New chairman appointed for Colonial First State
KKR and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia have appointed a new chairman-elect of their superannuation business Colonial First State.
Rob Coombe has been appointed as executive chairman-elect of CFS and is expected to commence the role in April following the completion of its sale to KKR.
Mr Coombe is currently chairman of Generation Development Group, and was chairman of MLC Wealth from June 2020 to February 2021, head of retail and business banking at Westpac and used to run BT Financial Group.
“We are delighted to welcome an executive of Rob’s calibre to the team, with his strong skills in superannuation and funds management, and a proven track record improving customer experiences,” Commonwealth Bank deputy chief executive officer David Cohen said.
“As executive chairman, he will play a key role in helping make CFS one of the most competitive superannuation and investments businesses in Australia, which will benefit its members and support future growth.”
CFS manages $135 billion on behalf of more than 1 million customers in its superannuation funds, equities and fixed income investment products and financial adviser-facing wealth platforms FirstChoice and FirstWrap.
New York-headquartered KKR entered a $2.9 trillion Australian superannuation system with the purchase of a majority stake in CFS last May, paying $1.7 billion for 55 per cent shareholding.
CBA said the transaction is consistent with its strategy to focus on its core banking businesses and to create a simpler and better bank, while allowing CFS to become a more focused standalone business and deliver a wide range of benefits for members.
The bank had stated previously that, together with KKR, it intends to undertake a significant investment program, strengthening the position of CFS as one of Australia’s leading retail superannuation and investments businesses.
Tony Zhang
Tony Zhang is a journalist at Accountants Daily, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the accounting sector.
Since joining the Momentum Media team in 2020, Tony has written for a range of its publications including Lawyers Weekly, Adviser Innovation, ifa and SMSF Adviser. He has been full-time on Accountants Daily since September 2021.
