ASFA Investment Summit 2026

Sally Auld
Executive Chief Economist, NAB

Sally Auld is the Chief Economist at NAB. Previously, she was JBWere’s Chief Investment Officer. Prior to this, Sally worked at JP Morgan, where she was Managing Director, Chief Economist and Head of Economic & Markets Research for Australia and New Zealand.

Sally holds a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney, a Master of Economics from the University of Sydney, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Economics from Oxford University.

She is currently Chair of the SCEGGS Darlinghurst Ltd Board and a member of the Finance and Investments Committee for the Children’s Medical Research Institute. Sally is also a member of the Grattan Institute’s Public Policy Committee and a Board Member of the AJBCC.

Jemma Beattie
Head of Investment Strategy, Mercer Super, Mercer

Jemma Beattie is Head of Investment Strategy for Mercer Super, based in Sydney. She has 25 years’ experience in strategic asset allocation, portfolio construction, and manager assessment and selection. She also has considerable experience in risk management and governance.

Jemma sits on Mercer’s local Research and Policy group which consults and engages with the marketplace and the government on issues of policy and change.

Prior to joining Mercer in January 2022, Jemma gained 20 years of experience in the UK providing investment advice to large UK and European funds. She also has many years’ experience acting as an expert witness for the courts and in mediations for investment related litigation and disputes.

Jemma holds a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Mathematics and is a fellow of the UK Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

David Bell
Executive Director, The Conexus Institute

Dr David Bell is executive director of The Conexus Institute and is an active researcher (industry and academic) in the areas of retirement, superannuation, investment management and governance. David completed his PhD at UNSW, with a focus on asset allocation problems related to lifecycle modelling.

David’s industry career experiences include the role of chief investment officer at Mine Super, founder and director of his own consulting firm (St Davids Rd Advisory), and 12 years at Colonial First State Global Asset Management (now First Sentier), mainly leading the fund-of-hedge funds investment team. David was a co-founder of financial newsletter Cuffelinks (now Firstlinks), and developed, and for 12 years taught, the hedge funds elective at Macquarie University’s Applied Finance Centre.

Chandu Bhindi
Chief Liquidity Officer, AustralianSuper

Chandu joined AustralianSuper in early 2025 as the Funds first Chief Liquidity Officer. In this role, he oversees treasury, liquidity management and implementation and trade execution for investment decisions across public markets including equities, fixed income, currency and derivatives. He is also responsible for uplifting liquidity management practices and developing new capabilities which leverage the Fund’s competitive advantages of growth, size, scale and long-term investment horizon.  Prior to AustralianSuper he spent 14 years at Commonwealth Bank in senior treasury roles including 5 years in New Zealand as Treasurer at ASB Bank.

Jeff Chee
Global Head of Investment Research, IFM Investors

Jeff Chee is IFM Investors’ Global Head of Investment Research, a newly created role within Clients & Strategy and the third pillar of the Product Strategy & Innovation function. Based in Melbourne, Jeff is responsible for establishing and leading IFM’s global investment research capability, ensuring research remains central to the organisation’s long-term, client-aligned investment approach.

His focus includes enhancing how IFM’s data, insights and experience are leveraged to support long-term client outcomes; improving how insights are developed, tested and applied; and building the research, tools and frameworks needed to design more flexible and customised investment solutions. Jeff works closely with the Global Client Solutions team on ideation and research, incorporating client feedback while providing industry trends, competitor analysis and investment insights to support broader client and asset owner engagement.

Jeff brings more than 25 years of global investment experience. Prior to joining IFM, he served as Head of Portfolio Strategy at WTW, where he advised major asset owners around the world on strategic research and portfolio design. His experience spans sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and large superannuation funds across Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

Seamus Collins
Chief Investment Officer, TeamSuper

Seamus Collins is a senior executive with extensive experience in investment strategy and implementation for superannuation fund assets. Employed by Team Super since November 2017, he has been in his current role as Chief Investment Officer since March 2019.

He has over 35 years’ experience in financial markets, investments, portfolio management, and risk management. Prior to his employment at Team Super, Collins worked closely with some of Australia’s leading superannuation funds in multiple roles at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A.

He also has a strong background in equities markets from multiple roles held at the Australian Securities Exchange.

