The Hatchery

Anna Bligh is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Banking Association. Her priorities include strengthening the culture in banking and delivering the right outcomes for customers.

Anna has had a long and distinguished career in politics, and was the Premier of Queensland for almost five years until March 2012. She was also Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Queensland and held ministerial responsibilities in Education, Social Welfare, Arts, Economic and State
Development and Infrastructure.

Anna’s leadership came to national and international attention as she led the response and recovery effort to devastating floods in Queensland in January 2011.

Prior to joining the ABA, Anna was the CEO of YWCA NSW, a not-for-profit organisation striving tobuild a safer world for women and children with programs and services dedicated to ending domestic violence.

In recognition of her eminent service to the Parliament of Queensland, and as an advocate for education, the role of women in public life and services to the not-for-profit sector, Anna received a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia award in the 2017 Australia Day Honours list.

Anna holds Honorary Doctorates from the University of Queensland and Griffith University.

Anna Bligh is a non-executive director of Medibank Private and a Board Member of the International Banking Federation (IBFed).

With over 25 years’ financial services experience, Susan was appointed Chief Executive Officer for Mortgage Choice in April 2018 following nine successful years as the company’s Chief Finance Officer.

Susan has enjoyed an international career holding a number of senior finance roles including Credit Suisse and KPMG (UK), Bear Stearns (US) and ABN Amro and Seiza Capital in Australia, before joining Mortgage Choice as Chief Finance Officer in February 2009.

She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and holds a MBA from The University of Texas at Austin, and a BFA degree from the Tulane University.

David is the CEO for Cbus, the national industry fund for more than 750,000 building andconstruction workers Australia wide, with AUD$55 billion funds under management. 

He is Chair of SuperFriend a not-for-profit mental health foundation focused on creating mentally healthy workplaces and a member of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative Steering Committee. 

David was also the Australian asset owner representative on the PRI Board (Principles ofResponsible Investment) from 2009-2015 and is also currently an alternate Director on the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors.

David has a BA Hons University of Melbourne, Master of Arts Latrobe University and a Diploma of Financial Services and was recognised with distinguished alumni award from LaTrobe University for his work in sustainable finance field and also awarded the FEAL Fund Executive of the Year 2017

Van is an expert in customer experience strategy and design, having worked across financial services, telco, energy and education sectors. Her experience spans public policy, regulatory strategy, business and product development, operational excellence, leadership and resilience programs and organisational change and transformation. Van has an MBA, is a former lawyer, regulator and lecturer at UNSW. Since 2013 she has also served on SDN Children’s Services’ research and ethics committee.

Jane is an experienced leader of risk and compliance teams, having worked in large multinational insurance companies. She is the General Manager, Risk Management for Allianz Australia and prior to that was the Chief Risk Officer for Zurich Insurance. She is purpose driven and has a strong focus on pragmatic customer centric outcomes to problem solving. Jane has advised and supported financial institutions to navigate regulatory, risk, legal and compliance issues and has driven transformation programs for risk management functions.

Vicki joined Rest as CEO in May 2018, bringing more than 17 years’ senior executive leadership experience in superannuation, life insurance, wealth management and banking.

Vicki is passionate about simplifying and de-mystifying superannuation to help all Australians achieve their best retirement outcomes. She is excited about the next stages of Rest’s journey as a market-leading fund, and is determined to continue the delivery of outstanding member benefits.

Vicki holds an Executive MBA from Australian Graduation School of Management and Diploma Australian Institute of Company Directors and has been an Executive Director on Trustee Boards. Vicki has also worked closely with Australian regulators APRA and ASIC in the capacity of the Responsible Manager for various Licenses and has experience influencing Government Public Policy through working closely with industry bodies such as ASFA.

Bernadette has over 20 years executive leadership experience in Financial Services. She has been a successful business leader in Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance and has held senior roles across core Corporate Services functions at both major and regional organisations. Since joining Newcastle Permanent one year ago as Chief Executive Officer, Bernadette has commenced the development of a strategic transformational plan to position the organisation for the future, delivering banking that’s here for you, here for good.

The LGIAsuper Board appointed Kate Chief Executive Officer in April 2018.

She is responsible for leading the ongoing change and transformation required to build on LGIAsuper’s success over the last 52 years.

Kate has 25 years’ experience in senior leadership positions. Prior to joining LGIAsuper she was Senior Implementation Leader at McKinsey & Company.

Previous roles include Managing Director of QEnergy and senior positions in the financial services industry at Barclays and Suncorp.

Kate has a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree together with a Masters degree in Econometrics and Finance. She is also a graduate of INSEAD’s Advanced Management Programme.

Kate is a Responsible Person under LGIAsuper’s Registrable Superannuation Entity Licence and a Responsible Manager under LGIAsuper’s Australian Financial Services Licence.

Kathryn van der Merwe joined ANZ as Group Executive Talent and Culture on 1
May 2017.

Prior to joining ANZ, Kathryn worked for Bain & Company where her 14-year
career has been focused on leading business transformations. This includes
strengthening organisational culture and capability, and the development
and delivery of change strategies to improve performance and facilitate
sustainable growth.

Most recently she was Expert Vice President for Bain’s Results Delivery Practice
in the Asia Pacific.

Kathryn holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of New South Wales.

Amanda Wood is the Principal and founder of Waterstone AML.

Amanda is a recognised expert in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing in Australia. Amanda was the General Manager for Compliance for AUSTRAC with responsibility for the compliance and enforcement functions.

Amanda was also the Group Money Laundering Reporting Officer for Westpac Banking Corporation and had a leadership role in the Commonwealth Bank’s financial crime team. In these roles she oversaw the redevelopment of the banks’ AML Programs.

Amanda was the inaugural co-chair of AUSTRAC’s Fintel Alliance Experts Working Group and has a keen interest in ongoing global efforts to improve the efficiency of anti-money laundering systems.

Amanda has represented Australia at a range of international bodies, relating to financing crime including the Financial Action Taskforce and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.

Cath is an Executive Coach with over 15 years’ experience in organisational and professional development. Cath has consulted to over 350 brands globally, including both public and private sector. Cath has coached over 5000 individuals and addressed over 25,000 through workshops and conferences, using the latest research and practical frameworks to inspire action.

Cath’s greatest strength is helping people to gain greater leverage from the messages they tell themselves and those they tell others.

Claire Harrison is the Founder of ThriveU. She is an Executive Coach and Vedic Meditation teacher and holds a Diploma in Positive Psychology. Claire’s areas of expertise include resilient leadership, building emotional intelligence capability, mindfulness-based strengths training & executive coaching with a focus on leadership, career and business.

Claire is the former NSW Director for Women in Digital International and has held several senior leadership roles across the private sector, including REA Group, Mamamia Women’s Network, Women’s Agenda, Pacific Magazines and Getty Images and has over 15 years’ experience leading teams and developing workplace culture.