THE Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has appointed Raylene Bellottie and Yien Hong to its board as two new industry directors, effective January 1 next year.

AFCA’s independent board chair, John Pollaers said the board was “excited to welcome Raylene and Yien, who would bring a wide breadth of skills and knowledge to their roles”.

“Both of these highly successful women are the perfect fit for AFCA’s board, and their appointments ensure the organisation will continue to provide an independent, free and fair external dispute resolution service for financial disputes in Australia,” Professor Pollaers said.

The AFCA board consists of an independent chair and an equal number of directors with consumer and industry experience, covering the multi-dimensional and highly complex industries AFCA deals with.

The AFCA announcement said Raylene Bellottie was “a proud Nanda woman from Yamatji country with a wealth of expertise as an Aboriginal business director, consultant and board member”. 

Ms Bellottie has “extensive financial sector experience of over 25 years. She is deeply committed to enhancing Indigenous financial literacy and has served as the deputy chair of the First Nations Foundation for more than 10 years. The foundation strives to promote economic freedom for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“She gained valuable experience during her tenure at ANZ Bank, later joining Credit Union Australia (CUA) as the national business development manager of First Nations accounts, where she was instrumental in expanding the First Nations portfolio from $17 million to over $200 million.

“Raylene is currently a business coach for the Waalitj Foundation, where she provides guidance and support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to enhance their competence and capability building. In addition, she has held various roles with the Indigenous Advisory Group, the Indigenous Financial Service Network, and as the deputy chairperson for Nanda Aboriginal Corporation. Raylene is currently a member and director of Yamatji Southern Regional Corporation and chairperson of Yamatji Funds Management Ltd.”

“Raylene’s remarkable career in the finance sector along with her experience working with small businesses, means she has a strong understanding of the important work AFCA does,” Professor Pollaers said.

Yien Hong is general counsel and company secretary at Judo Bank, Australia’s only purpose-built challenger business bank for small and medium enterprises, which listed on the ASX in November 2021. 

The AFCA announcement said “Yien has had an impressive executive career, having held senior roles in Australia and internationally across firms including Deutsche Bank, NAB and Linklaters. Prior to joining Judo Bank, she was general counsel and company secretary at Growthpoint Properties Australia, an ASX-200 listed property fund. Yien was also Senior Legal Counsel at NAB, providing legal advice and support to the bank's business banking division”.

Ms Hong’s international experience includes three years as the head of FX and Fixed Income Prime Brokerage Legal at Deutsche Bank, London, where she led a team that supported the structured derivatives business. Before joining Deutsche Bank, Ms Hong held a senior role with global law firm Linklaters, delivering client solutions for private equity acquisitions, cross-border financings and complex structured finance transactions.

Prof. Pollaers said with a passion for social justice, “Yien served for five years as the director and chair of the development committee at YWCA Housing (YWCA Victoria), working to provide accommodation and other services to disadvantaged women”.  She also currently serves as a non-executive director of the Australian Arts Orchestra, one of Australia’s leading contemporary ensembles.

“Yien’s impressive executive career, strong legal background and solid understanding of governance, underpinned with a strong sense of social justice, makes her an excellent fit for AFCA and an important addition to the board,” Prof. Pollaers said.

Ms Bellottie and Ms Hong will replace current AFCA board members Claire Mackay and Andrew Fairley. Ms Mackay joined the AFCA board in May 2018 and Mr Fairley in July 2018.

“Claire and Andrew played such an important part in AFCA’s first five years, as founding directors,” Prof. Pollaers said. “They both provided invaluable knowledge and expertise during their tenures and we thank them for the significant contributions they have made in helping AFCA to become the world-class ombudsman service it is today.”

AFCA is a non-government ombudsman service aiming to provide free, fair and independent dispute resolution to individual consumers and small businesses when they are not able to resolve complaints directly with financial firms in banking and finance, insurance, investments and advice, and superannuation. AFCA aims to help the parties reach agreement, but it can issue decisions that are binding on financial firms. 

www.afca.org.au

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CONSTANT CONTACT, a digital marketing and automation platform used by millions of small businesses and non-profits globally, has chosen Renée Chaplin as its new vice president of Asia-Pacific (APAC). 

Ms Chaplin will lead Constant Contact’s growth in the APAC region and scale its operations from the company’s APAC headquarters in Brisbane.

Ms Chaplin brings to the firm more than 20 years experience growing business-to-business (B2B) brands.