Sarah Gallard
Senior Manager Responsible Investment, Frontier Advisors ICIO

Sarah Gallard is Senior Manager, Responsible Investments at Frontier Advisors. She advises superannuation funds and other institutional investors on responsible investment strategy, stewardship, climate change, ESG integration and manager oversight. Sarah has extensive experience supporting investment committees and boards on sustainable investment issues, including climate transition, active ownership and emerging governance risks. She is passionate about helping investors incorporate long-term sustainability considerations into investment decision-making while maintaining a focus on member outcome.

Damian Graham
Group Chief Investment Officer, Challenger

Damian was appointed Group Chief Investment Officer in January 2026. Prior to this, Damian was
Chief Investment Officer at Aware Super for 10 years. Damian has also held investment leadership
roles at StatePlus, Macquarie Group and J.P. Morgan.

Kate Griffiths
Executive Manager, Research and Policy, ACSI

Kate is responsible for leading the team that delivers for ACSI’s research and policy program, working with ACSI members to cover a range of financially material ESG issues and provide guidance on good corporate practice and regulatory reforms that contribute positively to the sustainability of markets. Kate was formerly the Head of Governance, Risk and Audit Committee and Disclosure and a Company Secretary at BHP, and, prior to that, a senior associate at Blake Dawson (now Ashurst). Kate is also a non-executive director of Barwon Water and Chair of its Risk Committee. Kate holds a Bachelor of Laws (with honours) and a Bachelor of Arts. She is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.

David Ho
Head of Pacific, Head of APAC Wealth, FTSE Russell

David Ho is Head of Pacific and APAC Wealth Sales at FTSE Russell, part of LSEG, where he leads growth strategy and commercial performance across wealth, asset management, ETF, private banking and institutional investor markets throughout Asia Pacific.

With more than 20 years of experience in financial services, David has built and scaled businesses across wealth and institutional markets, working closely with asset managers, superannuation funds, private banks, wealth platforms and asset owners. His expertise spans investment management, indexing, data and analytics, capital markets and distribution strategy.

David is recognised for his ability to drive business transformation, develop high-growth market strategies and build enduring executive relationships across the financial services industry. He is a frequent contributor to discussions on wealth management, ETFs, indexing, market structure and the evolving investment landscape across Asia Pacific.

Joseph Hoffman
Chief Executive Officer, Mesirow Currency

Joseph Hoffman is Chief Executive Officer in Mesirow Currency. Joseph leads the team to match investment trends with customized solutions to meet clients’ needs. Under Joseph’s leadership, assets under management have grown from $77 billion in August 2017 to over $230 billion in March 2026. He led the acquisition of The Cambridge Strategy, a UK-based currency alpha investment firm in October 2018, and developed Fiduciary FX, an agency and fiduciary program for trading currencies for institutional investors. Joseph is also a member of Mesirow's Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Mesirow, Joseph worked at Russell Investments where he spent 20 years focused on currency and derivatives. He co-founded Russell Investment’s Currency Implementation business and managed over $60 billion in currency assets.

Joe earned a Bachelor of Science from Central Washington University and a Master of Science in finance from Seattle University. He holds the FINRA Series 3, 7, 30, 24 and 63 licenses, is a CFA® Charterholder and is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago. He is also Chair of the Foreign Exchange Professionals Association (FXPA), a Washington-based organization that represents the collective interests of professional foreign exchange market participants.

Ben Jarman
Chief Economist and Head of FX and Interest Rate Strategy for Australia and New Zealand, J.P. Morgan

Ben Jarman is Chief Economist and Head of FX and Interest Rate Strategy for Aus/NZ at J.P. Morgan. He joined JPM in 2009 and has run macro research since February 2020. Ben is the primary voice for JPM’s macro views in the region, responsible for forecasting and analysis of economies and markets, development of trade ideas across cash and derivatives, and publication of related research. His team consistently ranks top 3 in the Extel/Institutional Investor polls in both equities and fixed income, and has been #1 or #2 ranked forecaster of Australian interest rates in the Focus Economics awards for the last eight years. In 2024 he was ranked #1 interest rate forecaster by the Australian Financial Review. He holds a BSc (Math, University of London) and a PhD in Economics (University of Sydney).

