Cbus Super has announced on Tuesday the appointment of Kristian Fok as chief executive officer (CEO), while Marianne Walker has been named deputy CEO.
Mr Fok, who has been acting CEO since the retirement of Justin Arter in May, has been the fund’s chief investment officer (CIO) for the last decade and had a close association with the fund as an asset consultant for a decade before that.
As CIO, he led the development and implementation of Cbus’ hybrid internalisation strategy, which has seen the management of 38 per cent of the fund’s assets brought in-house and total cumulative costs savings for members of over $500 million.
Cbus chair Wayne Swan said that Mr Fok has put Cbus’ investment team “at the leading edge of pension funds around the world”.
“We are excited that he will now devote his considerable abilities to the wider leadership of the fund,” Mr Swan said.
“He innately understands the fund, its heritage, and our connection to the built environment sector.
“Kristian is devoted to the profit-to-member model that underpins industry super funds and the board looks forward to working with him to continue delivering for members.”
Moreover, Ms Walker has been a Cbus executive since 2019 and is also the fund’s chief member officer, joining the fund from Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services where she had been executive director of customer support.
Speaking on Ms Walker’s appointment, Mr Swan said that she brings a “genuine and no-nonsense member-first attitude” to her work.
“Administering superannuation funds has increased in complexity as funds have expanded, and Marianne carries a fierce determination to cut through barriers and deliver the best possible services for our 900,000 members, now and into the future.
“She calls a spade a spade and what you see is what you get. Our members and sponsoring organisations appreciate that.”
Mr Swan added that Mr Fok and Ms Walkers’ immediate focus is on expanding Cbus’ offering on retirement and improving services for members.
“For 40 years, Cbus has been hugely successful at building members’ account balances.”
“Our challenge now is to make sure we deliver members the best possible retirement experience and we are confident we have the right leaders for that task,” he concluded.
Mr Arter first announced in March that he will step down from his role after the successful completion of the fund’s merger with EISS Super.
First appointed in July 2020, Mr Arter previously led the merger between Cbus and Media Super, which was finalised last April.
The merger with EISS Super concluded in May, the two funds having first signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2021, after which Mr Arter retired as CEO.
