Spirit Super farewells Chair Naomi Edwards and welcomes Maria Wilton
Naomi Edwards said:
“It has been a pleasure and privilege to lead Spirit Super and its predecessor funds. As a proud Tasmanian it fills me with pride to have played a part in building a nationally competitive fund, serviced and administered out of Hobart, with offices and people across the State and country.”
“From $1.5 billion when I joined to now $25 billion in funds under management, the largest fund covering Tasmanians, I reflect on the families across Australia who are enjoying, or will enjoy, a more decent and comfortable retirement thanks to the investments they have accumulated through their superannuation.”
The economies of scale we have achieved through our mergers have meant that Spirit Super is nationally competitive in respect of both fees and investment returns, but still with superior and award winning service levels.”
“I’d like to thank the Spirit Super members, staff, sponsoring organisations, my fellow and previous Board members and the CEOs I have worked with for their support, encouragement and advice.”
Spirit Super CEO, Jason Murray, paid tribute to Naomi Edwards:
“Naomi leaves a legacy every Spirit Super member, and indeed every Tasmanian, can be proud of. She has built, from humble beginnings at the earliest days of compulsory superannuation, a nationally award winning fund.”
“No CEO could ask for a wiser or kinder Chair. Naomi is a deeply compassionate and values-based leader with great knowledge and expertise she generously shares. I know I’m not the only person at Spirit who will miss her counsel and the care in which she engages with everyone she meets. That she leaves us in a strong position and with a potential merger partner in Care Super is a testament to her forward thinking and strategic planning,”
Naomi Edwards’ achievements include:
- Building a Tasmanian based superannuation fund from $1.5 billion to a $25 billion and 324,000 member national fund
- Successful mergers between Quadrant Super, Tasplan Super, RBF, Fairbrothers Super and MTAA Super
- The launch of Spirit Super, now exploring a potential merger with CareSuper, to become 500,000 members and $45 billion fund.
In announcing Ms Edwards’ retirement today, CEO Jason Murray also announced that Maria Wilton has been nominated to join the Board as Chair effective 1 December 2022. Maria Wilton is a highly respected global investment manager with deep embedded experiences of the superannuation sector.
“After a thorough search, we are very pleased to welcome Maria Wilton into the Spirit Super team.” said Jason Murray.
“Maria is well known to those in our sector as a strong advocate for the industry super fund sector and achieved great growth during her tenure as Chair and Country Head of Franklin Templeton, a global, listed investment manager. She is an ESG leader and this aligns strongly with Spirit’s focus on carbon reduction, impact investing, and supporting regional business.”
All media inquiries for this announcement should be directed to David Imber, 0413 274 204 or [email protected]