Hani Kablawi
Executive Vice Chair, BNY

As Executive Vice Chair, Hani leads BNY's strategy, business, client relationships and teams across Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. He is member of BNY’s Executive Committee, and of the senior committees that oversee business management, client, risk, people and culture. He also serves on a number of the bank's subsidiary boards in Europe and the Middle East.

Hani is Vice Chair of the advisory council of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), and serves on the board of UK Finance, the British trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector.

Since joining the bank in 1997, Hani has held a number of leadership roles in New York, London and the UAE. Hani is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has previously worked for HSBC in New York.

Sandra Lee
Head of Private Markets, UniSuper

Sandra Lee is Head of Private Markets at UniSuper and has over 25 years’ experience in the investment management and financial services industry.
Prior to UniSuper, Sandra held senior investment and finance roles at Perpetual Investments and the NAB group. Her experience in private markets includes leading the investment and business strategy, transactional and portfolio management at UniSuper with responsibility for over $15 billion across infrastructure and private equity investments. Sandra’s expertise covers the transportation, utilities, timberlands, PPPs and digital infrastructure sectors in Australia and globally. Sandra also leads management of UniSuper’s meaningful ownership interests including representation on boards and investor committees across international markets. This includes her role as director on the board of Sydney Airport.

Brett Lewthwaite
Chief Investment Officer and Head of Fixed Income, Macquarie Asset Management

Brett is Deputy Head of Credit for Macquarie Asset Management (MAM). In this role, Brett oversees a broad range of investment capabilities globally, including global fixed income, multisector, credit and insurance, emerging markets debt, municipals, and private credit. He has also been the Lead Portfolio Manager of the highly regarded Macquarie Income Opportunities Strategy since 2004. Brett is also Chief Investment Officer and Head of Fixed Income, serves on MAM Credit Executive Committee, and is a member of the MAM Management Forum.

Brett has more than 30 years of experience in financial services. He previously led the Macquarie Fixed Income teams in Sydney and London and became a Senior Credit Portfolio Manager in 2004. Before joining the firm, he worked as a Portfolio Manager at BT Funds Management for nine years.

He holds a Graduate Degree in Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia, as well as a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics from the University of Sydney.

Will Liang
Chief Executive Officer, Amplify AI Group

Will Liang is the CEO of Amplify AI Group, a consulting firm which specialises in helping superannuation funds on their AI journey. Amplify AI Group have trained executives and investment professionals who collectively manage over $1.1 trillion in assets under management. Our value proposition is our industry practitioners' knowledge of asset owners and managers with true AI expertise, as recognised by our global speaking engagements.

With over 18 years’ experience leading AI, data and technology, Will was CTO for MA Asset Management, served as enterprise architect and CIO for Macquarie Capital Asia Pacific as part of a decade at Macquarie Group, and led KPMG’s national regulatory technology practice.

His interest in data analytics and artificial intelligence has been long standing and includes travelling to Harvard for professional development in data and AI in 2019.

Will is recognised internationally for his technology leadership, including as a Top Voice on Linkedin for Data Science and AI and was named as a Global Top 100 Data and Analytics leader by Corinium. He was also named the Top 100 CIO in Asia by CIO.com. In Australia, he was awarded an honorary fellowship at UTS for his work on AI education in 2024.

Will is a sought-after speaker and his most high profile keynote was at the TEDxSydney event on AI and humanity.

Stephanie Malon
Partner, Allens

Stephanie is a Partner in the Funds, Superannuation and Financial Services group at Allens. Stephanie specialises in advising superannuation trustees on their investments, regulatory, governance and procurement work. She has assisted many of Australia's largest superannuation trustees on their most strategically important matters, including complex superannuation fund mergers, major regulatory change projects, investments across a range of asset classes and regulatory investigations and disputes.

Madeleine Morris
Chief Strategy, Corporate Affairs & Experience Officer, ASFA

Madeleine Morris is ASFA’s Chief Strategy, Corporate Affairs and Experience Officer.

Madeleine joined the team in January 2025 having previously consulted to ASFA.  Prior to that she enjoyed a long career in Australian and international media, including as the finance presenter of ABC News Breakfast, senior reporter for 7.30, presenter of ABC/RMIT FactCheck and 11 years in London at the BBC as a reporter and presenter on BBC World television and radio.  She has reported from over 20 countries, including the US where she was Washington Reporter for the BBC. She has won numerous journalism awards, including a prestigious UK One World Media Award and is also a published author.

