Influential women: A spotlight on the chairs of APRA's largest funds - Part One

Independent research carried out by Industry Moves has shown that of the top 10 largest APRA funds, five are chaired by women. Over the next couple of weeks we'll be catching up with these leaders and asking about their role as chair, their background, and the steps they believe are needed to ensure women are equally represented on boards. This week we feature Victoria Weekes, Angela Emslie and Anne Ward.

Victoria Weekes

Independent Chair, OnePath Funds Management Limited & OnePath Custodians Limited

Appointed Chair?
August 2011

Other current board positions?
ETrade Australia Securities Limited, Sydney Local Health District, St George Community Housing, Financial Services Institute of Australasia, chair of the audit & risk committee of the State Library of NSW and audit & risk committee member of Australian Technology Park Sydney.

Education?
University of New South Wales - Bachelor degree, Commerce & Law

Place of birth?
I was born in a small town called Beaconsfield in the United Kingdom. The fourth child, with my dad an Officer in the Royal Navy and my mum a sixth generation Australian, we moved to Australia when I was two, so for all intents and purposes I grew up in Sydney.

First job?
My first professional job was as a graduate solicitor at Allen Allen & Hemsley, working mostly on capital markets transactions, but I was quickly drawn to the financial markets and became an investment banker. I had many casual jobs through school and University, ranging from babysitting to working at KFC and Franklins supermarkets. It was a great training ground in terms of understanding customer service and driving career ambition, and I find it's always helpful to remember the wide range of employment contexts in which our members work when I am making decisions as a superannuation trustee.

Most rewarding part of the role as chair?
Being the Chair of a Board can be both challenging and extremely rewarding at the same time. It carries with it significant leadership responsibility and requires resilience to stay the course when times are tough and I've learned a great deal from working with other accomplished Chairs and Directors. For the same reason it is incredibly satisfying when you can assist in steering an organisation through challenging times and keep a clear focus on the strategic direction and champion the members interests. I am a firm believer in the power of people and it's a great feeling when one garners the diversity of skill, talent and ideas on a Board, both Executive and Non-Executive, to really work together as a team.

Are quotas necessary to get equal representation on boards?
I strongly believe in performance targets for achieving gender diversity, whether on Boards or in executive leadership ranks. In business we assign measures to a range of business objectives and reward achievement accordingly - gender diversity should be no different from any other critical business objective. If organisations genuinely commit to targets and apply the same ingenuity and skill to their achievement as other business objectives, we shouldn't need quotas. I truly believe there is a large untapped female talent pool out there if business is prepared to look. But given the slow rate of progress over the last decade, it remains to be seen whether we will achieve true diversity without quotas.

If so, what might be necessary to get to the AIST target of a minimum of 40% of each gender by 2017?
I believe that achieving minimum 40 per cent of each gender on super trustee boards by 2017 is absolutely achievable. This is an area where there are many highly qualified and experienced women with wide ranging skills, and I believe there are more than enough talented women to meet that target by 2017. All it requires is commitment, a rigorous search process and merit based appointment.

Angela Emslie

Independent Chair, HESTA

Appointed Chair?
January 1, 2013

Other current board positions?
Director and President of Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), Frontier Advisors, LIME Management Group and Suicide Prevention Australia.

Education?
Monash University - Bachelor of Economics
RMIT University - Master of Business (Management)

Career background?
After completing my Economics Degree and a stint in public relations I worked as a Research Officer/Economist. I then moved into Occupational Heath and Safety and association management.

For the last 16 years I have had a unique portfolio career as a professional trustee director combined with management consulting in the health and community services sector. In addition to HESTA I have experience as a Trustee Director of CareSuper, VicSuper, Vision Super and AusFund.

Place of birth?
Hobart, Tasmania

First job?
Selling undies part time at South Melbourne Market.

Most rewarding part of the role as chair?
It is a privilege to be part of a board and organisation which is so totally focused on one thing; improving retirement outcomes for members, the vast majority of whom are women with low account balances. I always get great service from nurses when they find out I work for HESTA - it is so rewarding to hear how much they trust HESTA to look after their retirement savings so they can get on with their busy roles both at work and at home.

Are quotas necessary to get equal representation on boards?
HESTA is evidence that it can be done without quotas. We have one of the best records of any board having had more than 60% women on our board for some time. However at the current pace of change on the majority of boards it will be decades before we achieve equal representation of women so at some point we may have to consider quotas.

If so, what might be necessary to get to the AIST target of a minimum of 40% of each gender by 2017?
AIST has undertaken a range of strategies to encourage funds to appoint more women including setting this aspirational target of 40% along with board ready programs such as the AIST Super Spring Board Program. Progress is slow however and achieving a near doubling of the number of women on super boards in three years will be difficult without a stronger commitment from boards and sponsoring organisations.

Anne Ward

Independent Chair, Colonial First State Investments Ltd

Appointed Chair?
January 2013

Other current board positions?
Chair of Zoos Victoria, Avanteos Investments, Colonial Mutual Superannuation Pty Ltd, Qantas Superannuation, the Centre for Investor Education and a director of FlexiGroup Ltd and Foundation for Imaging Research.

Education?
University of Melbourne - Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws

Career background?
Commercial lawyer for 28 years.
General Counsel, Australia and Asia for National Australia Bank and a corporate partner at two major Australian law firms: Minter Ellison and Herbert Geer in Melbourne.
Admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Place of birth?
Melbourne, but I grew up in Cardross, a tiny hamlet in the Sunraysia district near Mildura

First job?
Grape picking on my father's vineyard at Cardross.

Most rewarding part of the role as chair?
Helping companies succeed.

Are quotas necessary to get equal representation on boards?
I believe a number of things are necessary to accelerate progress. They include strong leadership and hard targets. Hard targets are those which have consequences for failure. Strong leadership means those responsible for board appointments must work hard to find appropriately skilled and experienced women and ensure they are on the short lists. It does not mean comprising on quality - there are well qualified women out there but leaders may have to work harder to find them.

If so, what might be necessary to get to the AIST target of a minimum of 40% of each gender by 2017?
See above.

Read Part Two, featuring Nicole Smith, chair of MLC Superannuation Trustee.
Read Part Three, featuring Heather Ridout, chair of AustralianSuper.