The Superannuation Leaders Program
An intensive five-day residential experience for senior managers and high-performing professionals preparing to take on broader leadership roles across the superannuation sector.
The Superannuation Leaders Program Overview
Australia’s superannuation sector is operating at greater scale, complexity and pace.
Future fund executives need the confidence to make sound decisions, lead people through change and keep member outcomes at the centre of their work.
Led by senior faculty and associate professors from Melbourne Business School, the program combines contemporary management thinking with the realities of leadership in superannuation.
Who Should Attend the Superannuation Leaders Program?
Senior managers and other high-performing professionals working in superannuation
This program is designed for senior managers and other high-performing professionals working in superannuation who are preparing to take on broader leadership or executive responsibility.
- Aspire to become a future fund executive
- Lead teams, functions or major initiatives
- Want a broader view of how a fund creates value for members
- Need practical frameworks for decisions involving people, strategy and change
- Value learning alongside peers who understand the sector’s opportunities and pressures.
Applicants should be ready to contribute their experience, challenge their assumptions and apply the learning within their fund or organisation.
The Superannuation Leaders Program Key Takeaways
A Stronger Leadership Approach
- A stronger leadership approach grounded in self-awareness, sound judgement and personal impact.
A Clearer Enterprise View
- A clearer enterprise view of the strategic, commercial and organisational choices facing superannuation funds.
Practical Tools for Leading Teams
- Practical tools for leading teams, influencing stakeholders and supporting change.
A Trusted Peer Network
- A trusted peer network drawn from across the superannuation industry.
Greater Confidence
- Greater confidence working across disciplines including marketing, finance, strategy, reputation and personal brand.
New Perspectives
- New perspectives on innovation, artificial intelligence and the forces shaping the sector’s future.
Our Partner
The Fund Executives Association Ltd (FEAL) is the professional development and leadership body for profit-to-member superannuation funds, supporting CEOs, executive teams, senior leaders and emerging leaders across the sector.
Established by industry leaders to build shared leadership capability, FEAL works to develop current and future superannuation leaders through education, events, mentoring, scholarships and peer learning.
Its partnership with Melbourne Business School reflects a shared commitment to strengthening the leadership capability needed to respond to increasing scale, complexity, member expectations and regulatory scrutiny across the superannuation industry.
Topics Covered
The final program agenda may change to reflect current sector priorities and faculty availability.
Leadership, Innovation and Change
Influence, Negotiation and People Leadership
Marketing
Personal Brand
Finance
Reputation, Trust and Purpose
Strategy
Strategic Narratives
AI for Superannuation Leaders
Navigating Uncertain Futures and Individual Commitments
What You Will Learn
By the end of the program, you will be better equipped to:
- Adapt your leadership style to different people, situations and organisational priorities
- Connect strategic choices to member value and fund performance
- Assess complex issues from multiple functional perspectives
- Build alignment and influence across teams and stakeholder groups
- Recognise the organisational conditions that support or constrain change
- Use structured approaches to uncertainty, innovation, artificial intelligence and future-focused leadership commitments
- Translate new thinking into practical actions for your role and organisation.
The Learning Experience
The residential format creates focused time for learning, discussion and reflection away from everyday work.
Across five days, participants learn through faculty-led sessions, case studies, practical frameworks, peer discussion, experiential activities and individual reflection.
Because every participant works in or alongside superannuation, classroom conversations move quickly from theory to application. You can compare perspectives, explore shared challenges openly and build relationships with peers from across the sector. You leave with ideas you can use immediately and a network that can support your continuing development.
Why This Program, Why Now?
Superannuation leaders face rising member expectations, regulatory scrutiny, technological change and faster decision cycles.
Technical expertise remains important, but progression into senior leadership also calls for enterprise thinking, strong people leadership and the ability to act when the path ahead is unclear.
FEAL brings deep knowledge of the sector and its leadership needs. Melbourne Business School brings rigorous, applied management education. Together, they provide a program built for current and future leaders operating across the superannuation sector.
Program Director
Vivek Chaudhri, Associate Professor of Strategy and Program Director
Vivek Chaudhri brings extensive experience in strategy, economics, public policy and executive education. He is Academic Director of Melbourne Business School’s Executive MBA programs and has held academic roles at institutions including Yale University, UCLA and Monash University, as well as a research position with the Australian Government’s Productivity Commission.
As Program Director, Vivek connects the program’s core themes and helps participants examine strategy, innovation and leadership in uncertain environments.
The Superannuation Leaders Program Key Facilitators
Don O’Sullivan, Professor of Marketing
Don specialises in marketing strategy, brand management and the links between customer outcomes and organisational performance.
He works with major Australian and global organisations, including superannuation and financial services organisations, bringing a practical commercial perspective to the classroom.
Geoff Martin, Professor of Strategy
Geoff’s expertise covers business and corporate strategy, executive decision-making, risk and governance.
His senior experience in international finance and operational risk helps participants connect strategic frameworks with complex organisational choices.
Will Harvey, Professor of Leadership
Will researches leadership, reputation, talent management and organisational purpose.
He works with leaders across many sectors and brings evidence-based perspectives on building trust, aligning people and leading responsibly.
Nadia Massoud, Professor of Finance
Nadia’s expertise spans finance, banking, risk management and financial decision-making.
Her teaching helps leaders interpret complex financial information, test assumptions and apply sound judgement to commercial and strategic decisions.
Simon Holcombe, Associate Professor of Operations Management
Simon’s expertise spans operations, decision-making, project delivery and organisational performance.
His teaching helps leaders use structured analysis to manage trade-offs, improve execution and make better decisions in complex environments.
Nam Tran, Associate Professor of Leadership
Nam’s expertise spans leadership development, organisational behaviour and management education.
His teaching helps leaders build self-awareness, strengthen their leadership practice and apply evidence-based approaches to leading people and change.
