Robbie Campo Appointed new CEO of Australian Super Fund HESTA

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 16 April 2026

• Robbie Campo to become HESTA CEO from August, replacing Debbie Blakey
• Brings strong leadership experience as ESSSuper chief
• Will tackle APRA concerns after major member service disruptions

HESTA has appointed Robbie Campo as its next CEO, replacing outgoing CEO Debbie Blakey from August, as part of a broad shift in leadership across the $4.5 trillion superannuation industry.

Campo currently serves as Chief Executive of EssSuper primarily servicing emergency services and state government employees.

HESTA chairwoman Nicola Roxon said Campo had “extensive experience across executive and CEO roles, leading organisations, big and small, through complex regulatory, operational and investment environments to deliver better outcomes for members”.

“As HESTA grows beyond 1 million members and $100 billion in assets, Robbie’s skills will position her well to lead the fund as it enters an exciting new chapter,” Roxon said.

Campo is the chair of Women in Super and is also an advocate for other organizations like Cbus in addition to her position at ESSSuper. Furthermore, the upward transition from her previous role with HESTA coincides with many changes happening.

Luke Symons, the chief executive officer (CEO) left legal super in November 2022 to join Equip Super. The Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of legalsuper also left to join the Mindaroo Foundation, which is owned by Andrew Forrest, one of Australia’s largest mining billionaires. According to Aware Super, they promoted Simon Warner to the position of CIO in 2020, as the predecessor of longtime CIO Damien Graham had recently retired.

Also, in early 2022, there was a deputy CIO at the Aware Super named Damien Webb who accepted a job with Brighter Super. Michael Clancy, the CIO of Rest Super and previously worked with Qantas Super, started working with Rest Super shortly following the sale of Qantas Super to the Australian Retirement Trust in early 2022.

“I am really proud of what the team has accomplished, building something that I believe genuinely strengthens long-term outcomes for members,” he said.

As the new chief executive, Campo's initial responsibility will be to address the new conditions imposed on the fund by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) following HESTA's unsuccessful completion of its administration transfer from MUFG to Grow Inc.

 The transfer resulted in approximately 1.1 million members being unable to access the online member portal or the HESTA app for almost six weeks last year. Consequently, there were interruptions in all withdrawals/rollovers to other funds and insurance claims. In addition, critical services could not be completed.

In APRA's opinion, this was an excessive period of significant disruption to the provision of services to members and caused members to suffer direct harm. Additionally, APRA directed HESTA to complete a review of its risk management systems and board effectiveness as a result of this issue late last year.

“HESTA is a top-performing fund with a proud history of constant and courageous advocacy, global leadership in responsible investment and a strong track record of supporting its members,” she said.

“Her appointment by HESTA is a recognition of her impeccable character, leadership skills and expertise, while also reflecting well on the work she has done leading ESSSuper,” said board president Pam Rebecca.

“We have a strong and well-credentialed executive team to ensure a seamless handover,” she said.