Blakey to exit as HESTA CEO

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

9 February 2026

HESTA chief executive, Debby Blakey is to retire in the second half of this year.

The big health sector super fund said that Blakey had made the decision to retire after having been with the fund for more than 17 years, 11 of which were as CEO.

HEST chair, Nicola Roxon paid tribute to Blakey’s “stellar contribution” noting that under her leadership the fund had grown beyond $100 billion.

The HESTA Board is undertaking a search for her replacement and expects to announce the new CEO by July, ahead of Ms Blakey’s departure.

HESTA in December had additional license conditions imposed by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)to address concerns regarding HESTA’s risk management and board governance during its recent transition of outsourced administration providers.

The conditions follow the transition of HESTA’s administrative services to a new provider, finalised in June 2025, which resulted in a severe, prolonged disruption to member services and caused direct harm to members.