Where are they now? Tim Hughes on super, conservation and the joy of making a difference

Tim Hughes was the CIO of Catholic Super from 2002-2010 and spent 17 years as an economics columnist with Brisbane's Courier Mail. He now describes himself as an investment professional, company director, writer and conservationist, and thrives on the diverse challenges that these roles bring.

Why did you leave financial services?

I haven't left at all and I certainly hope to remain involved in the industry for years to come. I am passionate about super and the role it can play in improving people's lives and I want to keep contributing where I can. I have just moved from executive to non-executive roles to allow me time to do some of the other things that I really care about.

Where are you now?

In super-land I currently sit on the Investment Advisory Panel at HESTA and do some conference chairing for CIE. I would love to join an investment committee at some time. I am also on the board of the listed bio-pharma company, Alchemia, which currently has a really interesting cancer drug about to finish its phase three trial. I have been talking to a couple of other listed companies about similar board roles. I have also been trying to build on the thinking I did in my 17 years as a columnist for the Courier-Mail to write a book on what society can reasonably expect from government. Unfortunately too many other interesting things keep interrupting me. The most important of these is South Endeavour Trust, Australia's third largest conservation land trust that Simon Marais and I run. So far we have established eight conservation reserves in New South Wales and Queensland and we are involved in a really wide range of things where we believe that targeted private sector investment can make a real and lasting difference to conservation outcomes. One of our current projects is creating a rainforest corridor on the Atherton Tablelands to help protect Tree Kangaroos and some of Australia's most threatened possums. Another is trying to reduce sediment pollution flowing onto the most pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef, north of Cooktown.

What do you like about your current role/s?

Variety, challenge and making a difference! I really enjoy the diversity of what I do and I find it incredibly stimulating working with such a wide range of people all of whom are so passionate about what they are trying to achieve. I get enormous satisfaction out of working with others to try to make a real difference to people's lives. One day I am attending an investment conference in Hong Kong discussing how we can get to better investment outcomes, the next I am working with zoologists, archaeologists and traditional owners surveying endangered fauna and recording rock art sites on Cape York and the next I am trying to ensure a supportive financial environment for a group of medical experts trying to extend the lives of people suffering terminal cancer. To me it is an amazing set of opportunities to learn and contribute.

What don't you like about it/them?

What isn't there to like? I spend all day every day doing things that I love and which give me such satisfaction. If only there were more hours in the day!

What did you learn in financial services that has helped you in your current role/s?

The financial services industry provides us with the opportunity to build up skills across a whole range of areas, to learn to multitask and to work in multi-disciplinary teams. These are all very useful skills which can be applied in a whole range of areas. What I have also appreciated is the time I spent thinking about corporate governance with ACSI and the PRI. This has been endlessly useful now that I have taken up governance roles both in the super and corporate sectors. While self assessment usually amounts to self delusion, I suspect that what I have learnt in financial services might have made me more effective in a governance role than as an executive.

What do you miss about financial services?

Financial services is a great industry with enormous diversity, great intellectual challenges and lots of smart and passionate people. I would really miss it if I was still not involved with it.

Would you go back to an executive role in financial services?

No. I am really enjoying the diversity and depth of my current roles and the opportunity to make a broader contribution. I consider myself to have been extraordinarily lucky to have have had the opportunities I had in the financial services sector and even luckier to be be able to do what I am doing now.