Constant Contact CEO Frank Vella said Ms Chaplin would help drive broader awareness and adoption of Constant Contact’s digital marketing platform in APAC and deliver value to customers in that region.

He said “this strategic hire” represented Constant Contact’s continued investment into growing its presence in Australia, following the acquisition of Brisbane-founded Vision6 in 2022. 

“International presence is a key objective for Constant Contact, and Australia is a major technology hub in the world’s fastest-growing region,” Mr Vella said.

“We’ve invested in APAC through our acquisition of Vision6, and we see an opportunity to build on that momentum to deliver even more value to our global customers and partners. I am confident that Renée’s experience and local presence will help accelerate our efforts in APAC and make an immediate impact on our business and our customers’ businesses within the region.”

Prior to joining Constant Contact, Ms Chaplin worked for a variety of technology companies, from Australian start-ups to multinational SaaS organisations specialising in AI, automation, customer experience and billing technology.

“Constant Contact is well known globally for being a pioneer of digital marketing innovation in the small business space, and the company’s recent advancements in AI and marketing automation make this an exciting time to join the organisation,” Mr Chaplin said.

“Our Vision6 product is already Australia’s most reliable email marketing and SMS platform with sovereign onshore data storage and local customer support. I look forward to growing Constant Contact’s APAC business and helping our customers and agency partners develop stronger relationships with their customers.”

www.constantcontact.com 

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THE Financial Services Council (FSC) has appointed two senior industry leaders – AMP chief executive Alexis George and BT Financial Group CEO Matt Rady – to the FSC board.

Ms George has more than 30 years experience in the financial services industry in Australia and internationally. She spent seven years at ANZ bank, including as deputy chief executive officer driving group-wide strategic initiatives in addition to having responsibility for its shared service centres and banking services. 

Prior to ANZ, Ms George spent 10 years with ING Group in senior roles with responsibility for banking, insurance, funds management, product, marketing, technology and operations.

Mr Rady has more than 30 years experience in the financial services and wealth industries with executive roles in companies including Macquarie Group and global financial services technology company, IRESS. Prior to BT Financial Group, Mr Rady was chief executive officer at Allianz Retire.

Since Mr Rady’s appointment at BT in 2021, he has led BT Financial Group through a period of significant change. Mr Rady leads BT platforms – including Asgard and BT Panorama – and the main lending business. As well as supporting outcomes for customers and members he is an advocate for the value of financial advice in Australia.

FSC chairman, David Bryant said, “Alexis and Matt are senior industry leaders that bring to the board extensive financial services industry experience that will further strengthen the FSC’s advocacy for the industry and its consumers on key policy and regulatory issues.

“Alexis and Matt share the FSC’s commitment to a more competitive, efficient and consumer focused financial services sector that delivers high quality service, financial advice and wealth products for Australian consumers.”

Ms George said, “Joining the FSC Board is an opportunity to represent AMP’s customers and to ensure our industry, regulators and government are working together to achieve the best possible financial outcomes for all Australians.” 

Mr Rady said, “I am delighted to be joining the FSC board and am looking forward to working with my fellow directors to support reforms that shape the future of financial services in Australia.”

www.fsc.org.au

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INDEPENDENT valuation and advisory firm, Herron Todd White Australia (HTW) has elected Sheena Wilson to chair its board. Ms Wilson is the first woman to lead the HTW board of directors.

“I am honoured to have been elected,” Ms Wilson said. "I’m looking forward to helping steer HTW through what will be a dynamic and exciting time for this prestigious company.” 

HTW CEO, Gary Brinkworth, said the group was delighted to have Ms Wilson helm the board. 

“We are very proud that Sheena, who was elected at the same time as Jeff (Forbes) to the board of HTW as an independent non-executive director and became deputy chair in 2015, was elected to fill the position of chair following last week’s AGM,” Mr Brinkworth said. 

“We are also very pleased to confirm that Andrew Wellington was elected as an independent non-executive director to the HTWA/C board at last week’s AGM, and appointed deputy chair of the board, and chair of the finance, audit and risk management committee,” Mr Brinkworth said. 

Based in Brisbane, Mr Wellington has been the Chair of the Brisbane Lions Football Club since 2017. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and senior fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) and served as chair of FINSIA Queensland’s Regional Council from 2007 to 2011. Mr Wellington is also a former partner of PwC’s Deals Practice division, specialising in business valuation, and has been a member of the PwC Australia board of partners.  

www.htw.com.au

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