In a move that confirms its intention to remain one of the dwindling number of stand-alone corporate funds, Qantas Superannuation has hired a Sydney recruitment firm to find a new CEO.
The $6 billion Qantas Super fund was left leaderless in March when Jeremy Edmond left the top job to take a sales role at Colonial First State Global Asset Management. Recruiter Spencer Stuart has been appointed to find a replacement for Edmonds, who headed Qantas Super for three years. Kerry Burgess is understood to be running the search. Following Edmond’s resignation and the hype surrounding the private equity bid for Australia’s national airline, there had been speculation the Qantas Super fund would join the industry trend of rolling into a master trust. However, with a new CEO about to board, that option now appears unlikely. Neither Qantas Super nor Spencer Stuart were available for comment.
The $34 billion Brighter Super is set to shift a significant proportion of equities assets in MySuper from passive to active management. Chief investment officer Mark Rider says the move is possible because of the scale created by mergers, and the fund will be looking to its newly appointed active managers to generate performance through the cycle by taking idiosyncratic risks.
Darcy SongJanuary 21, 2025
