Brighter Super CIO to depart, announces semi-retirement

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

18 September 2025

Brighter Super has announced its Chief Investment Officer, Mark Rider, will step down from the role and call time on his almost-four-decades-long career in December, as he moves to transition out of full-time working opportunities.

This comes as Rider marks four years leading the super fund’s investment team through a highly transformative period that resulted in a $35 billion portfolio, amid the merger of LGIAsuper and Energy Super and the acquisition of Suncorp Super.

During his time as CIO Rider worked closely with his team to deliver “consistently strong performance”, including David O’Donnell, Head of Diversified Portfolios; Fiona Mann, Head of Listed Equities and Sustainable Investments; Marco Faraone, Head of Private Equity and Real Assets; and Jason Huang, Head of Cash, Fixed Income and Credit.

“Mark has done an incredible job leading our investments over the past four years, guiding Brighter Super through a period of significant growth and consistently delivering strong returns for our members,’’ Brighter Super chief executive, Kate Farrar, said.

“While we will miss his leadership, our members can be assured their investments remain in safe hands. Mark has built a highly skilled team of investment professionals, with significant experience in asset allocation and manager selection, and with a clear and disciplined investment philosophy — the team will continue to deliver the same high-quality performance and care for our members well into the future.

“This is a planned, positive transition. Mark has been proactive in ensuring stability and continuity, and our members and partners can be assured that performance is driven by the strength of our team and processes, not one individual.”

Rider will continue in his current role until 5 December while the fund commences its recruitment process to appoint his successor, and will assist with the transition and ongoing engagement with key stakeholders, including ratings agencies, advisers and institutional partners.

A statement from Brighter Super confirmed Rider intends to take on non-executive roles, including board and advisory opportunities, that better suit his personal interests, following his return from a short break.

“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.

“I leave knowing the team is well positioned for the next phase of Brighter Super’s growth.”