionate about embracing emerging technologies, and building capability in data informed investment decision making. She is a regular speaker and thought leader at domestic and international conferences and industry events.

Ms James joined Funds SA in August 2016 as a Senior Analyst – Risk. Prior to joining Funds SA, Emma held roles at the Victorian Funds Management Corporation focused on investment risk, and built extensive international experience with Norddeutsche Landesbank and BlackRock (formerly Merrill Lynch Investment Managers) in London.

Ms James holds a Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences and Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences Honours from the University of Adelaide.

Ms Jacki Kittel, Executive Director, People & Culture

Jacki Kittel commenced with Funds SA in January 2017 and is the Executive Director, People & Culture. She draws on over 25 years of experience in organisational leadership, strategy, performance and development.

Ms Kittel is responsible for leading Funds SA’s HR strategies, and the design and implementation of initiatives in  organisational performance, employee engagement, wellbeing, and attraction and retention strategies.

Prior to working at Funds SA, Ms Kittel led the people and change management consulting group for KPMG in South Australia. She has worked across a number of industry sectors both in Australia and internationally, predominately in financial services, and within private and public organisations. In the UK, Ms Kittel held leadership roles in people and leadership strategy at Northern Trust and FTSE 100 company, Centrica.

Ms Kittel holds a Bachelor of Management from the University of South Australia, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a certified academic member of the Australian Human Resources Institute.

Ms Judy Wilson, Head of Relationship Management

Judy Wilson was appointed as the Head of Relationship Management in September 2024. In this role she is responsible for leading all of Funds SA’s client and stakeholder relationships, industry and peer relationships, brand, profile and corporate communications.

Ms Wilson commenced with Funds SA in January 2019, as Manager, Corporate Engagement, with responsibility for the relationship with the Corporation’s non-superannuation clients. She draws on 20 years of experience within the Asset Management sector, across both retail and institutional client roles. Prior to joining Funds SA, Judy held roles at Yarra Capital Management, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Morgan Stanley.

Ms Wilson holds a Bachelor of International Business from Flinders University and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance from Kaplan.