Management Team

Brett is an experienced business leader with a three-decade career spanning Australia, Europe, and Asia, specialising in funds management. He has a strong track record in developing, executing, and overseeing strategy at all levels of an investment business, with deep expertise in organisational change and the creation of innovative products and services.

Before joining Hearts & Minds Investments, Brett spent 23 years at Aberdeen Asset Management ("abrdn") in Australia and the UK, including 14 years as CEO of abrdn Australia. He also served as a Partner at Mavin Advisory Group, a specialist investment and wealth management consulting firm.

With over a decade of board-level experience, Brett has held roles as a non-executive director, committee chair, and investment committee member. His board highlights include serving as a non-executive director at FundBase Group, executive director of abrdn Australia, director of the Financial Services Council (FSC), chair of the FSC Funds Management Board Committee, investment committee member of the TIP Financial Services Opportunities Fund, and council member of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce.

Brett holds a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University, along with graduate diplomas in Applied Finance & Investment and Financial Planning. He is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Charlie is a former Managing Director of BlackRock, one of the world’s leading fund managers. He was head of the Fundamental Active Equities team in Australia. He has been a fund manager for 30 years with his career also spanning Schroders in London, Platinum Asset Management and Perpetual Investments where he was Deputy Head of Equities.

Maggie O’Neill is passionate about connecting people and bold ideas to drive meaningful change and deliver lasting impact. As a founding team member of Hearts & Minds, she has played a key role in growing the organisation into one of Australia’s leading corporate givers - on track to donate $100 million to Australian medical research within its first 10 years.

Maggie is Chief Operating Officer of Hearts and Minds Investments Limited (HM1), an $800m+ ASX-listed fund with a dual purpose: delivering investment returns while accelerating medical breakthroughs through long-term funding and strategic partnerships.

She is also co-founder of Sohn Hearts & Minds - Australia’s premier finance and philanthropy conference - which has toured iconic venues including the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne’s Hamer Hall, MONA in Hobart, and Adelaide’s Festival Theatre.

Maggie started her career at UBS, gaining multidisciplinary experience across asset management, wealth management, and corporate communications.

A believer in lifelong learning, she has completed executive education at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and postgraduate studies in Creative Intelligence at UTS. Her international study experiences in Sweden, China, and the United States continue to shape her thinking and curiosity.

Outside of work, she’s happiest when hosting memorable dinner parties or taking on new fitness challenges.