Protect Appoints New Chairman

Michael Anderson, former National Australia Bank CEO International Wealth Management, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Protect Fund. Unanimously voted into the role by the Protect Board, Michael will work closely with the CEO Alex McCallum.

“Michael’s  commitment and experience will see us pursue a wide range of initiatives to improve the benefits and operation of the scheme. His contribution will ensure Protect continues to strengthen the financial security of workers,” Mr McCallum said.

Michael has held a number of company directorships both in Australia and overseas. He is also the current Chairman of CoInvest Ltd, the portable long service scheme for the construction industry in Victoria. Michael joined the Board of Protect in 2010 as an Independent Director and is looking forward to working with other Directors in advancing the Protect Severance Scheme.

The new Chairman and other Directors would like to recognise the contribution of and thank the retiring Chairman Dean Mighell for his leadership of the Board for the last 16 years. Dean guided the organisation through the difficult foundation years and championed the introduction of the Genuine Redundancy Account for workers, which has been adopted by other severance funds.

In addition to this new appointment, the Protect Board would also like to welcome Sue Carter as an Independent Director. Sue has served as a non-executive director for more than 25 years in a number of board positions, including AMP Superannuation Limited, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and First State Super. She brings a wealth of knowledge to Protect and the severance industry. In addition, Sue has extensive experience in corporate governance, having been the Regional Commissioner Victoria for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) from 1999 until 2001, and now a core facilitator of director training programs at the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

The Protect Board is well-positioned for the future with a mix of independent and industry directors, which will allow continued focus on a balanced approach to investment and the future direction of the scheme.