Remembering Helen Hewett

The superannuation industry is mourning the loss of one of its biggest advocates for female representation and mental health following the former Cbus chief executive's passing this week.

Remembered as an astute leader and visionary of the super sector, Helen Hewett led Cbus from 1997 to 2004 and was the fund's deputy secretary for two years before that.

"Helen's determination to see members retire in comfort and dignity inspired all of those around her," Cbus said.

"Under Helen's tenure the funds under management grew fourfold, she expanded member access to personal risk insurance, through investment in building and construction created jobs for members and took a leadership role on issues of responsible investment."

After leaving the fund, she became executive officer of the Industry Funds Forum which merged with the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees in 2017.

It was while heading the IFF that Hewett - a staunch advocate for suicide prevention and members' mental health - founded SuperFriend, bringing together the super industry, life insurers and mental health sector.

She was also passionate about seeing more women in the superannuation industry, co-founding Women in Super, the story of which the industry body shared in its tribute to Hewett.

"In 1993, following a major superannuation conference in Melbourne attended by mostly men, four of the handful of women in attendance - Helen Hewett, Mavis Robertson, Sherridan Lee and Shirley Clarke, met for breakfast the following morning and agreed before they left to meet the following month, and each woman would bring at least one other woman who worked in superannuation with them," Women in Super said.

"Women in Super was created on that day."

Appearing at the 2019 Women in Super annual general meeting (pictured), Hewett spoke of how she and Robertson vowed to "never wear dark colours to conferences to ensure they stood out from the men".

Today the body stands as the largest network of women working in super and is a vocal advocate for women's economic security in retirement and driver of policy reform.

In 2019, Hewett's efforts saw her recognised in the Queen's Birthday honours list for her contribution to superannuation, mental health and to women.

"Her passion for improving people's lives, from mental health in the workplace to women's financial security and representation in the industry, drives us as we continue to work for better outcomes for women," Women in Super said.

Cbus added that her legacy can be seen "in skylines of our major cities, the increased retirement savings of Australian women and in the support given to workers when they are most in need".

This article first appeared in the Financial Standard.