Sunsuper, the $10 billion industry fund, has appointed Tony Lally as its chief executive.

He replaces Don Luke, who stepped down from the Queensland-based fund in December after 10 years' service.

Lally joins from consultant Deloitte, where he set up the firm's actuarial business in Japan.

Previous to Deloitte he worked for Deutsche Asset Management in Tokyo as its head of retail for Asia Pacific. He also spent time as head of retail financial services at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).

Lally said Sunsuper had "endless potential for growth over the next five years".
"There is no doubt that Don Luke has done an exceptional job in positioning Sunsuper for the future; it is in a terrific place to grow," he said.

"We intend to develop the appeal of Sunsuper to a broader market by building on our exceptional capabilities."

He said that in order for Sunsuper to remain cost effective for members it was important to build scale.

"Given the choice environment, everyone is now competing in the same market, and we need to push back against that competition as well as go after new members," he said.

Irish-born Lally is a former Olympic cyclist who represented Ireland at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He has also worked for Colonial Mutual Life Assurance, which merged with CBA in 2000, and AMP.

Sunsuper board chairman Peter Annand welcomed Lally to Sunsuper and thanked Luke for his "lasting legacy of exceptional business management".