Madeleine holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, and post-graduate qualification from the London School of Economics and UTS. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a director of South-East Community Links in Melbourne.

Prashanthi Nadarajah
Principal Consultant, JANA

Prashanthi is a Principal Consultant with a focus on providing consulting services to some of Australia's largest superannuation funds. Prashanthi is a member of the JANA Investment Committee (JIC) and has also been a member of the JANA Platform Investment Committee (JPIC) and the JANA Research Committee (JRC). Prashanthi has spent a number of years in both the Alternative Investment Strategies Research Team and the Australian Equities Research Team during her time at JANA.

Prashanthi holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and a Master of Commerce (Honours) from the University of New South Wales.

Kamal Naqvi
Senior Managing Director, Institutional Client Solutions, Blackstone

Kamal Naqvi is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and leads Institutional Client Solutions for Australia and New Zealand. He also serves as an advisor to the Hedge Fund Solutions Group (BAAM), having previously been a portfolio manager primarily responsible for commodity investments.

Before joining Blackstone in London in 2015, Mr. Naqvi worked in a range of senior trading, sales and research roles for Credit Suisse, Barclays Capital and Macquarie Bank. He began his career at the Tasmanian State Government Department of Development and Resources.

Mr. Naqvi holds degrees in Law and in Economics (with honours) from the
University of Tasmania.

Susan Orr
Deputy Chief Investment Officer (Portfolio Construction), Hostplus

Susan Orr is Deputy Chief Investment Officer (Portfolio Construction) at Hostplus, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds. In this role, she is responsible for portfolio construction, manager oversight and investment governance, helping to shape the investment outcomes delivered to more than one million members. She works closely with the CIO and investment leadership team to ensure the Fund’s investment program remains focused on delivering strong long-term, risk-adjusted returns for members.

Susan joined Hostplus in 2024 and was appointed Deputy CIO in 2025 after serving as Head of Investment Research and Real Assets. Prior to Hostplus, she spent more than a decade at JANA Investment Advisers, where she was Head of Infrastructure Research, advising institutional investors on infrastructure strategy, manager selection and portfolio construction. Earlier in her career, she worked in Macquarie Capital’s Infrastructure, Utilities and Renewables team.

Susan holds degrees in Commerce (Finance and Economics) and Science (Mathematics and Statistics) from the University of Melbourne.

John Pearce
Chief Investment Officer, UniSuper

John joined UniSuper in 2009 and is responsible for the management of our investment functions. John has over 35 years’ experience in the financial services industry both in Australia and Asia. He has held several senior positions including Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Investments for Australia's largest asset management company Colonial First State from 2000 to 2006.
From 2006 to 2008 John was the Head of Global Asset Management for Ping An, which is China's second largest insurance company. John has a degree in economics and a Masters in applied finance. He has also completed a Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School. John served as a non-executive director on the Treasury Corporation of Victoria Board from 2015 to 2024.

Holly Ransom
Chief Executive Officer, Emergent Global

Holly Ransom is the CEO of Emergent Global and author of The Leading Edge. She is renowned for driving transformative initiatives in leadership development, diversity, and innovation across corporate, non-profit, and public sectors, and for empowering leaders worldwide to navigate change and drive real-world impact.

Fiona Reynolds
Chair, Australian Ethical Super

Fiona Reynolds is an independent director and advisory board member working across the business and investor sectors on ESG and sustainability issues. Fiona served as the CEO of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) for just under a decade, stepping down at the beginning of 2022.

Fiona is the Chair of Australian Ethical Superannuation, the UN Global Compact Network Australia and Finance for Peace; she also serves on the Board of Frontier Advisors and the Achieve Foundation. She is the President of FAIRR and the Coller Pension Institute and is on a number of Advisory Committees working across the sustainability and pensions space both in Australia and Globally including the Advisory Committee for the NSW Commissioner for Anti-Slavery and the Australian Human Rights Institute.

Fiona has 30 years' experience in the sustainability, financial services, superannuation and pension sector. She joined the PRI from the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), where she spent seven years as CEO.

