First State Super CEO, Chair to continue after merger with VicSuper

First State Super and VicSuper have confirmed their intentions to merge, with a targeted completion date of 1 July 2020. The resulting fund will represent 1.1 million members and $125 billion FUM.

The current First State Super chair and CEO will retain their positions in the new organisation, while the VicSuper CEO will become the Deputy Chair.

First State Super chair Neil Cochrane says the shared values fo the organisations make the merger make sense. "The comprehensive due diligence process we have completed has highlighted how much we share in common with VicSuper. We share a strong cultural alignment and have very similar values, and this has helped our people collaborate effectively and efficiently through the due diligence phase of this project."

VicSuper chair Wayne Kayler-Thomson said that the merged fund will be able to leverage the benefits of scale. "The comprehensive due diligence process we have completed has highlighted how much we share in common with VicSuper. We share a strong cultural alignment and have very similar values, and this has helped our people collaborate effectively and efficiently through the due diligence phase of this project."

Deanne Stewart will be CEO of the merged fund, while VicSuper's current Chief Executive Michael Dundon will become Deputy CEO.