Mark Armour will succeed Ian Martin as chair of UniSuper following Mr Martin’s decision to retire from the board of the $108 billion super fund at the end of December.
Originally joining as an independent director in April 2013, Mr Martin was appointed chair of UniSuper in July 2017 and guided the fund through significant regulatory and legislative changes in the super sector, including the fund’s decision to open to the public.
He previously served as CEO of BT Financial Group and global head of investment management of Bankers Trust Corporation as well as chair of Argo Investments, Argo Global Listed Infrastructure and vice-chair, Asia Pacific, of Berkshire Capital.
Under Mr Martin’s stewardship, UniSuper said that it had grown from $60 billion to more than $100 billion in funds under management. Commenting on his decision to retire, Mr Martin said he was grateful for the opportunity to guide the fund during his tenure.
“I feel proud to have chaired the fund through the rapidly-evolving market and regulatory environment in the last few years, and in particular, the successful transition to full public offer in July 2021,” he said.
“I thank my fellow directors and the entire UniSuper team, members and other stakeholders for their support and commitment.”
Mr Armour originally joined the UniSuper board as an independent non-executive director in July 2017 and currently chairs its investment committee and technology and projects committee.
Over the past 20 years, he has served as head of the European business of Invesco, CEO of Invesco Australia and CEO of funds management at AXA Australia.
“UniSuper is one of Australia’s leading super funds. It will certainly be an honour to work with my experienced colleagues on the board and our talented executive leadership team to guide this exceptional fund as chair,” Mr Armour said on his appointment.
“Ian always provided strong strategic direction for the fund, so this transition will be seamless. I thank Ian for his dedication to UniSuper over the past decade, and wish him the very best of luck in his future endeavours.”
