VFMC adds public policy specialist to board

The Victoria Funds Management Corporation has welcomed the appointment of Chris Barrett to the board of VFMC, who officially joined in his new capacity in December.

As part of the announcement, VFMC has also confirmed the reappointment of board members Andrew Nicolaou, Maria Wilton, and David Martine.

Nicolaou joined the board most recently out of the trio, having served as director since 2020.

Wilton and Martine, who have respectively seen a seven-year tenure and a nine-year tenure on the VFMC board, will each see out another three-year term as directors.

Barrett also commenced as secretary of Victoria’s Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) at the end of last year.

As secretary, he is at the helm of the department as it executes its objective of providing economic, financial, and resource management policy advice to the government, according to the agency.

Barrett brings more than two decades in public service both in Australia and internationally to the new role, including as deputy secretary, policy and cabinet in the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet.

First joining DTF as deputy secretary in 2021, Barrett was then responsible for the provision of economic and policy advice to government across matters including productivity, taxation, regulation, along with social, environmental, and economic development concerns.

Before this, he was chief executive of the state’s investment attraction agency Invest Victoria, which saw Barrett oversee Victoria’s approach to investment attraction and the recovery approaches on the back of the coronavirus.

In 2011, Barrett was also appointed Australian ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, where he led Australia’s engagement with the OECD.

Following on from his role with the OECD, Barrett spent four years with the European Climate Foundation in Berlin as executive director, finance and economics.

VFMC is responsible for the investment of over $80 billion for Victorian public authorities, with clients including the Emergency Services and State Super Fund, WorkSafe Victoria, Transport Accident Commission, and the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority.