Former Australian Retirement Trust CEO joins Perpetual as new chief
Bernard Reilly, the former chief executive of Australian Retirement Trust (ART), has been appointed as the new CEO and managing director of Perpetual, effective September 2.
Reilly replaces Rob Adams, who has led Perpetual since 2018 and will continue in his current role until October 1, before transitioning to a period of gardening leave.
He will be based in Perpetual's Sydney headquarters and report directly to the board of directors.
This move comes as Perpetual undergoes a significant transformation into a standalone asset management firm.
In his new position, Reilly will be tasked with steering Perpetual through its transition following the sale of its wealth management and corporate trust businesses to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) for $1.5 billion.
This deal, expected to complete in early 2025, will reshape Perpetual into a focused asset management entity.
Reilly left ART in February 2024 after overseeing the successful merger and integration of Sunsuper and QSuper.
He is credited with playing a significant role in growing ART to be the country's second largest super fund with A$260 billion ($175 billion) in assets during his tenure.
The super fund manages around A$300 billion ($202 billion) in assets currently.
At ART, David Anderson took over as CEO in March 2024.
Anderson joined ART from Mercer, where he served as global chief commercial officer since 2021.