ASFA welcomes Rest executive to C-suite role

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has named a new C-suite appointment, set to join on September 21 from Rest to strengthen its policy implementation initiative.

Sarah O'Brien has been named the chief practice officer at ASFA, where she will lead the ASFA InPractice (AIP) initiative and take over executive leadership of the Superannuation Cyber and Financial Crime Coordination Framework.

The AIP was expanded in May to help funds, administrators, and other service providers manage regulatory transformations from policymaking through to practical implementation.

From this financial year, all funds benefit from AIP's services as part of their ASFA membership.

O'Brien is currently the head of regulatory policy at Rest, where she also held other senior positions including general manager of regulatory and technical services, and head of regulatory affairs across more than seven years at the fund.

She has more than two decades' experience in super regulation and implementation and has also held senior roles at Commonwealth Bank and Colonial First State and is also a member of the national policy committee at Women in Super, a role she has held since November 2019.

O'Brien will prioritise third-party vendor mapping work under CPS 230, which came into effect on 1 July 2026. It comes as both regulators, APRA and ASIC, recently warned shared dependencies can turn isolated incidents into sector-wide disruptions.

Further, she will also oversee AIP's Community of Practice on the responsible adoption and oversight of artificial intelligence (AI) in super.

Commenting, ASFA chief executive Mary Delahunty said O'Brien's appointment is crucial to help turning system change into practical reality for funds.

"System change doesn't finish when the headlines about new super legislation are published. That's when the most complex and costly work begins, working out how new regulations and guidance translate into day-to-day business," Delahunty said.

"It's crucial that ASFA guides this work as the peak body for the sector, and that the person providing that guidance has decades of unrivalled hands-on experience inside super.

"There are few people who understand both the regulatory intent and the reality of implementing change inside a fund as well as Sarah does. She knows where greater coordination can take unnecessary complexity and cost out of the system."

O'Brien echoed Delahunty's statement, noting the focus on how funds operate are intensifying, making implementation a priority for every super fund.

"I have participated across ASFA's fund community and working groups for many years. ASFA InPractice is a unique space, bringing together a non-competitive community of practitioners across funds, administrators and service providers, and I'm excited to now be leading that work as a part of the ASFA team," O'Brien said.

"When the sector is getting implementation right across the board, every fund's members win. I'm looking forward to working with ASFA funds to deliver for the millions of Australians they represent."