Martin Fahy quits as ASFA chief

Martin Fahy will step down as chief executive officer of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia after seven years.

Fahy took up the role in late 2016 and has led ASFA through a time of major regulatory changes in the superannuation sector, including the PYSP reforms, the Covid-19 early release scheme, the introduction of the Your Future Your Super performance measures, and the legislated move to 12 per cent Superannuation Guarantee.

Commenting on his departure, Fahy said Australia's superannuation retirement system is the envy of our OECD peers.

"It allows Australians to face retirement with confidence and makes the fiscal burden of an aging population affordable," he said

Meantime, the ASFA board has appointed former Suncorp Group Insurance Australia chief executive and ASFA chair Gary Dransfield as interim chief executive as ASFA continues its efforts as the peak body for the superannuation industry

Dransfield said Fahy has provided outstanding leadership and has ensured that ASFA has played a pivotal role in addressing the policy and regulatory changes that have occurred during his tenure.

Dransfield is currently a non-executive director of Hollard Insurance and of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

He has been a board member and chair of the Insurance Council of Australia and the Insurance Council of New Zealand and held numerous other board directorships.

He has also held executive roles with IAG, Lendlease, and AMP.

"Under Martin's direction, ASFA has pursued a sophisticated, articulate and evidenced-based approach to advocacy and has driven capability uplift across the sector through its research, thought leadership, professional development, and related activities," Dransfield concluded.

He also held executive roles with IAG, Lendlease, and AMP.

Before joining ASFA, Fahy was the head of FINSIA, arriving from KPMG where he was a partner for four years.

Before that, he was director of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants for the Asia Pacific region, where he developed partnerships with Standard Chartered, HSBC, Cadbury Schweppes and Microsoft.

Earlier, he was the Asia Pac Practice Leader for the Hackett Group, a global benchmarking and finance transformation strategy firm.