Australia
Russel Chesler
Head of Investments & Capital Markets
An actuary with over 30 years’ experience in financial services, Russel leads VanEck Australia's investment function, across portfolio management, capital markets, and research. Prior to joining VanEck, Russel was a partner at Sunstone Partners, specialising in Asset and Wealth Management. Russel also worked for Perpetual Limited as General Manager of Protected Investments and Lending, and has held positions at Grange Securities, Alexander Forbes and Liberty Life. Russel has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.
Jamie Hannah
Deputy Head of Investments & Capital Markets
Jamie is responsible for portfolio management, trading and capital markets across all of VanEck Australia’s assets. He has over 25 years’ experience working in financial markets in Australia, Europe and the USA. Prior to joining VanEck, Jamie worked at Source ETFs in investment management and he held various financial market roles at ABN Amro, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stockbroking and PwC. Jamie has a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Management Accounting) from the University of Newcastle and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.
Cameron McCormack
Senior Portfolio Manager
Cameron joined VanEck in 2018 and has over 10 years’ experience in financial services. He oversees the portfolio management of fixed income and active ETF strategies, and leads quantitative solutions for the firm. Cameron was previously at Pacific Life Re Australia where he worked in the pricing and client solutions teams. Cameron graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Actuarial Studies and Finance from the University of New South Wales and is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA).
Alice Shen
Portfolio Manager
Alice is a Portfolio Manager responsible for equity portfolio trading, with a strong focus on Chinese equities, ESG and stewardship. Formerly at State Street where she was a fund operations analyst, Alice has also held a number of roles at RBC Investor & Treasury Services and Bank of China International. Alice is a CFA Charterholder and holds a Master of Actuarial Studies from Australian National University, as well as a Bachelor of Mathematics and Statistics from Imperial College London.
Pranay Lal
Portfolio Manager
Pranay is a Portfolio Manager responsible for fixed income and equity portfolio management and plays a key role in developing the firm's quantitative capabilities. Prior to joining the firm, Pranay held roles in capital strategy at Macquarie Group and management consulting at PwC Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies (Co-Op) from the University of New South Wales and has obtained the Associate of the Institute of Actuaries Australia (AIAA) and Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA) designations.
Daniel O'Connell
Investment Operations Manager
Daniel is responsible for fund operations and investment portfolios, monitoring tracking error and cash flows as well as managing the post trade lifecycle. Daniel previously worked at Bennelong Funds Management where he was a Senior Investment Operations Analyst, and has also held positions at Link Fund Solutions and Colonial First State. Daniel is a CFA Charterholder and graduated with a Bachelor of Business at the University of Technology Sydney.
Vivian Liu
Associate, Investment & Capital Markets
Vivian supports the daily fund operations, including asset valuations and trade settlements. Vivian previously worked at TCorp as a Client Service Administrator and has also held various positions at State Street within its fund operations working on ETFs and mutual funds. Vivian graduated from University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Accounting.
Anna Wu
Senior Associate, Cross-Asset Investment Research
Anna focuses on multi-sector investment strategies. Her expertise spans investment research, asset allocation, and ESG-focused investing, developed through her roles at Macquarie and PwC. A CFA ESG Certificate holder, Anna also holds a Master of Management (Accounting and Finance) from the University of Melbourne.
Lachlan Brown
Associate, Investment & Capital Markets
Lachlan supports the Investments & Capital Markets team, contributing to daily portfolio operation and capital markets activity. Prior to joining VanEck in October 2025, Lachlan was a Senior Associate within the Enterprise team at Macquarie Group, following earlier roles in corporate actions at Colonial First State and in customer solutions at Allied Credit Group. Lachlan has a Bachelor of Applied Finance from Macquarie University.
Aryan Bhatla
Senior Associate, Investments & Capital Markets
Aryan supports fixed income and equity portfolio management and continues to develop the firm’s quantitative solutions and infrastructure. He has previously held roles in quantitative analytics/research, and systematic trading at Macquarie Group. Aryan holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Honours)/Master of Biomedical Engineering from the University of New South Wales.
International Bonds
Eric Fine
Portfolio Manager
Eric oversees the Emerging Markets Fixed Income Team including asset allocation, fixed income research and security selection. He joined VanEck in 2009 having previously held senior leadership positions at Morgan Stanley including founding and managing Morgan Stanley's Emerging Markets Proprietary Trading group. Eric has advised numerous governments on economic policies and debt profiles. He has an MPA, International Trade/Finance from Harvard University and a BA, Public Policy from Duke University.
Natalia Gurushina
Chief Economist
Natalia is the Chief Economist for the active Emerging Markets Fixed Income Strategy. Prior to joining VanEck in 2013 Natalia worked at Roubini Global Economics in emerging markets currency/fixed income and G10 currency strategies. Natalia has a PhD, Economic History from University of Oxford and a BA, Economics from Moscow State University.
David Austerweil
Deputy Portfolio Manager
David is the Deputy Portfolio Manager for the active Emerging Markets Fixed Income Strategy and has been at the firm since 2012. Prior to VanEck, David was Vice President at ING Financial Services on the Emerging Markets Credit Trading & Structuring desk David has a MS, Financial Engineering from Columbia University and BA, Computer Science from Columbia University.
Robert Schmieder
Senior Corporate Analyst
Robert joined VanEck in 2015 and was previously Executive Director/Head of Latin America Credit Research at BBVA Securities. Prior to that Robert was Managing Director/Head of Latin America Corporate Credit Research at HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. Robert has an MBA, International Finance, MA, Spanish Literature, and a BA, Spanish Language and Literature all from New York University.