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(December-2001) Ian Silk
Ian Silk was nominated for many reasons: because he leads an innovative high performing fund, because he is seen as placing the interests of the members above all else, and because when he speaks, most people stop and listen.
One nominator describes Silk as “the first CEO to look seriously at additional services for super funds and to see them having the potential of being more to members than retirement savings vehicles”.
And, according to our panel, while Silk’s skills are clearly in the industry funds camp, he provides a voice of moderation and balance, which also allows him to represent the industry on broader issues.
Silk joined ARF in 1994 and has since watched it grow into one of the largest superannuation funds in the country.
When he started, ARF had 350,000 members. Today it has around 510,000, accounting for over five per cent of the Australian workforce. Its assets have also soared from $699.6 million in 1994 to more than $3.6 billion.
ARF is particularly pro-active in members’ investment choice — it now has 11 options — and in member communication and education, for which it has won many awards.
Silk, who stresses that his fund’s achievements are the result of a team effort, says of his future challenges: “There’s been enough indication over the last six months that the political and regulatory environment is not as favourably disposed to industry funds as we would like and the concern is that members’ interests could be adversely affected.”
Another test is to keep industry funds competitive in an increasingly competitive market.
Outside of ARF, Silk is a member of the CMSF Steering Committee, convenor of the Industry Funds Forum and a member of the ASFA executive.
And, when he’s not at work, he can be found playing basketball or boogie boarding. He is an active supporter of the Hawthorn Football Club and takes a busy interest in his three sons’ sporting activities.
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