MOVERS & SHAKERS

Pepper Money CEO appointed AFIA chair

The chief executive of Pepper Money, Mario Rehayem, has been named as the new chair of the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA).

The body – which is made up of more than 150 members (including bank and non-bank lenders, fintech, finance companies, etc) – advocates continued innovation in the finance industry.

The association collaborates with government bodies, regulators, and its members to promote competition and innovation and provides “new policy, data, and insights” to support its advocacy work.

Rehayem began in his role as AFIA chair on 1 March, taking over the role from Peter Jones, who completed his four-year tenure as chair.

The new AFIA chair said he was privileged to be elected as chair of a “highly regarded organisation, which serves as the authoritative voice for propelling a world-class finance industry”.

Former FBAA state manager joins aggregator

Mark Windram has joined aggregator outsource Financial, coming on board as its new relationship manager in Western Australia, where he is tasked with supporting brokers in Western Australia.

Windram has more than 18 years of experience in the broking industry, having been the state manager of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia, at the Finance Brokers Association of Australasia for the last four years and a manager of broker relationships at Keystart for 14 years before that.

Effective as of 11 March, his appointment makes him the eighth member of the aggregator’s state leadership team.

Outsource Financial’s chief executive Tanya Sale, said she was impressed by Windram’s commitment to broker relationships, adding: “Mark is quality. He will be a great fit for outsource Financial and I really believe he is going to take our brokers in Western Australia to new heights.”

Wisr announces head of broker change

Non-bank lender Wisr has announced that it has a new head of broker after Peter Beaumont stepped down from the position on 8 March.

Chief executive Andrew Goodwin commented that Beaumont had developed “strong relationships” during his tenure with the non-bank lender, which started in 2015, and thanked him for his “contribution to Wisr’s success” and having led the “build and delivery of Wisr’s highly regarded broker channel”.

Beaumont has now been succeeded by Nicole Evans, who was internally promoted.

Goodwin commented: “Nicole has worked alongside Peter for nearly five years, building our broker channel and leading many successful initiatives that have improved outcomes for our 10,000-plus broker partners.

“We’re excited to welcome Nicole to the role as Wisr intends to recommence loan volume growth in H2FY24 and continue to reimagine the consumer financial journey.”

Former ME Bank CEO joins MONEYME board

Jamie McPhee was announced as a non-executive director to the board of directors for digital lender MONEYME, effective 14 March.

McPhee carries over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry, having served as the chief executive of ME Bank for a decade between 2010 and 2020.

The chair of MONEYME, Peter Coad, said the lender was delighted to welcome McPhee to the board and “benefiting from his wealth of expertise in the financial services sector”.

“I look forward to his contribution to the leadership of the company,” Coad added.

McPhee has previously been the executive director of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and is currently a director of the G&C Mutual Bank and Archa Limited.