David Gonski, chairman of ASX Ltd., will advise the Government on the selection of a new chairman for the $73.2 billion Future Fund. The fund is seeking a new chairman following the expected departure next year of David Murray.

“Gonski has been asked to consult with members of the current Future Fund Board on this process which will ensure candidates with the key skills and experiences that complement the board are put forward,” says a spokesperson for the Minister for Finance and Deregulation.

The department hired an executive recruitment consultant in August to help select a new chairman.

Murray, the former chief executive of Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd., was appointed to the fund on April 3, 2006, for five years. He was reappointed for one year from April 3, 2011. Murray is honorary chairman of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, says the organisation’s web site.

The Future Fund board consists of a chair and up to six other members.

Its objective is to strengthen the Commonwealth Government’s long-term financial position. It also has to make provisions for public sector unfunded superannuation liabilities as Australia’s population ages.

The fund’s third-quarter return was minus 2.9 per cent. Since May 2006, the fund has made an average annual return of 4.4 per cent.