SuperFriend names Rose Kerlin deputy chair

The workplace mental health organisation has appointed a deputy chair and director from the country's two largest superannuation funds and flagged a shift in direction.

SuperFriend has promoted Rose Kerlin, the chief member officer of AustralianSuper, to deputy chair and invited Australian Retirement Trust's Deanne Wilden onto the board.

Kerlin, who has worked at Australia's largest asset owner for 12 years, replaces Teifi Whatley.

Wilden serves as general counsel and executive at ART and has held similar positions at Q Super, Project Nexus Stream Lead, and Lawyers on Demand.

SuperFriend chair Nicholas Vamvakas thanked Whatley for her outstanding contributions during her 16-year tenure at the organisation.

"The addition of Deanne Wilden to the SuperFriend board of directors, along with Rose Kerlin's promotion to deputy chair, is a significant step in the evolution of our organisation," he said.

Their collective expertise will play a crucial role in our continued efforts to dive deeper into workplace mental health and provide Australian workplaces and industries with more practical and contemporary insights."

In addition to the new appointments, SuperFriend chief executive Darren Black has announced a new strategic direction for the organisation.

"SuperFriend's new strategic direction marks a significant shift from raising awareness to driving meaningful action on workplace mental health. It's time for action and workplaces to realise they need to do more and move beyond compliance," said Black.

Black's announcement comes as SuperFriend prepares to launch its signature annual report, 2022 Indicators of a Thriving Workplace Survey - the country's largest survey of Australian workers.

"SuperFriend is reinvesting in our research to understand better what makes a thriving workplace across different industries. Our Five Domains framework and industry-specific insights will be customised to support workplace leaders and teams responsible for People & Culture, Health & Safety, and Well-being.

As part of this new direction, SuperFriend is committed to working directly with high-risk industries and businesses ready to take a proactive approach.

"Our goal is to equip them with actionable information that they can use to shift the dial on workplace mental health and wellbeing and boost business outcomes," he added,