She heads a $1 trillion investor group that makes headlines for transforming attitudes on how executives get paid, what behaviour is tolerated in workplaces and corporate responsibility on climate change.
But for Louise Davidson AM, CEO of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), the goal has never been about taking grandstands on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.
Her priority is doing what makes financial sense so everyday people can retire well.
“We’re here to make a difference to the retirement outcomes for the members,” she says.
“If companies don’t manage their risk exposure to climate change properly then they’re just not going to be around in another five or ten years. Likewise with diversity on boards, we genuinely believe that having diverse boards leads to much better outcomes for companies and so it’s not all just altruism.
“Sometimes people might come in thinking that it’s just all about changing the world but my thing is what we’re here for is to protect and grow the retirement benefits of super fund members.
“If we change the world for the better along the way that’s actually a real bonus.”
Before leading ACSI, Louise spent about two decades in the superannuation industry.
When she first got in, ESG didn’t even exist.
“It really wasn’t a thing,” she says.
“I’ve got three daughters in their early 20s and I say to them, ‘look, the job that you have a real passion for, it might not exist yet.’ Mine didn’t.”
Louise’s start in the industry came at a time when Australia began rolling out one of its most important economic policies, the superannuation guarantee which requires employers to make contributions on behalf of staff.
Prior to this, she says, super only really benefited senior executives and people in the public sector.
“It wasn’t something that ordinary people who worked their whole lives had and so their retirement was much less certain, and so I was really attracted to this idea of providing a better retirement opportunity for people who were just doing jobs that keep our society running,” she says.
“In those days, it was a very small industry.”
A lot has changed since then and superfunds now manage over $3 trillion in Australia.
With this growth, ESG standards have also matured with major companies and financial institutions having to comply with new regulations.
It’s a world away from how things were when Louise began working in this space.
“I do remember you did have to explain what ESG was all the time,” she says.
“Even now, but particularly then, there’s been a tendency to confuse it with ethical investing whereas ESG is much more focused on financially material issues that might impact on a super fund or an investment, which are environmental, social or governance in nature. So I spent a lot of time trying to clarify that in those early days.”
Aligning core values with work
Looking back at her career, Louise says she’s very fortunate to have found something that aligns with her purpose.
“I feel so lucky and privileged to be able to do a job that I’m passionate about,” she says.
In addition to this, she’s been a force for change, challenging the status quo. Something she says she’s been able to do thanks to the strength and support of the people around her.
“I’m surrounded by a fantastic team,” she says.
“One of the really important things in business is to be surrounded by a great team and to let them do their thing. I am someone who really tries to delegate and devolve responsibility to my immediate reports because I think that lets people shine and rise to the occasion.”
Louise is renowned for calling out inequalities in CEO pay and pushing for things like diversity on boards or climate reporting.
Instead of thinking of these conversations as “difficult”, she focuses on why they need to happen.
“Sometimes it’s challenging getting media focus and things like that but I really think about what it is that we’re trying to achieve,” she says.
Remembering this has helped Louise navigate important debates and drive policy change.
“If you think about the big superannuation funds here, they are exposed to the whole economy,” she says.
“A rising tide lifts all boats. You really want every organisation and therefore the whole economy to be moving in the right direction because that’s going to be supportive of future investment.”
Louise’s drive to make an impact has found its way even outside of work.
When her mother tragically passed away from breast cancer at the age of 52, she banded with her trusted friend Mavis Robertson AM and Women in Super to hold a fun run to raise money for research on treatment.
Over 3000 people registered for the inaugural Mother’s Day Classic in 1998.
It has now raised over $44 million for both breast and ovarian cancer research with over 1.6 million people getting involved in its events across Australia.
“There’s so much goodwill about coming together, working collegiately, not being competitive about who’s doing what and who’s claiming credit and things like that,” she says.
“It was such a great sense throughout the Women in Super network of this is our thing, let’s get it done.”
Finding ways to make an impact
Not everyone is born with a clear calling on their life and it can take a bit of soul-searching, trial and error to finally find alignment between your work and core purpose.
But Louise believes it is possible to achieve with a few first steps.
“So I don’t want to say, ‘oh you know, just find the thing you love and go for it’ because I feel that it’s kind of patronising,” she says.
“One of the things I’m really conscious of is the importance of values alignment [and] really thinking about what it is that drives you.”
Finding people who can support and encourage your path moving forward can also be life-changing.
“I’ve been really lucky to have a number of mentors and indeed sponsors in my life so people, women actually usually, who have really made it their business to help me be successful,” she says.
“If you can seek out someone to play that role in your life I think even if it’s not a formal mentoring relationship, that’s really important and can be very impactful in terms of your success and just getting honest feedback.”
On top of this, Louise says it’s worth giving yourself the patience and grace to get through whatever season life brings because sometimes the weather is stormy.
“It’s a bloody juggle right?” she says.
“When my kids were little and I was working and even now there’s a lot of balls in the air, all the time and none of us [are] super women.
“Sometimes the balls are all going to come crashing down and being resilient and being able to say, ‘okay, the balls are on the floor. I’ll pick them up tomorrow.’ I think that’s a really important thing as well.”
Hear more from Louise Davidson on episode six of the Spotlight on Women series, where Women’s Agenda examines key industry areas to profile women building game-changing and influential careers with purpose, thanks to our partnership with Grant Thornton Australia.