Susan DoyleThe chair of the $17 billion Australian Reward Investment Alliance ended her six-year tenure at the public sector funds last Monday, but there’s been no comment from the scheme or its sponsor, the Department of Finance, on her achievements or her replacement.

Susan Doyle said she had not sought reappointment as ARIA’s independent chair, six years after the previous Government installed the former funds management executive in the position.

Doyle said she was "happy to focus" on her role as Guardian of the Future Fund, which she commenced three years ago and has just been reappointed for a further four years.

"I was proud to serve ARIA, which is actually the first place I worked out of school, back in the 1970s when it was known as The Superannuation Board," Doyle said.

"Being Chair took up three days of my week so it feels a little bit like I’m on holiday at the moment," Doyle joked, adding that she was considering other non-executive opportunities. 

Asked to list the ARIA initiatives with which she was most pleased, Doyle nominated the "introduction of a strong governance structure", worked spurred on by a major Watson Wyatt project 18 months ago to help the scheme understand the role of the trustee.

ARIA’s secretariat referred comment on the board to the Department of Finance, where a spokesperson said the process of finding a replacement for Doyle was "in train".

Presumably the tenure of any new chair will be a short one, given ARIA and MilitarySuper are due to merge next July.

Last week, Shadow Defence Minister Bob Baldwin condemned the Rudd Government for taking no action on a review of military superannuation arrangements which was now more than 18 months old.


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