Leeanne Turner, chief executive officer of the Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund (MTAA Super), has been named the fund executive of the year by FEAL.
This is the second award won by MTAA Super in 2014 after the chair of its board, John Brumby, was named trustee of the year by the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees in March.
The 13th annual award, which recognises the work of outstanding leaders in the Australian superannuation industry, was presented at a gala dinner at The Hilton in Sydney.
Turner will now receive a $20,000 executive education grant, sponsored by AMP Capital, to allow her to take time out from the workplace to reflect and to refine her skills at some of the world’s most renowned business schools. Previous winners have used the grant to attend leadership courses at the London Business School, Harvard and INSEAD.
John Meagher, head of institutional business at AMP Capital, described Turner as a “worthy winner” for having steered MTAA Super through a time of intense change.
“Leeanne has implemented major reforms to the administration and strategic direction of the organisation, developed a culture of continuous improvement and successfully repositioned the fund to the motor trades sector,” he said. “She has also contributed to the industry more broadly through her involvement with Women in Super and as a board member of Industry Super Australia.”
He added that women had now won the award for two consecutive years, which showed the calibre of female ability in the industry – Robyn Petrou of Energy Super was fund executive of the year in 2013.
Joanna Davison chief executive of FEAL said: “Leeanne stands out as a fund executive of conviction and commitment. Her contribution not only to MTAA Super but to the industry as a whole is to be commended.”
On picking up the award Turner described the last two years at the fund as challenging but immensely rewarding professionally. She said the education grant would be an opportunity to continue this development. She also paid tribute to others at MTAA Super.
“I really think this award is a tribute to the MTAA team and the board. We have done a lot of work to reposition the fund and I am very proud to say I have led the fund on its repositionsing.”
Turner has more than 25 years’ experience in the industry and has been the CEO of MTAA Super since 2011. She has worked for organisations such as AVSuper, Military Schemes Secretariat, the Department of Defence and ComSuper.
