Andrew Proebstl quits as legalsuper chief executive

legalsuper chief Andrew Proebstl will leave the super fund after almost 20 years in the role.

The fund's chief operating officer Trevin Ericson will step into the role of interim chief executive.

The acting chief joined legalsuper just three months ago from Australian Retirement Trust where he spent five months as head of operations.

Before that, he worked at Sunsuper for 14 years, most recently as executive general manager of customer engagement.

Despite Erickon's strong credentials, legalsuper has hired an executive search company to find a replacement for Proebstl  -  one who will build on the fund's existing strong member base and performance.

Chair Kirsten Mander praised Proebstl as an industry leader who is leaving the fund in a position of strength.

"Andrew is widely recognised as an advocate for smaller super funds being able to deliver strong results to members and provide more personalised and customised products and services to members," she said.

"During his time at the helm, Andrew nurtured and extended the capability of our people to ensure legalsuper always delivered high quality, personal and tailored experiences for its members and employers.

"Andrew leaves legalsuper in a position of strength, with an ambitious outlook for the future, where our size has meant we can do things differently and be responsive to the current and future needs of our members.

Mander thanked Proebstl for his commitment and contribution over two decades.

The $5 billion industry fund dedicated to the legal community consistently delivers above-average returns and has a high level of member engagement.

Legalsuper's resilience means it has a sizeable buffer between itself and APRA's benchmark.

And, based on the release of Your Future, Your Super performance test results in December 2021, legalsuper's MySuper option outperformed the APRA benchmark, and with outperformance this financial year, the buffer is expected to increase.

Proebstl had a lead role in the negotiation and implementation of seven mergers of other legal sector funds which ultimately led to the creation of legalsuper.

During his stewardship, assets under management rose from $190 million to $5 billion.

The fund was recently placed in the highest award category by the major rating agencies: The Heron Partnership and Rainmaker.

In a LinkedIn post, the outgoing chief executive acknowledged that stepping down was a difficult decision to make. "Sometimes you need to shake things up, put yourself outside comfortable and seek out the next opportunity," he said.

Proebstl said his legacy is the staff who are fully committed and passionate about making legalsuper successful and delivering outstanding outcomes for its members.

"I thank the team for their support of me during my tenure, their commitment and drive as well as for the times that we just had fun!"

Proebstl said he was excited about embarking on the next phase of his career, leaving legalsuper knowing he had achieved the goals he set for himself.

"It was an honour and a privilege to have had the opportunity to work with such a fabulous team at legalsuper," he said.

"I'm very proud of the results the fund achieved during my time as chief executive and I look forward to seeing how the business evolves from here."