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Judges

With a judging panel including academics, business executives, entrepreneurs and innovators, the ifa Excellence Awards is peer-reviewed recognition of your capabilities in finance and passion for driving the industry forward.

Drew Browne
Drew Browne
Owner and Senior Adviser,
Sapience Financial

Drew's an award-winning provocative writer, speaker, financial advisor and diversity and inclusion
ambassador. He specialises in working with entrepreneurs, small business owners and their families
helping them better manage known key risks.

A straight-talking financial advisor who believes life is not about money, he runs a purpose aligned
company, Sapience Financial & Investment, along with separate specialty brands using business
solutions to solve key social problems.

He’s a founding writer for successful small business owners and entrepreneurs at Smallville.com.au a
Mentor with The Pinnacle Foundation and in 2017 he received the Westpac Businesses of Tomorrow
Award

Jenny Pearse
Jenny Pearse
Managing Director,
Jenesis - Business and Marketing Consultancy

Jenny Pearse is an award-winning Marketing Consultant as well as a speaker and presenter who has worked in the marketing and advertising industry over the last 20 years.

She is Managing Director of Jenesis – a business and marketing consultancy she founded in 2006. For the past 14 years, Jenny has been helping financial services organisations, financial advisers, business owners and their teams to succeed and flourish in a rapidly changing landscape.
With a keen focus on digital media and using technology as a platform to engage, Jenny has helped transform businesses all over Australia as they adapt and thrive in today’s digital world.

Jenny is a marketing strategist at heart and her goal is to help you find your voice and amplify it through your marketing and communications!
www.jenesis.net.au

Garret Norris
Garret Norris
Managing Director ,
HBB Group

Garret is a highly effective business engineer who has a proven track record in working on businesses to improve aspects such as gross margin and revenue, horizontal and vertical marketplace penetration, pipeline development and management as well as disciplined staff and management training.

He started his work life in the hospitality industry in the UK, moving to sales and management with Financial Modeling International (FMI) and then became the Sales Director of the training division of Computerland UK.

He was then approached by the Mouse Training Company (MTC) and, after moving to Australia, was engaged by Pinpoint to set up the sales and marketing of their employee benefits. Finally, Garret worked for The Marketing Department, which was acquired by Crossmark in 2009, before starting his own business in 2013, the HBB Group.

Rahat Munir
Rahat Munir
Head Accounting and Corporate Governance ,
Macquarie University

Dr Rahat Munir is a Professor, Head of Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Macquarie University. With extensive experience in all forms of academic endeavours - research, teaching and engagement, Professor Munir offer an unbeatable track-record of excellence in curriculum development, research leadership, change management, building teams, effective human resource and financial management. He has published in leading international journals as well as presented at international conferences and seminars in many parts of the world. He is affiliated with several professional bodies. Professor Rahat Munir is actively involved in learning & teaching and research activities and brings a host of administrative and service experience across a wide range of contexts. Professor Munir has earned numerous national and international level research and teaching awards during his career.

Steve Prendeville
Steve Prendeville
Founder & Director ,
Forte Asset Solutions, Forte Licensing Solutions, Forte Consulting Solutions

Is the Founder and Managing Director of Forte Asset Solutions, Forte Licensing Solutions and Forte Consulting Solutions (Forte). Forte’s Asset Solutions core activity is selling financial services businesses. Forte Licensing Solutions assist practices to find the right Dealer group or become self- licenced. Forte Consulting Solutions assists business to grow.
Steve has enjoyed a successful 30 plus year career in financial services. He began his career in New Zealand, then England working first in banking and then in stock broking. In 1987, he became Australia’s youngest certified investment planner (ACIP).
He established the Dealer Group National Mutual Financial Planning in Victoria in 1991.
Steve joined First State Funds management in 1993 and presided over Victoria’s growth from $40 million pa inward flow of funds to more than $1 billion pa.
Steve then accepted a global partnership in Deloitte, where he held the position of Director and CEO of Deloitte Financial Services (DFS), a national High Net Worth dealer group. After re-engineering the business, he completed the successful sale of DFS in 2001, managing the transition until late 2002.
After a 12- month sabbatical he came back to the industry and created Australia’s first specialist financial services M & A group Kenyon Prendeville. Kenyon Prendeville was the first M&A business specialising in financial services and it went on to be the predominant broker until 2011. Steve split the partnership in May 2011 to create Forte Asset Solutions Pty Ltd.
He is an active media commentator and public speaker on all issues affecting financial services businesses. There are 2,500 active subscribers to the Forte newsletter. His website records approximately 1,700 individual visits per month.
Steve is a member of the International Association of Consultants, Valuators and Analysts.
He is recognized by the Financial Services Industry and courts as an expert.
Steve has run, managed and sold national dealer groups, financial planning and multi-disciplined businesses in Australia.

Jeff Zulman
Jeff Zulman
Managing Director ,
TrailBlazer Finance

Jeff Zulman is the founder and Managing Director of Trailblazer Finance. He is one of Australia’s leading M&A specialists, with expertise in the mortgage broking and financial intermediary industries. Jeff’s market knowledge and savvy insights have been gained over a 25-year period, from executive roles at Goldman Sachs on Wall Street and in London, to managing financial institutions in Sydney. Jeff also understands what it takes to successfully start, manage, buy and sell businesses, as he has done so with several of his own businesses.

