First State Super has appointed former ASFA chief Philippa Smith to its board, and finalised an investment consultant review.
After an extensive and thorough assessment, conducted by ChantWest, the board has reappointed JANA as investment consultant for a further three years. While Smith, who takes up her first board position since resigning from ASFA earlier this year, replaces Mark Duffy, director general of water and energy at the NSW State Government, who was on the First State board for eight and a half years. First State Super became a public offer fund in May 2006 and in that time its membership has increased from about 450,000 to 510,000.
AustralianSuper’s appointment of a general manager, retirement to replace Shawn Blackmore, which follows ART's redeployment of Kathy Vincent to chief operating officer, shows that mega funds are back-pedalling on the strategy of having dedicated retirement C-suite executives. The role had been touted as the next big thing in super funds' organisational structures, but experts say what matters is there is senior accountability for decumulation.
Darcy SongDecember 4, 2024
