David Bryant to take over as CEO of Mercer Australia

David Bryant is set to take over as the new Chief Executive at Mercer Australia. Bryant will also act as Mercer’s Pacific Zone Leader once his starting date is agreed upon. He will report to David Anderson, President of Mercer’s International division.

In his new role, Bryant will collaborate with the Pacific Leadership Team to leverage Mercer’s global standing as a means to push the firm’s progress across the Australia and New Zealand markets. Globally, Mercer generates revenues of $5 billion, and in Australia and New Zealand the human resources consultancy and pension/investment manager has a mature footprint, and is eyeing further growth.

Bryant joins from Australian Unity, a wealth management, health insurance and personal finance services firm. He has been at the company since 2004, most recently serving as Chief Executive for Wealth & Capital Markets and Chief Investment Officer of the group.

Over the course of a long professional career spanning more than three decades, Bryant has held a variety of senior leadership roles in the financial sector. This includes a spell as Vice President for Asia Pacific Fund Services at financial services firm State Street and Chief Operating Officer at Australian investments and trustee firm Perpetual.

Bryant’s work is cut out for him in the current market, as financial security is set to become a premium commodity in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. With significant economic damage expected, Mercer’s range of health and wealth advisory services are set to be in high demand in the recovery phase.

Bryant takes over from Ben Walsh, who has been in charge of Mercer over the last half a decade, and has now departed to take up the role of Chief Life Insurance Officer at AIA Australia. Until Bryant’s starting date is agreed upon between Australian Unity and Mercer, Mercer’s Head of Industry & Public Sector Superannuation Jo-Anne Bloch stands at the helm as interim CEO.

According to Anderson, who Bryant will report to in his new role, Bryant is well equipped to manage this next phase of growth for Mercer. “Given his 28 years of experience across the financial services industry, David is the right person to lead Mercer forward in the Pacific. He has substantial experience leading multiple lines of business and has a strong track record of building highly successful and diverse leadership teams to execute on new strategies.”

Further, “David has long-standing relationships across the industry, notable depth in corporate governance and a strong market presence. He is also known for having the right balance between strategy and execution focus,” said Anderson.

Bryant himself added, “I am excited to be joining Mercer at such a dynamic time for clients and colleagues. I look forward to working with teams across the Pacific to drive profitable growth through delivering the most innovative solutions and high-quality service to clients to meet their current and future needs.”