The appointments of Eima Alkheder and Ben Donald, bring extensive experience from across the financial services and advice industries.

Ms Alkheder previously served as an Executive Director and Head of Operations, overseeing operations across highly regulated environments including superannuation, insurance and pensions. Mr Donald is a Life Insurance Specialist at Life Advice Partners, with active industry involvement through insurer advisory boards, and the FAAA Life Insurance Committee.

Their appointments support PFAN’s continued focus on strengthening partnerships, expanding adviser participation and delivering high‑quality pro bono advice to Australians in need.

According to PFAN’s Chair Nicola Beswick, since its inception in 2014, participation from advisers, practices and partners has become more coordinated.

“Firms are embedding pro bono advice into their culture as part of professional advice, not as an exception to it. This has changed what’s possible for PFAN in terms of our outlook for growth and the people we support. Eima and Ben both bring hands-on experience across operations, insurance and advice, which will help us keep building momentum and reach more people.”

Today, PFAN works with more than 170 financial advisers, delivering over 850 hours of pro bono financial advice. Since it was established, PFAN has connected Australians living with serious illness or disability to qualified financial advisers willing to provide pro bono advice.

Working closely with referral partners such as the Multiple Sclerosis and MND networks across Australia, PFAN matches individuals in financial hardship with locally based advisers who can support them through complex financial decisions. These initiatives have been supported by PFAN’s corporate partners over several years, reflecting the collective focus on delivering financial advice to more Australians.

Parachute Cover Founder and PFAN Adviser, Natalie Lackner said her involvement with the network allows her to support people she wouldn’t typically encounter in her day-to-day work.

“It creates a pathway for advisers to use their expertise where it can have the greatest impact, helping people navigate complex financial decisions at an incredibly difficult time.”

The new appointments join existing Board members Nicola Beswick, Natalie Kleibert, Stephen Knight, Anne McDonnell, Niall McConville, Paul Harding‑Davis and Aleks Vickovich.

The post New Board appointments position PFAN for growth and expanded national impact  appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Sam Perera

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) today announced Sam Perera has been appointed the AFA’s National President.

Mr Perera’s appointment follows a decision by National President Michael Nowak to resign after many years of contribution to the AFA Board as a board member and President.

AFA Treasurer, Matthew Hawkins, also announced his resignation after seven years on the Board.

“I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to Mike and Matt who have been long-serving members of the AFA Board,” Mr Perera said. “Mike has served for nine years, three of those as President, and Matt for seven years, a year as Treasurer.”

Mr Perera said the past few years have seen enormous pressures placed on advisers and the AFA, which represents them and advocates on their behalf.

“Mike has been an outstanding President of the AFA, tireless in his advocacy on behalf of the AFA as the Royal Commission reforms have continued unabated and the COVID-19 pandemic created major operational challenges for the AFA and our members,” he said.

“As Vice President, I had a unique insight into how the passion and absolute commitment Mike has for the AFA translated into a huge workload as President on top of his family and business commitments.

“The AFA Board fully supports Mike’s decision to share the load and allow somebody else to take on the presidential responsibilities.”

Mr Perera also acknowledged the contribution made by Matthew Hawkins.

“Matt also has significant work and family commitments and it’s time for somebody else to take on this significant role to allow him to focus on his other commitments,” he said.

Mr Perera said that at a Board meeting following the AGM, the other appointments made were:

• Michelle Veitch, Vice President
• Samantha Robinson, Treasurer

The AFA’s new president has been a member of the AFA Board for two years, one as Treasurer and one as Vice President.

All appointments are effective immediately.

The appointment of Sam Perera as President, Michelle Veitch as Vice President and Samantha Robinson as Treasurer are decisions of the Board to fill casual vacancies until the next AGM in 2022.

