Our Board

Experience and expertise

Appointed to the Board as an independent director on 1 July 2017 and elected Chair on 1 January 2023. Mr Armour has considerable experience in global funds management and broader financial services, both globally and in Australia. Mr Armour has gained his experience in the UK, USA and Hong Kong as well as Australia. Some key executive roles included Head of Invesco’s European and Middle Eastern business, their global Institutional business and CEO of Australia, as well as CEO of funds management of AXA Australia. Mr Armour has held numerous Board and Chair roles with Invesco, AXA, National Mutual and other groups, most recently Chair of Invesco UK, and Director of the Investment Association (UK), the UK’s peak investment industry body.

Current directorships

Chair

• Lab 35

Director

• Super Members Council of Australia Limited
• SMCA Operations Pty Ltd

Other positions

• Blue Sky IP Ltd (Adviser)

Special Responsibilities

• Member, Investment Committee (Chair from 1 October 2017 to 3 February 2023)
• Member, People and Remuneration Committee (Appointed 1 January 2023)

Experience and expertise

Appointed to the Board as an independent director on 1 January 2023. Mr Warne trained as an actuary and has had a distinguished career in financial services spanning over 40 years. He recently retired as Chair of Macquarie Group after 6 years in the role and 15 years as a director. Over the course of his career, he has served on the board of a number of ASX-listed and private companies and Government bodies, including ASX Limited and TCorp; prior to which he had a long and highly successful executive career at Bankers Trust Australia Limited, where he headed the Global Financial Markets Group.

Current directorships

• Argo Investments Limited
• IPH Limited (Chair)
• Allens

Other positions

• Member, NSW Net Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board (Ceased 24 May 2024)
• Consultant to the Board of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Limited (1 January 2023)
• Member, Australian Institute of Company Directors Corporate Governance Committee
• Chair, St Andrew’s Cathedral School Foundation

Special responsibilities

• Chair, Investment Committee (3 February 2023; member from 1 January 2023)
• Member, Finance and Risk Committee (From 1 July 2024) (Previously Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee (Appointed 2 November 2023)
  

Experience and expertise

Nominated by the Shareholder Universities and appointed to the Board on 25 October 2021. Professor Harding was the Vice Chancellor and President of James Cook University Australia, a position held from January 2007 until her retirement in February 2022. As Vice Chancellor, Professor Harding was responsible for the leadership and management of the University across campuses in Cairns, Singapore and Townsville. Professor Harding held recent past directorships with Advance Cairns Limited, Foundation for Australian Literary Studies Limited, Townsville Enterprise Limited, Australian Institute of Marine Science Education Australia Limited, and North Queensland Cowboys Rugby League Football Limited.

Educated at the Australian National University, The University of Queensland and North Carolina State University (USA), Professor Harding has extensive academic and academic leadership experience. An economic sociologist by training areas of enduring academic interest includes work, organisation and markets and how they operate. She also has a keen interest in public policy in the areas of, education policy and the global Tropics, northern Australia and economic development. Professor Harding has also held a wide variety of senior university-aligned roles and was a member and director of a variety of local, national and international Boards and Councils. Professor Harding was appointed a Life Governor on the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies Limited. In 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) established a Statistical Independent Assurance Panel (SIAP) to provide an independent view on the quality of statistical information arising from the 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Professor Harding chaired this panel in 2021 and previously in 2016 as its inaugural Chair.

Chair

• North Queensland Airport Group (Appointed: 28 July 2023), comprising:
  • North Queensland Airports No. 2 (Mackay) Pty Ltd (Appointed: 28 July 2023)
  • Cairns Airport Holding Company Pty Ltd (Appointed: 28 July 2023)
  • Cairns Airport Pty Ltd (Appointed: 28 July 2023)
  • Mackay Airports Holding Company Pty Ltd (Appointed: 28 July 2023)
  • Mackay Airport Pty Ltd (Appointed: 28 July 2023)
  • NQ Airports Finance Pty Ltd (Appointed: 28 July 2023)
  • MAPL Hotel Holdings Pty Ltd (Appointed: 28 July 2023)
  • MAPL Hotel Pty Ltd (Appointed: 28 July 2023)
• Cowboys Community Foundation
• Regional Australia Institute (Effective July 2023)
• University of Notre Dame Australia (Appointed: 19 April 2024)

Other positions held:

Member
• Queensland Community Foundation Board of Governors
• University of Notre Dame Australia, Remuneration and People and Culture Committee (Appointed: 25 March 2024)
Chair
• Western Australia University Sector Review Panel (March – September 2023)
Patron
• Institute for Strategic Leadership (Australia) (Appointed April 2023)

Special Responsibilities

• Member, Member Services Committee (From 1 July 2024) (previously Insurance Committee (Appointed 1 January 2022)
• Member, Technology & Projects Committee (Appointed 1 January 2023)

Experience and expertise

Elected by members of the Consultative Committee representing professional staff and appointed to the Board on 11 November 2019. Currently Ms Griffiths is a School Manager in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at the University of Sydney.

