Catherine Fitzpatrick founded Flequity Ventures to disrupt financial abuse and gender bias through more flexible, safe and equitable product and service design. Her groundbreaking 2022 Designed to Disrupt report for the Centre for Women’s Safety has led to 14 Australian banks including financial abuse in their terms and conditions. In 2019, she instigated analysis that found patterns of abuse in payment descriptions, and successfully advocated for the Australian banking industry to take collective action to respond.
Prior to embarking on social entrepreneurship, Catherine established and led specialist customer vulnerability teams at two of Australia’s leading banks, drawing on more than two decades of experience in diverse roles across ASX-listed companies, the not-for-profit sector, government, and journalism.
Known for her passion for gender equality and the role business can play to end family and domestic violence, Catherine is Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales School of Social Sciences and holds several government and university advisory and governance positions.
She was recognised nationally in 2018 as an AFR|Qantas 100 Women of Influence for her work as the architect of Commonwealth Bank’s domestic and family violence strategy.