Brighter Super has appointed an interim chief investment officer after the exit of Mark Rider.
Rider took on the CIO role in February 2022 but announced in September that he would be moving to a ‘semi-retirement’ and stepped down from the executive role on 5 December.
“It has been an incredibly rewarding chapter of my career. I’m proud of what we have achieved in building a strong, collaborative investment team that consistently delivers for members,” Rider said at the time.
Under Rider’s leadership, Brighter Super highlighted how its investment and performance reporting have been strengthened, supported by advice from JANA and disciplined governance through its board and investment committees.
The $36 billion super fund has now appointed David O’Donnell to succeed him on an interim basis while it searches for a permanent replacement.
He has worked at Brighter Super since 2017, most recently as head of diversified portfolios which he has held since April 2022. He joined Brighter Super following the fund’s merger with LGIAsuper.
With more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, David leads Brighter Super’s investments team and is responsible for delivering strong investment outcomes across the fund’s suite of superannuation investment options.
“As a leader within Brighter Super’s investments team, O’Donnell has helped drive strong investment outcomes across the fund’s suite of superannuation investment options,” the fund said in a statement.
Last month, the fund appointed Queensland director and super fund executive Brendan O’Farrell to its board as part of its ongoing governance renewal.
O’Farrell will join the Brighter Super board on 1 January 2026, becoming the fourth new member this year after Cameron O’Neil in March, Rebecca Girard in April, and Corinne Butler in July.
During his time as a senior superannuation executive, O’Farrell served as general manager of Mercy Super and was chief executive and chief investment officer for InTrust Super from 2005 to 2021 and City Super from 2003 to 2005.
