First State Super welcomes new CEO
First State Super has welcomed incoming CEO Deanne Stewart ahead of a six-week handover with Michael Dwyer AM, prior to his retirement.
Stewart brings to the role more than 20 years’ experience in superannuation and insurance both in Australia and overseas.
Before joining First State Super, she was chief executive officer of MetLife Australia and previously held senior roles with BT Financial Group, Merrill Lynch Investment Management in New York and McKinsey & Company in London.
Chairman Neil Cochrane said: “Deanne’s extensive experience and achievements in financial services ensure she is well equipped to be our next CEO.”
Stewart will assume the role and responsibilities of CEO following Michael Dwyer’s retirement on 30 November, 2018.
QSuper CIO announces retirement
QSuper chief investment officer Brad Holzberger has announced his intention to retire at the end of September 2019.
Holzberger has been at the helm of QSuper’s investment team since 2009 and directly oversees the investment of over $80 billion in funds on behalf of QSuper’s 570,000 members.
CEO Michael Pennisi said Holzberger’s contribution to QSuper, and to superannuation policy more broadly, had been immense.
“Brad’s knowledge and wisdom is often called on in industry and policy forums, and he has become a trusted advisor to not only our investment committee and board, but to regulators and policy makers across the country who want to improve the system for the benefit of all Australians.
“Brad served as a director of the Association of Superannuation Funds Australia (ASFA) from 2011 to 2017. He was also the chair of ASFA’s Economics and Investment Policy Council. Last year, he became one of only 30 Australians to hold an ASFA life membership for outstanding contribution to the Australian superannuation industry,” Pennisi said.
The AMP Superannuation boards announce new appointments
The AMP Superannuation boards have announced that Cathy Doyle (pictured, left) and Tony Brain (pictured, right) have joined them as independent non-executive directors of AMP Superannuation Limited and N.M. Superannuation Proprietary Limited, both of which govern AMP’s superannuation funds.
Doyle has more than 25 years’ experience in the finance, superannuation and consumer services sectors, holding senior roles at McDonalds Australia, BNP Paribas, CBA, Qantas, NRMA and Perpetual.
Brain is a chartered accountant, with more than 30 years’ experience in Australia and the UK. This included 28 years with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 12 as partner responsible for the provision of assurance and advisory services to clients in the superannuation industry. He was also head of risk management at AustralianSuper for nearly three years.
AMP Superannuation Limited Chairman Rick Allert AO said: “We’re delighted to welcome Cathy and Tony to the boards. Both have considerable experience in the superannuation industry and will help ensure AMP’s superannuation funds are governed in the best interests of our members.”
Equity Trustees announces new leadership appointments
Equity Trustees has announced new leadership of its in-house asset management function following a review earlier this year.
Darren Thompson will take up the position of head of asset management, and Chris Haynes the position of head of Australian equities, on 1 October 2018. They will be based in Melbourne.
“Darren co-founded Northward Capital in 2007 after moving from IAG Asset Management. He brings to Equity Trustees 30 years’ experience and proven success in the evaluation, structuring and execution of investments, leveraging analytics and commercial insight to deliver excellent investment returns to clients.
“Chris brings over 25 years’ experience in investment and portfolio management. His proven track record of consistently over benchmark results as well as his people management and team building skills ensures a positive injection of talent to our business,” said Mick O’Brien, managing director, Equity Trustees.
NGS Super appoints CEO
NGS Super has announced the appointment of Laura Wright as its chief executive officer.
Wright has served as acting CEO of the fund over the past seven months, following the resignation of former CEO, Anthony Rodwell-Ball.
NGS Super chairman, Dick Shearman praised Wright for her exceptional leadership and her diligence during a year of change. “The board was delighted to appoint Laura as the fund’s CEO. She graciously took the leadership baton as acting CEO and successfully navigated the fund through some industry challenges and milestones which has seen the fund go from strength to strength”.
Wright is NGS Super’s second female CEO and has a long-standing history serving the fund for nearly two decades, initially as an inaugural director, then chair. For the past ten years she has worked for the Trustee Office firstly as general manager, operations before being appointed senior manager, governance.
Wright was a member of the Superfunds editorial committee for many years.
Challenger announces CEO retirement and succession
Challenger Chairman Peter Polson has announced Brian Benari’s decision to retire as managing director and CEO in January 2019 and the appointment of Richard Howes to succeed Benari.
Benari will work with Howes over a six month period to ensure a seamless transition. Howes has held a number of senior executive roles at Challenger since joining the company in 2003 including chief executive of Challenger’s Life business and chief investment officer. He currently leads Challenger’s distribution, product and marketing team. Prior to joining Challenger, Howes held senior positions with leading financial services groups in Australia and the USA, including Macquarie Bank and Bankers Trust.
Polson said: “Since his appointment as CEO in 2012, Brian has overseen the transformation of the business with the company more than tripling its market capitalisation to nearly $7 billion today. Similarly, assets under management has also almost tripled. This has delivered a total shareholder return over this time of 209 per cent, compared to the ASX200 result of 95 per cent.”
Benari said he was extremely pleased to see Howes appointed as Challenger’s next CEO. “Having worked with Richard for many years, I know that he has an exceptional intellect, customer-focus and passion for our business. I am confident he will lead Challenger to continued success,” he said.
ESSSuper announces new GM Member Engagement
ESSSuper has announced that David Daley is new GM Member Engagement.
Daley has a background as a senior executive in member-based organisations. He has a strong focus on how a high performance culture drives success in member services. In his most recent role, Daley oversaw contact centre operations supporting superannuation industry funds; such as AustralianSuper, HESTA and Cbus.
Daley replaces the previous GM Member Engagement, Brad Weldon.
