This is a newly created Great Southern Bank Executive position. Responsible for an innovative partnership with a newly created Fintech (Constantinople). Our combined program of work has launched to market Australia’s digital first, fully featured small business bank!

As a consequence of organisational changes, the Chief Operating Officer role was further adapted to meet the needs of the business. The change included the previous CoTS responsibilities including remaining the CEO of CUA Health, Group Strategy & Innovation and Strategic Partnership responsibilities and now combined with the full Operational performance of the CUA ADI business. The business now comprises in excess of 300 FTE, 6 Direct reports and end to end responsibilities for the CUA Health fund, meeting member needs through operational excellence for all lending and savings products and complete member on boarding and servicing. This role completely reshaped the effectiveness of the Great Southern Bank operating model. With key metrics such as GOS, Unit Cost and team engagement scores all demonstrating double digital improvements year on year, the Banking Operations Business is now a key enabler of the growth strategy of the bank. Of particular note was the implementation of an end-to-end loan application system that along with significant people and process reengineering, led to a 300% improvement in time to yes. This is a measure of loan assessment for full, unconditional approval which moved from 15 days to a marketing leading 5 days by the end of calendar year 2022.

The CUA Health Insurance business made a successful contribution to the CUA group for over 40 years. Consisting of over 4000 policy holders the business continually supported customers with their private health insurance needs by paying claims consisting of over 80% of its $160m per annum revenue. The business had continued to meet its profit targets year on year and this made it a very attractive acquisition option in the market. The business was successfully sold to another mutually owned health insurer (HBF) in September 2021.

I was promoted to this position to spark change in CUA’s transformation management program along with responsibilities as the Chief Executive Officer for the CUA Health Limited and Credicorp Insurance Limited businesses. I maintain full budget responsibility of $45M/year and seven direct reports. I am responsible for leading strategy implementation, business operations, and profitable governance to help these two wholly-owned subsidiaries achieve the necessary growth for sustainable operations while navigating complex regulatory and consumer constraints. I also oversee the CUA transformation program by developing strategy and delivery, and managing significant technology replatforming, including all digital assets, end-to-end member engagement platforms, and service centres.

I was promoted to CFO after successfully serving in the position in an acting capacity to manage CUA’s financial operations, corporate strategy, project management, and enterprise data functions. In this role, I was responsible for setting and achieving CUA’s corporate and financial goals by establishing and controlling the financial services and administrative systems of the company. I ensured the company’s compliance with statutory and legal obligations, and strategically identified areas for growth while enabling people, processes, and technology required for that growth. I also developed talent within the divisional leadership team by coaching and mentoring, culminating in an internal placement in the CFO role.

I was recruited to this position to oversee the Banking Operations, Lending Operations and Business Process Re-engineering, Credit Assessment and Decisioning, and Procurement and Digital Solutions groups. As the Chief Operating Officer with a team of 5 Direct Reports and 240 FTE, I was responsible for providing the leadership, management, and vision to ensure that the company has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people systems in place to effectively grow and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency. I was able to harness innovative technologies to empower the business with straight-through processing capabilities.

I was recruited to this national leadership role to improve the operational performance of the business in consideration of significant regulatory and risk-based challenges, and to inform its optimal long-term strategy. I oversaw daily business activities, improved overall business functions, and communicated business growth goals. I managed two complex channels to market with their own unique challenges. I also led implementation of a sophisticated risk-based pricing model, effective retail risk policies, credit assessment and fulfilment operations, and a competitive commission structure.

In this role, I managed a team of eight regional executives with a full staff of 180 in key geographic hubs throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory. I collaborated with leadership to strategise rolling out new initiatives, and created an optimal sales rhythm with monthly, quarterly, and annual reports, providing constant feedback on progress and development. I networked and developed strong relationships with regional clients and continued to grow these relationships through periods of economic difficulty. I also served as the executive in charge during a period of extreme regional financial hardship due to drought and flood, and assured well-being of both staff and customers.

In this role, I was responsible for managing the change activities of a corporate and business integration program.

I managed 50% of the Corporate Banking clients in Queensland and established new corporate banking representation in Southern Brisbane, including Toowoomba and Gold Coast.

In this role, I practiced values-based leadership to successfully balance the needs of the organisation with the motivation and ambition of the team.

As the project manager, I managed the Yuetsu project to implement a new, web-based technology platform throughout both Esanda and UDC (New Zealand).

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