Louisa Roberts
Head of Aladdin, Australia & NZ, BlackRock

Louisa Roberts is the Head of Aladdin Client Business (Australia & New Zealand), managing strategic relationships and ensuring that clients maximise the value they receive from BlackRock’s enterprise investment systems, Aladdin & eFront.
Louisa holds a Bachelor of Mathematics and Finance (BMathFin) from the University of Technology, Sydney, and a Bachelor of Economics (BEc) majoring in pure mathematics and accounting from the University of Sydney.

Oleg Ruban
Head of APAC Research, MSCI

As Head of APAC Research, Oleg Ruban leads a team that conducts research and assists institutional clients in the Asia Pacific region on their investment decisions leveraging MSCI solutions.

Prior to joining MSCI in 2008, Oleg worked as an emerging market economist and a quantitative strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort. Oleg began his professional career as a graduate
trainee in derivative sales at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Oleg has an undergraduate degree in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford and MSc degrees from the University of Warwick and Manchester Business School.
He also has a PhD in Finance from Manchester Business School, where his topic was studies in emerging market debt.

Anna Shelley
Chief Investment Officer, AMP

Anna is the Chief Investment Officer at AMP, a diversified financial services business, providing banking, investment, superannuation and retirement services to more than 1 million customers. At AMP over the last 5 years, Anna’s team have near halved the fees to superannuation members and improved performance of the flagship products from bottom to top or second quartile.
Anna has an extensive background in investment management, investment advice and product strategy and development. Anna was previously CIO at profit-to-member industry funds, Catholic Super & Equip Super, and has also worked in product and investment research & advisory roles at some of Australia’s largest investment firms and asset consultants.

Sandra Sweeney
Sports Practice Lead, Deloitte

Sandra Sweeney leads Deloitte’s Australian Sports Practice. Sandra has worked with professional sport, national sporting organisations, peak bodies, government sports entities and community sport throughout her career. Bringing her skills as a marketer and technologist, and her knowledge of the Australian sports ecosystem, Sandra has a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing sport over the next decade and leads a team of sports specialist that are focused on maximising the green and gold runway as a catalyst for transformation in sport.

She has a life-long love of sport having been a high-level netball player, and now a rower, and President of her community rowing club, Canberra Rowing Club. She is a passionate advocate for the value of sport, the positive impact that it has on individuals and communities.

Luke Symons
Chief Executive Officer, Equip Super

Luke Symons was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Equip Super in 2026, bringing more than two decades of leadership experience across banking, wealth management, financial advice and superannuation. Throughout his career, Luke has led large teams, worked in complex operational environments and led major transformation programs across some of Australia’s most regulated financial services sectors.

Prior to joining Equip Super, Luke’s career includes senior executive roles at legalsuper, ANZ and AMP, as well as founding and leading two financial services businesses.
Luke holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne and an MBA in Strategy & Innovation from Charles Sturt University.

Will Walker
Chief Investment and Development Officer, Real Estate, IFM

Will is responsible for identifying and acquiring investment opportunities for IFM Investors’ Real Estate funds and leads the firm’s property development function, unlocking existing assets' development potential and seeking an opportunistic pipeline to support long-term, sustainable returns for clients.

Will brings over 25 years of experience in the real estate industry, having held senior roles at ASX listed property groups, Lendlease and Mirvac for 15 years. Prior to joining IFM Investors, Will was Chief Investment and Development Officer at ISPT. He also worked as Executive General Manager Development and Head of NSW for Cbus Property where he influenced the design and execution of the company strategy, with specific accountability for all activity related to driving Cbus Property’s development growth strategy and leading the NSW business.

Will holds a BA in Property Economics from University of Technology Sydney, Masters of Business Law from Sydney University, Master of Applied Finance from FINSA and a Diploma of Construction Management from Oten.

Tony Wood
Senior Fellow, Energy and Climate Change Program, Grattan Institute

Tony is the Energy and Climate Change Senior Fellow at Grattan Institute. He was previously the Program Director, from 2011 to 2025, and before then worked at Origin Energy in senior executive roles for 14 years.

From 2009 to 2014 he was also Program Director of Clean Energy Projects at the Clinton Foundation, advising governments in the Asia-Pacific region on effective deployment of large-scale, low-emission energy technologies. In 2008, he was seconded to provide an industry perspective to the first Garnaut climate change review.

In January 2018, Tony was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his significant service to conservation and the environment, particularly in the areas of energy policy, climate change and sustainability. In October 2019, Tony was elected as a Fellow to the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.