IMPERIUM MARKETS ANNOUNCES INDEPENDENT ADVISORY BOARD
Imperium Markets Pty Limited has established an Independent Advisory Board that consists of Imperium Chairman Rod Lewis, former Westpac Group Treasurer Curt Zuber, and former MBIA UK Chairman and CEO Chris Weeks.
The Independent Advisory Board will ensure that Imperium’s platform delivers issuance, trading, custody and settlement capabilities in the most efficient manner to the market. It will also have input into how Imperium engages with the banks and regulators.
Imperium Chairman Rod Lewis said this was an important development as the company continues to grow.
“The establishment of our Independent Advisory Board coincides with an acceleration of the acceptance of digital technology in financial markets both here and internationally,” Mr Lewis said.
“Chris and Curt bring diverse and complementary experience that will ensure our focus on the financial markets digital transition proceeds in a manner that delivers efficiency gains for all market participants.”
Imperium, the first Fintech to be granted a Tier 2 markets licence by ASIC, was a use case in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot in July 2023.
In December 2023, Imperium and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC), which ran the RBA CBDC pilot, announced a pilot research project into how the tokenisation of assets and settlements can benefit Australian Money Markets and Debt Capital Markets.
Imperium is in the process of finalising becoming an Approved Trading Venue for the purposes of BBSW and expects to be live in market in December 2024.
Chris Weeks Bio
Chris has more than 35 years’ experience in the credit markets encompassing senior positions in London, Paris, New York and Sydney across origination, credit selection, analysis and credit portfolio management. As the Chairman and CEO of MBIA UK Insurance Limited from 2004 to 2014 Chris was responsible for a debt portfolio of circa $40 billion and was also a member of the investment committee responsible for overseeing the management of the company’s investment portfolio.
Prior to that he ran MBIA’s European Structured Finance business and was also formerly head of the Société Générale European Securitisation team based in Paris. Chris’ experience spans a wide array of debt constructs including structured finance, project finance, infrastructure debt, leveraged loans and commercial real estate.
Curt Zuber Bio
Curt has over 35 years of experience in banking, finance, treasury, risk management, and executive leadership across Australia and the USA.
He spent the majority of his career at Westpac, culminating in his role as Chief Executive Officer of Westpac Institutional Bank. Prior to that, he worked in Westpac’s Group Treasury department for nearly 25 years, including 16 years as Group Treasurer, where he chaired the bank’s Asset and Liability Committee. As Treasurer, Curt guided the bank through significant challenges, including the global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, making a notable impact on strengthening Westpac’s balance sheet and organizational resilience.
Earlier in his career, Curt worked at Household International in both its Chicago and Sydney offices, with responsibilities spanning funding, liquidity management, trading, risk management, and hedging strategies.
Curt currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Australian Office of Financial Management, which issues debt securities on behalf of the Australian Government. He is also Chair of the Bestest Foundation and a Director of the Gotcha4Life Foundation.
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