Prior to joining FASS, Ms Griffiths was Interim Operations Manager for the NSW Space Research Network, and a Project Officer to the Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Entrepreneurship (SPHERE) – supporting academics at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Western Sydney University (WSU), and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Ms Griffiths brings more than 20 years’ experience from across the university sector, having successfully held university positions at school, faculty and central levels. Her experience and expertise encompass higher education management, governance, curriculum, marketing, and policy.

Ms Griffiths was a member of the Consultative Committee from 2016 until the conclusion of her term in April 2020 and was re-appointed to the Board in November 2022.

Nil

Special responsibilities

• Member, Technology and Projects Committee (Appointed 1 December 2020)

Experience and expertise

Elected by members of the Consultative Committee representing employers and appointed to the Board on 30 October 2017 and appointed Deputy Chair on 2 November 2023. Currently Vice-President Operations at the University of Sydney, one of Australia’s most prestigious universities, ranked in the top universities worldwide. She leads a large, diverse portfolio of corporate service functions and is a member of the University Executive.

Ms Gower holds a BA/LLB (Hons) from the University of Technology Sydney and is an accredited mediator and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Nicole is also a graduate of Harvard’s esteemed Advanced Management Program and is an active member of the Harvard alumni.

Ms Gower is an experienced senior executive with a track record of successful organisational transformation, dedication to service and effective leadership of high performing teams. She specialises in corporate services, people and culture, change management, digital technologies, and enterprise leadership. Ms Gower is known as a down to earth, persuasive leader and a passionate advocate for diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Ms Gower’s industry specialisations include Higher Education, Health, Professional Services and Superannuation.

• Nil

Special responsibilities

• Chair, People, Remuneration and Nominations Committee (Appointed 1 July 2022, Member from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2022)

Experience and expertise

Nominated by the national unions and appointed by the Board on 18 May 2020. Currently, Secretary of the Victorian Division of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). Ms Roberts sits on the NTEU National Executive and has previously held employment law leadership and advocacy positions at the NTEU and RMIT University. Former roles include Presidency of the University of Melbourne Postgraduate Association and member of the University of Melbourne Council (1999).

Ms Roberts has over 20 years’ experience in strategy, governance, higher education policy and industrial relations, regularly contributes to Australian and international IR publications and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees.

• Federation of Education Unions

Special Responsibilities

• Chair, Technology & Projects Committee (Appointed 1 January 2023, Member from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022)
• Member, People, Remuneration and Nominations Committee (Appointed 2 November 2023)

Experience and expertise

Elected by members of the Consultative Committee representing employers and appointed to the Board on 1 November 2023. With more than 35 years’ experience in the tertiary education sector from across six major Australian universities, Dr Weller’s portfolio was broad spanning from business operations, student services, finance and procurement, governance, information technology, marketing and external relations, people and capability and service and delivery improvement.

Past director roles held by Dr Weller include positions at LH Martin Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Management, the Association of Tertiary Education Management and Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre. Dr Weller’s passion for the tertiary sector is demonstrated by his thirty-five-year career of strategic leadership at six major universities. In his last role, Dr Weller was the Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Vice Chancellor at the Australian Catholic University responsible for strategic and operational leadership.

Dr Weller was on UniSuper’s Consultative Committee for under fourteen years.

He is a fellow of the Association of Tertiary Education Management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

• Director and Chair, Higher Education Services Board

Other Positions

• Member, Teachers Mutual Bank Limited Advisory Committee (Jan-Dec 2024)

Special Responsibilities

• Chair, Finance and Risk Committee (1 July 2024) (Previously Audit Risk & Compliance Committee (Appointed Chair 1 May 2024, Member from 1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024)

Experience and expertise

Nominated  by the national union representing employees in the university sector and appointed by the Board on 1 November 2023. Currently, Division Secretary, National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), Queensland Division. Mr McNally has had a wide and varied career working for DFAT at the World Expo in Seville in 1992, as a TESOL Teacher in England, Poland and Australia and for an airline. Prior to working for the NTEU, he was a casual lecturer and tutor in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland, teaching about politics and industrial relations. 

