James Halse, Geoff Wilson AO, Vidhur Rangaswamy
Three investors who engage actively with the companies they own — in Australia, in Japan and across global markets — on what constructive activism looks like in practice: how engaged owners unlock value in businesses that are not being managed in shareholders' best interests; which approaches are most effective; and what families who own operating businesses can learn from the questions an activist would ask of them.
Jamie is Co-Founder, Senjin Capital, Australia's only fund manager focused on using shareholder activism to unlock the deep value in Japanese publicly-listed small cap companies.
Prior to founding Senjinin 2024, Jamie spent 13 years with Kerr Neilson's Platinum Asset Management, where he became a senior portfolio manager, managing ~$1bn across a global equities and a Japan equities fund, and leading the global consumer and Japan research teams. He has been featured in the AFR for running Australia's top-performing global equities fund, and has been a regular guest on CNBC Asia, and Op Ed contributorin the Nikkei Asia, discussing Japanese stocks, Japan's corporate governance reform, and the opportunity in shareholder activism in Japan.
Geoff Wilson has more than 46 years’ direct experience in investment markets having held a variety of senior investment roles in Australia, the UK and the US. Geoff founded Wilson Asset Management in 1997, which today, comprises of 20 investment professionals who offer a combined investment experience of more than 250 years. Wilson Asset Management manages $6 billion on behalf of more than 130,000 investors as the investment manager for nine listed investment companies (LICs) and two unlisted funds: Wilson Asset Management Leaders Fund and Wilson Asset Management Founders Fund. Geoff is currently Chairman of WAM Capital Limited, WAM Leaders Limited, WAM Global Limited, WAM Microcap Limited, WAM Research Limited, WAM Active Limited, WAM Strategic Value Limited and WAM Income Maximiser Limited. He is the founder and Director of Future Generation Australia Limited and Future Generation Global Limited, and Director of WAM Alternative Assets Limited. In 2014 Geoff created Australia’s first listed philanthropic wealth creation vehicles, Future Generation Australia, and subsequently Future Generation Global in 2015. In 2024 Geoff launched Future Generation Women as the first all-female managed fund in Australia, delivering investment returns and advancing economic equality and opportunities for women and their children in Australia. To date, the Future Generation companies have donated $100 million to Australian not-for-profits. Geoff holds a Bachelor of Science, a Graduate Management Qualification and is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
In addition to Geoff’s Directorships with the Wilson Asset Management Group and the Future Generation companies, he also holds Directorships with Staude Capital Global Value Fund Limited (since 2014), Hearts and Minds Investments Limited (since 2018), Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation (since 1997) and the Australian Rugby Foundation (2024).
