ART appoints two to board

Australian Retirement Trust (ART) has appointed a new director to its board and an adviser to two of its board committees.

Mark Gray joins the board of ART, bringing extensive experience as a chair, non-executive director, chief executive and senior executive in the corporate and public sectors.

Gray has served as the Queensland under-treasurer, Queensland office head for Macquarie Group and as chair of the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF).

He is currently chair of Data#3 and serves on the boards of Queensland Urban Utilities, CleanCo Queensland and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Additionally, Grant Smith has been appointed, initially as an adviser to the board's Investment and Valuation Oversight Committees, facilitating succession planning for the role of chair of the Investment Committee when current chair and director Mark Burgess retires from the ART board in 2027.

Smith has almost 30 years' experience across global investment, strategy, governance and stakeholder engagement.

At Macquarie Group, he established, led and grew major investment businesses and teams in Australia and internationally, most recently serving as executive chair and senior managing director of Macquarie Asset Management.

ART chair Helen Rowell said the appointments reflect the fund's focus on delivering strong and sustained outcomes for members.

"In an increasingly volatile and rapidly evolving world, at ART we are keenly aware of our responsibility to deliver for our members," Rowell said.

"The global experience that Mark and Grant bring in their respective roles will serve our members well into the future.

"They understand how important it is for ART to be a patient, long-term custodian of the retirement incomes of almost one in ten Australians, and the diligence that needs to be applied to the oversight of the delivery of outcomes for ART's members."

Gray and Smith will commence their new roles on 1 June 2026.