Ms Abdullah will work alongside Alison Massey, who was promoted to the role of Head of Compliance – Advice Assurance in February, 2020.

Synchron Director, Don Trapnell said Ms Abdullah is a governance risk and compliance specialist with over 20 years’ financial service experience. “Most recently Hanna was Head of Compliance and Chief Risk Officer at Sentry Group, a position she held for almost 10 years. We are very pleased to welcome her to the Synchron team.”

Ms Abdullah, who is currently based in Perth, will start with Synchron on 17 August, 2020 and will relocate to Melbourne when COVID-19 provisions permit.

Synchron has also promoted Stefanie Georgiades, who authored Synchron’s recent FASEA Code of Ethics ready reference book, to Team Leader – Regulatory Compliance, reporting to Ms Abdullah.

Ms Abdullah’s appointment follows the recent resignation of Synchron GM, Legal, Risk and Compliance, Michael Jones, effective 14 August 2020.

“We have decided not to fill the role vacated by Michael, but instead to elevate both Heads of Compliance so that they report directly to the Synchron Board,” Mr Trapnell said. “We thank Michael for the valuable contribution he made to Synchron during his time with us. He leaves with our very best wishes.”

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The two other senior positions represent an expansion of the compliance team and include a Head of Compliance – Policy and Regulatory, currently vacant, and a Head of Compliance – Advice Assurance. Both these positions will report to the GM, Legal and Compliance.

The creation of the new roles, which includes the yet-to-be filled position, will see Synchron’s overall staff numbers rise to 49, an increase of 40% over a period of a year.

Effective immediately, former CommInsure senior executive, Ian Knight, has been appointed GM, Operations; Synchron Head of Compliance, Michael Jones has been promoted to GM, Legal and Compliance and Synchron Practice Development Manager, Alison Massey has been promoted to Head of Compliance – Advice Assurance.

Synchron Director, Don Trapnell said the appointments represent the next phase of Synchron’s future management plans.

“In 2016, we recruited Michael Jones as Head of Compliance to allow Synchron Director, John Prossor, to slowly step back from day-to-day involvement in the business and focus on his responsibilities as a Synchron executive director,” he said. “After more than 20 years at the helm, I have great pleasure in handing over the daily operation of Synchron to Ian, which will allow me to do the same. I am confident that, supported by our senior management team, Ian and Michael have what it takes to successfully lead Synchron into the next decade.”

Mr Knight has more than 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry, most recently as Acting Head of Distribution for CommInsure. He also managed CommInsure’s Victorian/Tasmanian Retail Sales team.

Following a career of almost 20 years with Victoria Police, where he rose to Detective Senior Sergeant, Mr Knight worked for financial services companies such as Financial Wisdom, AXA and the Bank of Melbourne, where he was Head of Financial Planning.

“We are also very pleased that Michael Jones has accepted the newly-created role of General Manager, Legal and Compliance,” Mr Trapnell said.

Mr Jones holds a Bachelor of Business (Banking & Finance) and a Bachelor of Laws. He was formerly Director, Compliance for UBS Wealth Management. He also previously worked as Compliance Manager for Industry Funds Management and as Senior Compliance Manager and Fraud Prevention Officer with National Australia Bank.

Mr Trapnell said Alison Massey, who has been promoted to Head of Compliance – Advice Assurance, has a long career in financial services.

“I have known Alison for over 30 years and have a deep respect for her abilities,” he said. “Before joining us in 2018, she had been a financial planner, a sales executive at both a life office and fund manager, a national adviser solutions manager and a case manager for the Financial Ombudsman Service, specialising in complex disputes for the Investments and Advice team.”

Ms Massey also co-authored the book Financial Affairs for Women, one of the first Australian financial information books written specifically for females.

“We believe that collectively, the Synchron management team has the wealth of industry knowledge necessary to continue to meet ever-increasing regulatory obligations and deliver outstanding outcomes for advisers and their clients,” Mr Trapnell said.

Synchron will introduce the new senior management team at a Press Conference during Synchron’s Sydney Professional Development Day on 18 February 2020. To attend, please RSVP to julie@64media.com.au.

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