legalsuper appoints HESTA executive as CEO, names new CIO

legalsuper has appointed a new chief executive and new chief investment officer, hiring from HESTA and Qantas Super.

HESTA chief operating officer Stephan Reilly will take on the role of chief executive officer and former Qantas Super deputy chief investment officer Chris Grohan has been named as chief investment officer.

Reilly will commence on August 17, while Grogan is due to join the specialist superannuation fund on October 26.

Announcing the appointments, legalsuper chair Kristen Mander said both executives bring extensive experience across profit-to-member superannuation funds and institutional investment management.

"Stephen comes from major profit-to-member super fund HESTA, where he has been chief operation officer since 2015," Mander said.

"Importantly, in addition, he brings experience gained over more than 10 years in management consulting and senior strategy roles with Booz & Company and the Commonwealth Bank."

Mander said the board was particularly encouraged by Reilly's enthusiasm for leading a specialist fund.

"We were particularly impressed with Stephen's observations during the recruitment process about the attraction to him of working with a smaller specialised and high performing fund like legalsuper and this alignment with his interests in organisational strategy and operating model differentiation," she said.

Reilly said legalsuper's specialist focus and performance record made the role particularly appealing.

"I've appreciated legalsuper's firm commitment to excelling as Australia's only fund specialising in the legal sector," he said.

"In addition to demonstrably strong investment performance and member engagement practices, legalsuper continues to challenge more conventional views that 'bigger is better' within Australia's superannuation discourse."

Grogan joins after 13 years at Qantas Super, more recently serving as deputy chief investment officer, following more than a decade in senior public sector investment roles.

The appointments come after legalsuper reported its MySuper Balanced option returned 10.09% for the 2025-26 financial year, following a 12.56% return in the prior year.

"Our MySuper Balanced option, where the majority of our members are invested, returned a very strong 10.09% for FY 25/26, which is a great follow-up to our market-leading 12.56% for FY 24/25, and continued the fund's delivery of strong, long-term, competitive investment returns," Mander said.

"legalsuper's focus on delivering strong, sustainable outcomes for members is reflected in our consistent ranking among the top funds and is a credit to our team and its disciplined, long-term investment approach."