Brief the Boss – Sydney

Samantha Baden is General Manager, Communications & Community at Rest, one of Australia’s largest profit-to-member superannuation funds. She leads enterprise communications and reputation management and has extensive experience across superannuation, financial services, insurance and media. Sam is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Jane Couchman is a senior executive in the banking and financial services sector, with over 30 years of leadership experience across Legal, Risk, and Governance disciplines. She currently serves as the Chief Risk Officer and Group Executive, Governance at Aware Super. Her career spans pivotal executive roles, including Executive General Manager, Compliance at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA); Global Chief Operating Officer, Compliance and Head of Enterprise Compliance at Macquarie Bank; Chief Risk Officer at BT Financial Group; and General Counsel at Perpetual. Jane has led major governance, culture, and accountability transformation programs at Macquarie Bank, CBA, and Aware Super. She has also spearheaded strategic initiatives such as the risk integration of Asgard and BT Financial Group during the St George–Westpac merger, and the digital transformation of Aware Super’s internal administration platform.

Alex is an accomplished leader with more than 25 years of experience spanning entrepreneurship, consulting and enterprise technology delivery. He has founded and scaled two technology businesses focused on AI, automation and business transformation, and has also held senior leadership roles within a Big 4 consultancy, supporting organisations through large-scale technology and transformation initiatives. Throughout his career, Alex has worked with organisations across financial services, telecommunications, government and other regulated industries, supporting transformation, technology modernisation and AI-enabled innovation.

In his current role, Alex shapes Novigi's strategic direction - developing new market propositions and building the capabilities that will underpin the firm's future growth. He is also responsible for overseeing Novigi's Data & AI and Digital & CX capabilities, guiding the delivery of significant technology initiatives across the superannuation industry.

The Team Superannuation Fund (Team Super) is a profit to members, public offer pension fund dedicated to serving the retirement needs of all Australians. Team Super manages over $22 billion in funds for approximately 150,000 members.

Vasyl Nair is the Chief Executive Officer of Team Super (prior to this, Vasyl held the roles of Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Strategy Officer). Vasyl is a keen advocate for the ongoing development of the superannuation sector, with active participation in a number of different parts of the industry. He has served as a director of an Australian fintech organisation, specialising in superannuation and investment administration. Vasyl was appointed to the Board of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) as Director in January 2025, the peak pension fund association in Australia.

Vasyl has a strong background in law, corporate finance and strategy, having held senior roles across at some of Australia’s largest financial services institutions. Vasyl holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hon), Bachelor of Commerce, Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice and an Executive Master of Business Administration. He is admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW as a solicitor, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has achieved a Certificate of Business Excellence from the Haas School of Business, U.C. Berkeley.