ASFA names board chair

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has appointed Linda Elkins as its new chair, effective August 25.

Elkins previously served as the national leader for the asset and wealth management sector and was a former partner in the superannuation consulting business at KPMG Australia.

Before that, she was the executive general manager at Colonial First State, managing director of Russell Investments' superannuation business and held roles with Sunsuper.

She currenlty serves as non-executive director of AMP Limited and AMP Bank and has previously worked for the Australian government in the Insurance and Superannuation Commission and as a special adviser for ASIC.

Elkins also held the role of director at ASFA and a member of the Financial Services Council (FSC) superannuation board committee in the past.

Elkins succeeds Gary Dransfield, who is stepping down after four years in the role.

ASFA chief executive Mary Delahunty said Elkins' broad experience will be invaluable in uniting the sector, as the system moves from building retirement savings to helping members use them.

"Linda has spent her career working across industry and retail funds, platforms, advice, and government. She is uniquely qualified to lead super's peak body as ASFA works on delivering our policy agenda of simpler, safer, stable super," Delahunty said.

"Our goal is ensuring Australians can retire with confidence, supported by the world's best retirement system, and Linda, our board and the ASFA team will be relentless in making this a reality."

Elkins said she is delighted to chair the super peak body's board as superannuation faces a range of challenges, including the significant number of Australians moving into retirement, growing cyber and financial crime threats and global political and economic volatility.

"ASFA represents the full breadth of the APRA-regulated system, from retail and industry funds to wrap platforms and service providers. That whole-of-sector view is what makes ASFA so crucial to ensuring super is not only a world-class accumulation system, but a world-class retirement system, too," Elkins said.

"I'm delighted for the opportunity to join the board at this pivotal time for the super sector. If the members approve, I'm looking forward to working with Mary and the ASFA team on critical issues like cyber security, delivering better financial advice and retirement outcomes, and maintaining trust in super."