State Super appoints Senior Manager for Responsible Investment

State Super, the $43 billion NSW Government fund, has confirmed to Industry Moves the appointment of Alice Martin as senior manager for responsible investment.

In this role, Martin will be responsible for State Super's responsible investment strategy including policy development, ESG risk research and analysis, company engagement, proxy voting and reporting.

Martin joins from Local Government Super where she has served as the fund's responsible investment manager for the past four years. Before this, she served as an executive director of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, a sustainability project manager for Ausgrid, and a sustainability and reporting analyst for Vodafone Australia.

Commenting on her appointment, State Super chief executive, John Livanas, said: "State Super's belief is that Responsible Investing, including Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors could well materially impact investment risk and returns, particularly over the longer term. We are delighted that Alice Martin is joining State Super to assist us to help lead our achievement of our goals of responsible investing, and look forward to benefiting from her strong experience and insights."

Martin's is the first of four new investment roles to be filled following a restructure of the fund's senior management team, as reported by Industry Moves in September 2018.

The other three roles are: deputy CIO and general manager, defined contribution (DC) investments; general manager, defined benefits (DB) and liabilities (this role will be responsible for the TCorp relationship - the master investment manager for the DB funds); and senior manager, investment risk.

A spokesperson for Local Government Super said that the fund "is currently in the process of looking for a suitable candidate to fill the role" following Martin's departure.