SMSF Association appoints Peter Burgess to Exec Role
SYDNEY, Australia, 06 May 2020: The SMSF Association is pleased to announce it has appointed Peter Burgess as Deputy CEO and Director of Policy and Education, effective from 1 June 2020.
Burgess worked at the Association as Technical Director for three years before joining the SMSF administrator SuperConcepts in 2013 as General Manager, Technical Services & Education. He also served on the Association’s Board from 2007-09.
Association Chair Andrew Hamilton said: “The Board is delighted to be able to employ someone of the calibre of Peter, a sentiment I know that will be widely shared among the membership where he is highly respected and well regarded.
Association CEO John Maroney added: “Peter has built up a well-deserved reputation across SMSF policy and technical issues over many years, so to have him back in the Association fold will be a boost for our members and for the SMSF sector in general.
“His presentations at National Conference are always a highlight of that event, with Peter holding the rare honour of having addressed every conference.”
Burgess said he was excited to be re-joining the Association at a time of enormous change in the industry. Apart from COVID-19 and the enormous economic fallout from this pandemic, the SMSF sector is still coming to terms with recent superannuation and advice reforms, including those sparked by FASEA, the Productivity Commission report and the Financial Services Royal Commission.
“At such an important and pivotal time for the SMSF sector, I am looking forward to bringing the experience and technical knowledge I have accumulated over many years to the table and making a positive contribution to the growth of the Association and the sector.”
Burgess says he is grateful and indebted to SuperConcepts for giving him the opportunity to further his career by being able to lead a team of outstanding technical experts and SMSF educators.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at SuperConcepts. It’s not every day you get the opportunity to assemble and then lead a team with the collective experience and expertise of the SuperConcepts technical team. It was a very difficult decision to leave but the decision was made easier by the calibre of the team I am leaving behind. It means SuperConcepts is well placed to continue to provide the technical support that its clients need and have come to expect.
I wish SuperConcepts every success in the future and fortunately for me it’s not goodbye. As the largest administration business in the SMSF sector, SuperConcepts is an important stakeholder and I look forward to now working with SuperConcepts in my new role with the Association.”
Lara Bourguignon, Chief Executive Officer at SuperConcepts, is proud of the achievements Peter has had during his time at SuperConcepts, which will serve him well in his new role at the Association.
“Peter has played an instrumental role in mentoring our team and leaves behind a legacy of technical expertise and client focus that will continue to benefit our clients. He has focused on building our brand and developing processes and offerings tailored to client needs. We wish Peter all the best in his new role and look forward to continuing our close relationship with him and the Association in the future.
“Having established our business in the market over the past few years we are now looking to the next chapter to continue the great work of our Technical team in training and industry advocacy, strengthening our relationships with industry partners and continuing to lead in industry opportunities,” she explains.
“We sincerely thank Peter for his enormous contribution to our company and also our clients and industry as a whole,” Ms Bourguignon adds.