Tanya Sale
Tanya Sale
CEO & Founder ,
Outsource Financial Pty Ltd

Tanya Sale is the Founder, CEO and Managing Director of multi award-winning, national Aggregator group, outsource financial. Tanya is the only female CEO / Managing Director of a mortgage Aggregator in Australia. Having extensive banking and finance experience, Tanya pioneered the third-party mortgage sector, by creating diverse models to change the way lending was conducted in Australia.

In 2019 Tanya appeared on the expert's panel, for a new television show on Channel 9, called Secrets of the Money Masters. A series featuring some of Australia's biggest sporting celebrities who learn about financial strategy and security. Additionally, in 2019, Tanya won 'CEO of the Year' at the Women in Finance Awards and was named as one of MPA’s Global 100.

Michael Drage
Michael Drage
Founder ,
Re-Imagined Habitat

An innovator and disrupter at heart, after 25 years of thought leadership in the financial services sector Michael is now challenging the residential building and design norms. reimagined habitat design and produce highly energy efficient and healthy homes and cabins by rethinking how they are designed, built and delivered.

Nicole Hatherly
Nicole Hatherly
Founder & Director ,
Brand True North

About Nicole

Strategy | Positioning | Financial Services Specialist

As a leading Brand and Leadership Strategist, international keynote speaker, facilitator, published writer, Nicole Hatherly offers 28 years’ experience delivering cutting edge leadership strategies for international organisations.

Nicole works with financial services leaders and teams, academics, actuaries, government departments, organisations, and business leaders to create effective processes and influence for impact.

Trusted by the Department of Health, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Mirvac Nicole also coaches Executive Management and C-Suite clients across Australia.

With first-hand experience as an Executive Manager at CommBank for a decade, and ASIC RG146 compliant in Securities and Managed Investments, Nicole understands leadership within Financial Services.

Leading and training a number of remote working teams across many years, presenting in a virtual environment is second nature for Nicole.

Trained by LinkedIn for LinkedIn Social Selling, Nicole co-led a strategic team to implement the successful CommBank Social Selling Program for 500 Business Bankers over 5 years - and is consistently ranked in the top 1% for her industry and network across LinkedIn.

With a flair and passion for entrepreneurial business, Nicole uses her training in Design Thinking Methodology to focus on problem-solving with an authentic customer lens to strategically position and align teams to drive performance with their customers at the heart of success.

Nicole Hatherly - Short Bio
As a leading Brand and Leadership Strategist, international keynote speaker, facilitator, published writer, Nicole Hatherly offers 28 years’ experience delivering cutting edge leadership strategies for international organisations. Nicole works with financial services leaders and teams, academics, actuaries, government departments, organisations, and business leaders to create effective processes and influence for impact.

Nicole Hatherly
Founder and Director, Brand True North
brandtruenorth.com
0422 932 738

Christine Bau
Christine Bau
HR Consultant ,
People Focused

Christine is the founder of People Focused, a HR consulting firm specialising in financial planning and related services.
A seasoned HR practitioner and qualified coach, Christine is known for partnering with firms to ensure they meet their compliance obligations and implement people processes that create a great place to work.
She is particularly passionate about teaching time poor leaders and managers how to have coach-like conversations with their employees quickly and regularly. She is a firm believer that setting clear expectations and providing ongoing feedback are fundamental to a practice’s growth and success.
Prior to establishing People Focused Christine worked as a senior HR leader with various mid-tier accounting firms, legal organisations and boutique financial planning practices.

Jonathan Elliot
Jonathan Elliot
Managing Director ,
Collins SBA

Jonathan Elliot (Jono) is known as innovative and not one to shy away from a challenge. He embarked on his career journey in 1998 with a Bachelor of Commerce from UTas and
Co-founded Collins SBA in 2003, a self-licensed ‘whole of team’ accounting and financial planning business based in Hobart. Jono seamlessly blends financial acumen with an innovative spirit. In his role as Managing Director, he steers the Collins SBA team towards empowering clients to live their best financial lives.

Jono sparked global interest with Collins SBA groundbreaking ‘5 Hour Day’ initiative which is a further testament to his commitment to redefining workplace norms and improving client’s outcomes. He is a member of the Principal’s Community Advisory Council.

Jono is married to Louise and proud father of Esther and Thomas. His philosophy of living your best life extends to everything he does including “being a great dad and husband drives me to give my best in business, because my family’s financial security depends on me.”

Jono finds balance and mindfulness through anything on two wheels including ultra cycling events, such as finishing the Silk Road Mountain Race in 2022. Beyond keeping fit, cycling is his social and mindfulness time, fuelling focus and clarity. Jono tries to lead by example promoting a holistic approach to wellbeing within the Collins SBA Team.

“I am fortunate to lead a remarkable team of people at Collins SBA who are skilled in the professions of financial planning, business coaching and accounting. Working together or Whole of Team as we like to call it – for the heroes of our economy – the Small to Medium Business owner community – is a remarkable privilege.”

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