Mary Delahunty has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.
Delahunty succeeds Leeanne Turner in the role, with her position to take effect from February 2024.
Delahunty is the Founder and Managing Director of Seven Advisory, a specialist ESG consultant for institutional investors. Previously, she held various positions at Industry Fund HESTA, including as General Manager of Business Development and Policy, and Head of Impact. Delahunty’s work has successfully highlighted the policy changes needed to close the gendered retirement gap, including undertaking a Churchill Fellowship on the topic in 2015.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia board welcomed Delahunty to the role.
“Mary Delahunty’s appointment marks a significant milestone for ASFA,” said ASFA Chair, Gary Dransfield.
“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.
“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 preeminent voice of the industry.”
Delahunty said it was an honour to join the team at The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and was looking forward to contributing.
“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.
Dransfield said the board would like to thank Leeanne Turner for stepping in as interim CEO.
“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,” he said.
“Collaboration across the industry at a time of such change has never been more important and the Conference signals a bright year ahead,” concluded Mr Dransfield.
Delahunty also holds a number of board positions including in RegTech and education.