Bachelor of Business, 1985
The first in his family to pursue a tertiary education, Warwick Negus has forged a stellar career in the banking and finance sector since graduating from UTS in 1985, with leadership positions at some of the world’s largest investment firms.
Negus worked full time in BHP’s Sydney office during his business studies at the NSW Institute of Technology, one of UTS’ antecedent institutions. On completion, he commenced studies towards his Masters of Commerce at the University of NSW, while at the same time taking up a full-time position in international lending at the Commonwealth Bank.
Embrace change. Be mobile. And be prepared to do different things in your career. Just because you study accountancy doesn’t mean you have to be an accountant all your life.
In 1987, he took a position in investment management for BT Australia Limited, and was responsible for taking on the company’s Asian portfolio at a time when the region was opening up to foreign investors, allowing him to expand the company’s reach into markets that had been largely untapped.
In 1993, Goldman Sachs recruited Negus with a mandate to establish an investment team specifically focused on Asian markets, based in Hong Kong. He later moved this team to Singapore, and during this time established Goldman Sachs' Global Emerging Markets Team.
Three years later, Negus was promoted to Managing Director and assumed the role of Chief Investment Officer for the Global Emerging Markets division. He later moved to London where he took up the additional responsibility of Global Equities, overseeing the investment of over US$50 billion with clients based around the world.
Returning to Australia in 1999, Negus was appointed Managing Director of the firm's Sydney-based Investment Banking Division, before leaving in 2002 to co-found boutique funds management company 452 Capital Pty Limited. After growing the company to a point where, at its peak, it managed $9 billion in funds, he sold a large portion of his stake to the Commonwealth/Colonial Bank group, also joining them for a three-year term as Chief Executive Officer for Colonial First State Asset Management.
Since stepping away from hands-on management roles in 2008, Negus now devotes a significant amount of his time to philanthropic causes and to a number of corporate, educational and charity directorships.