Mr McNally has over nineteen years’ experience working at the NTEU in various roles, having first begun as an Organiser, and then as an Industrial Officer.  

Elected to his current role as the Division Secretary in 2014, Mr McNally sits on the NTEU National Executive which is responsible for governance and administration of the Union nationally. He also manages the staff of the Queensland office and works with the elected union leaders in the 7 main public universities in Queensland. Mr McNally graduated with first class honours from the University of Queensland.

• Nil

Special Responsibilities

• Member, Member Services Committee (From 1 July 2024)

Experience and expertise

Nominated by the Shareholder Universities and appointed to the Board on 12 November 2024. Professor Alec Cameron commenced as Vice-Chancellor and President at RMIT in January 2022, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the University’s affairs in all matters. Prior to joining RMIT, Professor Cameron was Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at Aston University in the UK since 2016, during which time Aston was awarded University of the Year by the Guardian newspaper in 2020.

Professor Cameron is a Rhodes Scholar (1986) with a Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University in Robotics (1989). He is also a graduate of the University of Sydney with Bachelor’s degrees in Science and Electrical Engineering (with First Class Honours), and the University Medal. His early career involved executive roles at Telstra and Sun Microsystems. Prior university appointments include, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources & Infrastructure), University of New South Wales (2003-2006), inaugural Dean of the UNSW Business School (2006-2012), and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), University of Western Australia (2013-2016).

• Member, Australia’s Academic and Research Network (AARNET)
• Member, Asia Society Australia Advisory Council

Special Responsibilities

• Nil

Experience and expertise

Elected by members of the Consultative Committee representing professional staff and appointed to the Board on 12 November 2024. Hazel Bateman is a Professor in the School of Risk & Actuarial Studies, UNSW Sydney and a Chief Investigator and Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR). She has expertise in superannuation and pensions, behavioural retirement insurance and lifecycle finance. Her current research investigates the role of choice and information architecture on lifecycle financial decisions including superannuation, pensions and housing. She also works on design of and demand for retirement products including annuities, aged care insurance and reverse mortgages. She is Chair of the (Netherlands-based) Netspar Scientific Council, and a member of the UniSuper Consultative Committee, and serves on the Advisory Boards of the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index and the Conexus Institute. In 2019 she was appointed inaugural President of the International Pensions Research Association (IPRA).

Current directorships

• Nil

Other positions

• Research Fellow, Network for Research in Pensions, Ageing and Retirement (Netspar) (since 2023)
• Steering Committee, UNSW Institute on Climate Risk and Response (since 2023)
• Executive Member, IRIS (Innovations in Risk, Insurance and Superannuation) Knowledge Hub, UNSW Business School (since 2022)
• Chair, Scientific Council, Netspar (since 2021)
• Advisory Board Member, MyHomeStream Pty Ltd (since 2021)
• Member, Super Consumers Australia, Nominations Committee (since 2021)
• Advisory Board Member, Conexus Institute (since 2020)
• President, International Pension Research Network (IPRA) (since 2019)
• Investigator, Ageing Futures Institute UNSW (since 2019)
• Affiliate, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU (since 2019)
• Member and Mentor, Economic Society of Australia Women in Economics Network (WEN) (since 2018)
• Member (International Expert), China Ageing Finance Forum (since 2017)
• Member, Scientific Council, Netspar (since 2016)
• Member, Expert Reference Group, Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (since 2010)
• Advisory Board, Risk Sciences (since 2024)
• Associate Editor, Insurance Mathematics and Economics (IME) (since 2022)
• Editorial Board, The Economic Record (since 2018)
• Editorial Board, Journal of Pension Economics and Finance (since 2010)

Special Responsibilities

• Nil

Experience and expertise

Appointed to the Board as an independent director on 1 December 2024. Ms McGrath has had an extensive international career in the industrial, energy and resource sectors including 24 years as an executive with BP plc. Rebecca has served on the board of numerous public companies including CSR Ltd, Goodman Group, Incitec Pivot Ltd where she served as Chairman of a range of committees. Up until May 2023 she was Chairman of ASX listed Oz Minerals Ltd. She recently retired as Chairman of Investa Management Holdings and from the board of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Current directorships

• Macquarie Bank Limited
• Macquarie Group Limited
• ICPF and IWFML – Chairman
• Djerriwarrh Investments
• Melbourne Business School

Other positions

• Advisory Council Member - Australian British Chamber of Commerce
• Mentor - Kilfinan Australia
• Fellow - Australian Institute of Company Directors
• Member - Chief Executive Women

Special Responsibilities

• Nil