The board of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has announced the appointment of Mary Delahunty as its new chief executive officer.
The appointment, which is effective from 1 February 2024, comes after former CEO Martin Fahy announced his intention to resign in May after seven years at the helm.
Ms Delahunty joins ASFA after founding Seven Advisory, a specialist ESG consultant for institutional investors. She was previously a senior manager at HESTA where she shaped strategic policies and responsible investment practices to advance member outcomes.
She holds a number of board positions and was also a 2015 Churchill Fellow awarded for international research on gender equity in pension systems.
ASFA chair Gary Dransfield described Ms Delahunty’s appointment as a significant milestone for the association.
“Her leadership qualities, industry knowledge, and demonstrated commitment to advancing the sector, align perfectly with ASFA’s 60-year-long mission to bring the whole industry together to strengthen the effectiveness of our superannuation system for all Australians,” he said.
“With a deep pipeline of consultation on critical issues ahead of us, and the planned delivery of a comprehensive professional development program to enhance skills and thought-leadership throughout the industry, we are confident that under Mary’s leadership, ASFA will continue to be the pre-eminent voice of the industry.”
Mr Dransfield had temporarily served as interim CEO of ASFA between May and October, before Leeanne Turner took over the interim role last month. ASFA confirmed that Ms Turner will continue in an interim capacity until February to ensure a smooth transition.
“The ASFA Board would like to sincerely thank Leeanne for stepping in as interim CEO at a crucial time for the organisation,” Mr Dransfield said.
“In particular, Leeanne has played an invaluable role in contributing to an outstanding program at the ASFA Conference in Adelaide next week, which explores the enormous opportunity currently presented to the industry and tackles some of our key challenges head-on.
“Collaboration across the industry at a time of such change has never been more important and the conference signals a bright year ahead.”
Commenting on her appointment, Ms Delahunty said she is honoured to be joining the ASFA team and added that she looks forward to contributing to its ongoing success
“A strong peak body, combining deep technical research with the expertise of super funds and service providers, as ASFA uniquely does, plays a crucial role in progressing important conversations on matters such as the objective of super, the role of capital and enhancing member services,” she said.
