Superannuation industry body Fund Executives Association Limited, a non-profit organisation for professional development, has announced the launch of an educational scholarship in memory of journalist, publisher and entrepreneur Greg Bright, who sadly passed away in August 2024.
The Greg Bright Scholarship for Excellence in Member Communications is focused on emerging leaders in FEAL member funds and organisations who work in member engagement, member benefits, product development, administration, insurance, financial advice or education.
The scholarship will be awarded to a person who works in a role involving member communications and is passionate about making a difference to improving how their fund communicates with members.
The winner of the scholarship will attend FEAL’s emerging leaders program, run by the Melbourne Business School. The program provides an opportunity to make connections across FEAL member funds and organisations and the winner will also have an opportunity to speak at a FEAL event about member communications.
FEAL was founded by Bright in 1999 with the aim to bring together super fund executives to collaborate and share insights.
“Greg’s vision for the superannuation funds to come together and collaborate to deliver leadership development to their executives and senior leaders has driven FEAL’s purpose for the last 26 years,” FEAL chair Brian Delaney said in a media release.
“The scholarship recognises the critical importance of member communications and will provide the opportunity for an emerging fund executive to develop their leadership skills and build their profile in the industry.”
The scholarship is sponsored by communications consultancy Honner, founded by Philippa Honner, a former editor of Super Review, a publication established by Bright in 1986 following the Prices and Incomes Accord Mark II where the Australian Council of Trade Unions agreed to forgo a national 3 per cent wage increase in exchange for superannuation funded by employers.
“This scholarship reflects Greg’s joy in nurturing aspiring talent, his gift for telling great stories, and his hope that more people will get engaged and understand the value of their super. We’re incredibly proud to support the scholarship in his name,” Honner said.
Bright founded several publications and was a co-founder of Conexus Financial, publisher of Professional Planner, Investment Magazine, Retirement Magazine and Top1000funds.com.
He stayed firm in his belief that the financial services industry was deserving of high quality, accurate journalism to spread the stories that needed to be told, and shaped the landscape of the reporting of financial services news over his career.
Bright was an expert in inhabiting the worlds of both commercial and editorial which allowed his entrepreneurial streak to flourish, leading to the creation of publications still respected today.
He embodied the traits of honesty, fairness and respect and instilled these into many of his protégés who now lead the industry’s journalism.
