Macquarie Group Appoints First Female CEO

Shemara Wikramanayake will succeed Nicholas Moore as chief executive officer of Macquarie Group Ltd., catapulting the low-profile company veteran into the ranks of Australia’s most powerful businesswomen. Moore, who has led Macquarie for a decade, will retire Nov. 30, the Sydney-based company said in a statement Thursday. The 56-year-old Wikramanayake, who joined Macquarie in 1987 and currently heads its asset management arm, becomes the group’s first female CEO.