The AFA Board is now:

• President – Sam Perera
• Vice President – Michelle Veitch
• Treasurer – Samantha Robinson
• NSW/ACT – Katherine Hayes
• VIC – Vacant
• QLD – Patricia Garcia
• SA/NT – Jawad Ahmad
• WA – Stephen Knight
• TAS – Vacant
• Shaun McDonagh (Independent Director)

AFA CEO Helen Morgan-Banda thanked Mike and Matt on behalf of the AFA’s HQ team.

“Mike has been an inspirational leader for the AFA, and I want to thank him and Matt for supporting me and my team during a period of challenge and change,” she said.

The post AFA announces Board changes appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Mr Nowak has been a member of the AFA Board for eight years and is the immediate past Vice President, serving two consecutive terms. He was also the 2013/14 President during the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reform period.

“I am honoured to again serve as the AFA’s national president,” Mr Nowak said. “The AFA has set a firm forward strategy, with a strong policy and advocacy focus and a business plan that is well positioned to meet the current challenging COVID-19 economic conditions.

“I acknowledge that there are significant challenges ahead for financial advisers, but it is encouraging to see a change in the tone regarding reform. It is crucial that reform is delivered to ensure that financial advisers can continue to serve the financial advice needs of Australians.”

The AFA also announced Katherine Hayes has been appointed to the Board as the new State Director for NSW/ACT and Stephen Knight has been appointed to the Board as WA State Director.

Six of the nine Board members will remain, including the three Executive members and also Sam Robinson in Victoria, Patricia Garcia in Queensland and Jawad Ahmad in South Australia.  This provides continuity and stability for the AFA.

Members of the AFA Board hold office for two years and must be practising financial advisers.

AFA CEO, Philip Kewin said, “We welcome the new AFA Board Executive team and the new State Directors and are looking forward to working with them to further our vision for financial advice.

“We would also like to thank our outgoing President, Marc Bineham, for his outstanding contribution to the AFA. Marc is a passionate advocate for financial advice, and has served on the Board for 10 years, including two consecutive terms as President. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution from outgoing WA State Director James Ford, who steps down after six years on the Board.”

Members of the current AFA Board include:

Executive

• President – Michael Nowak
• Vice President – Sam Perera
• Treasurer – Matthew Hawkins
• Company Secretary – Philip Kewin

State Directors

• NSW/ACT – Katherine Hayes
• VIC – Samantha Robinson
• QLD – Patricia Garcia
• SA/NT – Jawad Ahmad
• WA – Stephen Knight
• TAS – Vacant

The post AFA announces new Executive, Board members appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Stephen has more than 30 years of senior executive experience in the financial services industry with a particular focus on the investment management, capital markets and government sectors. Before transitioning to a career as a non-executive director, Stephen served as CEO of NSW Treasury Corporation (NSW TCorp) for a decade.

Under his stewardship TCorp became one of Australia’s top 10 asset managers, with about $70 billion in funds under management on behalf of NSW government authorities. Stephen also led the recent amalgamation of TCorp’s funds management activities with State Super and SRWS (Safety Return to Work and Support).

OneVue Chair, Ms Gail Pemberton, said “The next few months are poised to be a very exciting period for OneVue and we wanted to enhance the mix of skills on the Board to support the business through this next phase of growth. In the last 12 months OneVue has cemented its position as #1 in the provision of outsourced unit registry services to the custody and investment management sectors. Stephen’s deep domain knowledge of custody and investment management, as well as his broad financial services experience, will bring greater depth to the OneVue Board and the Investment Committee which he will also be joining.”

Prior to TCorp, Stephen was Head of Treasury and Capital Markets at Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) Australia and he also held senior treasury roles for ANZ, National Mutual Royal Bank, and Australia Bank.

Stephen is also a Director of the Sydney Financial Forum, Primary Ethics Future Trust (PEFT) and is an Advisory Board member of the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM).

Stephen has a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Economics and Applied Mathematics) from the University of Sydney, completed the General Manager Program at Harvard Business School, and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

The post Former TCorp CEO joins OneVue Board appeared first on AdviserVoice.