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The SME lender has announced the appointment of a new chairman and two new board members.
Prospa, which is widely expected to list on the public market later this year, has announced that the joint-CEO of Ironbridge Capital, Greg Ruddock, will become its new chairman while Gail Pemberton and Fiona Trafford-Walker have joined the company as independent non-executive directors of the lender’s board.
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They join existing board members: Avi Eyal from venture fund Entree Capital, James Cameron of venture firm AirTree Ventures, as well as Prospa's co-founders and joint CEOs, Greg Moshal and Beau Bertoli.
Greg Ruddock
Mr Ruddock takes on the role of Prospa chairman which had, until this point, be assigned on a rotational basis to board members.
He has served as a non-executive director on Propsa’s board since September 2015 and continues to serve as a non-executive director of Work Club Global.
The new Prospa chairman recently stepped down from his role as non-executive director on the board of fleet finance company Eclipx to “focus on Prospa”.
Commenting on Mr Ruddock’s appointment, joint CEO of Prospa Greg Moshal claimed that the appointment would help drive the SME lender’s growth ambitions.
“Greg Ruddock has been instrumental in shaping the direction of the company, helping us grow into a market leader today,” Mr Moshal said.
“His appointment to the chairman role underpins our ambitious growth strategy as we continue to empower a new generation of small businesses with innovative finance solutions.”
Mr Ruddock noted that he looks forward to advising Prospa throughout its next phase of development.
“[I’m] excited to have been appointed chairman and look forward to advising Prospa on the next stage of its development,” he said.
“In just six years, the Prospa team have done an outstanding job of building the leading fintech provider in its field and helping more than 12,000 Australian small businesses receive the finance they need to thrive.”
Non-executive directors join the board
New non-executive director Fiona Trafford-Walker has more than 25 years of experience advising institutional investors, currently serves as a non-executive director of superannuation fund technology provider Link Administration Holdings, and is an investment director of asset and investment consultancy Frontier Advisers.
“I am excited to be joining the Prospa board for a number of reasons,” Ms Trafford-Walker said.
“Firstly, helping small and medium businesses grow and seeing the impacts of that growth leveraged through the broader economy is very exciting. Secondly, [Beau Bertoli] and [Greg Moshal’s] passion for the business, their clients and their staff is wonderful to see. Thirdly, the company has invested in and developed leading technology and is a great example of what can be achieved through lateral thinking, innovation and teamwork,” she added.
“I have strong skills in investments and governance, developed over 25 years of working with institutional asset owners and investors such as pension funds. I think that these skills will complement those of the others around the board table and I am excited to be working alongside such an experienced and passionate group of people.”
Mr Moshal said: “Fiona’s investment and governance skills, combined with her strong understanding of asset owners and global markets gained from experience at Link Administration Holdings and Frontier Advisors, will help us grow our world class capital and risk platforms.”
Also appointed to Prospa’s new board is Gail Pemberton, who will also become a non-executive director.
Ms Pemberton has previously held several executive roles at investment bank BNP Paribas and has also served as group CIO and financial services group COO at Macquarie Bank.
She has over 35 years of experience in banking and wealth management, and specialises in technology and operations.
Ms Pemberton currently serves as chairman of Melbourne IT and as a non-executive director of PayPal Australia and Eclipx Group.
The new board appointee, who also serves as Prospa’s chair of the remuneration and nominations committee, has also previously provided independent consulting services to the NSW government Department of Premier and Cabinet, and was awarded an Order of Australia for distinguished service to the finance and banking industry in January.
Mr Moshal noted: “The appointment of Gail brings a rare combination of experience in the financial services and technology sectors, having worked in both non-executive and executive roles at leading public and private growth companies including PayPal, Macquarie, Eclipx, OneVue and Melbourne IT.”
Mr Ruddock welcomed the appointments of Ms Trafford-Walker and Ms Pemberton, noting that they would “add additional breadth to the board”.
“We’re delighted to have people of the calibre of Fiona and Gail, both highly respected for their contribution to financial services and technology, serving on our board of directors,” the new chairman said.
“Their proven track record, knowledge and expertise will add additional breadth to the board as we continue our quest to make business loans faster, friendlier, and more accessible.”
[Related: Online SME lender hits $10m milestone]
