Christian Super is searching for a new chief executive, while the board contemplates offering other financial services products under its new public offer status.
Paul Beckmann, who has been CEO for the past eight years, is due to leave the fund at the end of October, but has no firm job plans. He said he did not have a job to go to but would “reassess what he is doing”. Chair of the $475 million fund, David Bartlett, said the search for a new CEO was reflective of the fund entering its new public offer phase, and the board’s acknowledgment that the role of a fund CEO had changed. “Paul was our establishment CEO and we now see an opportunity to move the fund to the next level,” he said. “We are looking for someone with solid super or finance experience but also some marketing flair to market our fund to a wider audience.” As part of its initial marketing effort, Christian Super has sponsored a car on the V8 super car circuit. Bartlett said the board was also looking at a broader vision for its product range, other than just super. “I think super as an individual product is less likely to survive than super connected with other products,” he said. The fund, advised by Mercer, manages all its investments under its own ethically directed investments charter, including negative and positive screens.
The $355 billion AustralianSuper has acquired a $1.4 billion European industrial and logistics portfolio, owned by OMERS real estate subsidiary Oxford Properties. The nation’s biggest fund is targeting a $7.5 billion valuation for the venture and $35 billion allocation in European and UK region before 2030, supported by its biggest international office in London with 121 employees.
Darcy SongJanuary 14, 2025
