AustralianSuper’s Silk steps down

AustralianSuper chief executive, Ian Silk, is stepping down from the role after 15 years and the fund’s chief risk officer, Paul Schroder, has been appointed as CEO. 

Schroder would start in the role later this year and the board said he was unanimously decided as the best person to lead the industry super fund through its next phase. 

The fund’s chair, Dr Don Russel, said Silk was leaving the fund well placed to build on past successes. 

“The AustralianSuper board wishes to express our deep appreciation for the leadership and integrity that Ian has consistently displayed throughout his tenure and in building an organisational culture that always puts the long-term financial interest of members first,” Russell said. 

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“Under Ian’s leadership the Fund has always been ambitious for members and this has played a vital role in ensuring AustralianSuper has been able to use its size and scale to be the number one performing fund across multiple time periods. The Fund has no other objective than to work in assisting members to achieve their best financial position in retirement.” 

Commenting on Schroder’s appointment, Silk said: “Paul has played a key role across the Fund over the past decade in providing low cost insurance to members, building the Fund’s brand and most recently embedding a leading risk culture at AustralianSuper. 

“He is exceptionally well placed to lead the Fund in its next phase as it moves towards being a profit-for-member $500 billion superannuation fund in the next five years, that uses the scale of the organisation to benefit members”.