Cbus reshapes executive team

Cbus Super has announced a slew of internal executive appointments, reshaping its senior leadership to support the delivery of a refreshed strategy.

It follows the appointment of Kristian Fok as chief executive in June and his deputy, Brett Chatfield, stepping up to lead investment strategy as chief investment officer.

In August, Leigh Gavin, former head of investment model design at AustralianSuper, was tapped to lead Cbus’ portfolio strategies.

The $85 billion fund has now made five new appointments in its executive team from within the fund. 

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Chatfield’s new deputy will be Alexandra Campbell, who has been head of private markets at Cbus for almost two years and was head of infrastructure for over three years. She has previously held senior positions at AustralianSuper, Avoca Capital Advisors and Hastings Funds Management.

Alexandra West, who has been chief strategy officer for investments for the last seven years, has been named chief strategy officer for the fund. She will be responsible for enterprise strategy and performance; enterprise positioning; and enterprise advocacy and public affairs.

West brings international leadership experience in financial services and superannuation, including roles with Fidelity Investments US, McKinsey & Company, and the IFC/World Bank.

Meanwhile, Nancy Day, chief operating officer for investments at the fund since 2018, has been named chief operating officer, responsible for all support and enabling operating aspects of Cbus including investment enablement, finance and technology. She has over 20 years’ experience working in the financial services and superannuation sector.

Natalie Hannemann, head of service at the fund since 2020, has been appointed to chief transformation officer role to focus on operational excellence to service members and drive efficiency across the business. Her experience spans health insurance, not-for-profit and superannuation sectors, including in leadership roles at World Vision and Bupa.

Cbus’ new chief people officer will be Justine Hartman, who has been acting group executive for people and culture since May 2023. She has more than 20 years of expertise in the superannuation industry and people and culture roles and joined Cbus from Superpartners. 

Cbus chief executive Fok said the new appointments were crucial steps for enacting a renewed strategy for the fund.

“The new roles and a re-invigorated business unit model will support the Fund’s future development, so Cbus is always the organisation we want and need to be for our members,” Fok said. 

“We’ve had a period of growth through mergers that has increased our member base and our reach into the media, arts, print, energy and electrical sectors.

“We need to continue to be on the front foot about how we evolve Cbus, aligning our operational capabilities so we can set ourselves up for future growth and continued long term investment performance, and have a strategic focus on the way we work.

“I’m proud of the diversity the fund has among our senior leaders and I’m proud to say we’ve been able to identify talent from within Cbus. 

“We are driving strong leadership development within Cbus, and providing continuity and alignment with our values and culture as a member-centric specialist Fund.”

In the year to 30 June 2023, Cbus’ Growth (MySuper) investment option returned 8.9 per cent over the last financial year. The three-year rolling average performance for the option is 7.7 per cent.