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HESTA is urging ASX 300 boards to treat geopolitical, supply chain and energy risks as core governance responsibilities.
CEO Debby Blakey GAICD emphasises that global resilience, social licence and values-based decision making are central to long-term corporate strategy and risk oversight.
Her message highlights the evolving role of boards in anticipating disruption, engaging with stakeholders and navigating complex governance challenges with empathy and courage.
Australian company directors are being told that global shocks – from geopolitical instability to supply chain disruption and volatile energy markets – must now be treated as a core board responsibility.
With more than $100 billion under management, HESTA is leveraging its scale to push ASX 300 boards to treat geopolitical, supply chain and energy risks as core governance responsibilities.
The call reflects a broader expectation from superannuation funds that boards anticipate and plan for disruption as part of corporate strategy and risk oversight, rather than reacting after the fact.
Debby Blakey GAICD, HESTA’s chief executive, said the fund had made global resilience a priority in its discussions with corporate Australia.
Speaking with Company Director in March, Blakey said, “We started working on what we call global resilience as part of our engagement with companies.
“We put that on the agenda with all the ASX 300 companies… that we absolutely want to focus on global resilience in terms of how they are managing that in the business.”
Governance increasingly tied to global shocks
The focus comes amid a growing recognition that geopolitical tensions, technological disruption and energy volatility are shaping corporate strategy and risk oversight.
“There’s been a real maturing in the understanding of the value of governance,” said Blakey.
“This sense that strong governance really does set the tone – and for us as an investor, it is what underpins the long-term value that we’re able to deliver to our members.”
Traditionally, resilience was treated as a policy issue for governments rather than a boardroom responsibility. But funds like HESTA now expect boards to integrate it into strategy, risk framework and oversight.
“People used to hear ‘global resilience’ and think it was some abstract concept for policy development of governments. We see this as now as a core responsibility for boards and companies,” she said.
“Geopolitical shocks, supply chain disruptions, technological threats – these will shape corporate risk, corporate strategy and the opportunities companies can take advantage of.”
Pandemic and war reshaped risk thinking
Recent disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the wars in Ukraine and Iran, have sharpened the need for boards to anticipate shocks, the CEO explained.
“We certainly saw it through the pandemic,” Blakey said. “We’re very aware of the Russia-Ukraine situation and how that impacted some of the global value and our portfolio.”
She described resilience as the ability to absorb shocks, adapt to disruption and recover in a changed environment.
“Global resilience is really about the ability of the company to withstand shocks… adapt to disruption because sometimes the shocks actually don’t go away,” she said.
“Then, of course, the recovery from some sort of shock, which really can result in a completely changed environment.”
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Leadership and corporate engagement
Blakey, who recently announced she will step down as HESTA chief executive later this year, said the fund’s engagement with boards had become a defining feature of governance.
The CEO, who has been celebrated by the super industry for transforming the way institutional investors influence corporate boardrooms, believes “courageous leadership in any environment” is key.
“We have a very large pool of pension assets in Australia, the fourth-largest globally right now,” she said. “How we invest that, but also how we use it to influence the important aspects of corporate governance, is a real opportunity for us.”
She highlighted her involvement in the response to the Rio Tinto Juukan Gorge incident as a critical lesson in social licence and community expectations.
“Juukan Gorge was an incredibly important moment of really understanding social licence and the need for boards to understand that communities have expectations of companies,” said Blakey. “There is a social licence to operate, which is really important in the context of delivering financial value.”
Reflecting on leadership, Blakey said that relying on values when navigating difficult decisions was crucial.
“When you see things in the context of your values… it’s really important to be guided by that in those moments,” she said. “That real values assessment of ‘is this right or is it not right?’”
Ultimately, Blakey’s parting message to boards was one of understanding and empathy.
“We’re not an armchair critic sitting on the side critiquing,” she said. “We really do understand how complex governance is and what boards are dealing with in the external environment and in terms of leading the board and overseeing the company. It’s an incredibly complex role.”
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