Stream Session Speakers

Anthony D’Alessandro

Anthony is the Director and Founding Member of Required Finance Pty Ltd. Required is a fully Integrated Financial Services Company which specialises in Mortgages, Financial Planning, Risk Insurance and Superannuation Advice.

Anthony has over 20 years experience in the banking & financial services industry having built up a business which now has in excess of 8,000 clients and employs a staff of 12.

Anthony is also a shareholder and director of National Mortgage Brokers which is regarded as one of Australia’s leading Mortgage Aggregators.

He is the Licensee for his business’s Australian Financial Services Licence which is held in the name of Wealth Protection Advice Group Pty Ltd. Anthony is a member of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) and the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA).

Required has been assisting clients with their financial needs since 1991. The company offers a highly professional and personalised service and in this regard have been rewarded by winning several awards including the Australian Achiever Award for Service Excellence in the category of Finance & Insurance.

Anthony’s passion and drive for providing excellent service has enabled Required to forge lasting relationships with it’s clients thus ensuring a continual flow of business.

Read about Anthony in Broker Forum

10.00am Thursday 20 May

Amanda Stevens

As Managing Director of Splash, Amanda is the brains behind the ‘SheMarketing’ methodology. With numerous awards to her name, a double degree in communications and over ten years of studying the human brain and human behaviour, Amanda blends some of the most basic scientific facts about what drives us with modern social trend research to make predictions, present strategies and deliver powerful take-away content.

The author of She Marketing, in 2000 Amanda was named Young Business Woman of the Year by Sydney Business Review and in December 2002 won the Young Australian of the Year Award for Career Achievement in New South Wales. In 2003 she was awarded the prestigious centenary medal by the Governor General for business innovation.

Read about Amanda’s session Marketing to Women

11:45am Thursday 20 May

Andrew May

Andrew May, a leading expert on performance and productivity, has spent the past 15 years perfecting the art and science of performance. He is a former elite middle distance runner and was the Physical Performance Manager for the Australian Cricket team and coach to Olympic athletes in a range of sports.

Andrew co-founded Good Health Solutions, Australia’s largest corporate health promotion company with an annual turn over of more than $12 million, and has recently launched Australia’s latest concept in corporate recovery, an exclusive ‘Recharge and Performance Clinic’ in Sydney. He is also the author of the best selling books ‘Flip the Switch’ and ‘Switched On Health & Wellbeing Professionals’, and is a regular voice on 2UE radio as well as making regular TV appearances.

Read about Andrew’s session Staying Switched on, how the best get better


9.00am Thursday 20 May

Dr Adam Fraser

Dr Adam Fraser is one of Australia’s leading educators, researchers and thought leaders in the area of human performance. For the past 13 years he has been working in the area of human performance, specifically the physiological and psychological aspects. In this time he has worked with elite level athletes, the armed forces and business professionals of all levels. For the past 7 years Adam has been working exclusively in the corporate and business world offering one on one coaching, consulting, workshops and keynote presentations.

In the last 4 years he has delivered more than 500 presentations to over 40,000 people in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Adam authored the best selling book “Sugar Daddy”, exploring how we prevent and control metabolic diseases like diabetes and obesity, and is involved in a number of children’s charities. A regular presenter on TV, Adam has been on Channel 7’s Sunrise, Kochie’s Business Builders, Channel 9’s Today show, “What’s good for you” and Close Up in Auckland.

Read about Andrew’s session The 3rd Space – Managing how you show up


3.45pm Thursday 20 May

Barry Oxley

Barry Oxley is passionate about the mortgage broking industry. This stems from his initial involvement with a major bank for nearly 30 years and extends through to his career change into the mortgage broking field in 1998.

With his extensive experience in both the sourcing and building of businesses and relationships, together with his credit analysis expertise, Barry has become a highly respected member of the mortgage broking industry.

Barry is the longest serving broker (and also holds an Ambassador position) with PLAN Australia and he and his mortgage broking companies are multiple industry award winners.

Read about Barry in Broker Forum

10.00am Thursday 20 May

Bob Neill

Bob is a Chartered Accountant and holds Degrees in Accounting and Industrial Relations. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Bob joined NAB / MLC in October 2006 to head up a newly established ‘Succession and Acquisition’ advice area to meet the escalating succession needs of Wealth Management businesses. His role expanded to encompass leading the Adviser Business Centre which provides business consulting services to the Financial services industry.

Prior to joining the group Bob was a partner in a mid tier Melbourne accounting practice for almost 20 years. In that role Bob sat on the Management committee of the practice, was the Managing Director of the Financial services business and a Director of the Corporate Finance division. He was responsible for setting up the highly regarded National Tax advisory division of the Practice.

Bob spent the majority of his time providing consulting services in the Financial Services field in the areas of strategic planning, merger and acquisition activity and practice management. Bob was a member of the external valuation panel of the major banks and a number of leading Financial Institutions.

He is a sought after industry commentator and speaker on the business challenges facing the Financial Services Industry.

Read about Bob’s session Buying and Selling – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly



9.00am Thursday 20 May

Cathy Anderson

Cathy Anderson is committed to creating the best business possible, achieving financial security for herself and her team at Smartline Blackwood. She wants the business to continue to be recognised and well respected in the industry.

Smartline Blackwood has been built on her 15 years in banking and 11 years in the mortgage broking industry with considerable continual training and education.

Cathy and her team have earned accolades and awards for their commitment to setting more than 1,600 families on the path to achieving their financial goals, including being named MFAA 2009 Winner 2-5 Loan Writers, MFAA 2009 Operator of the Year, Smartline’s Franchise of the Year nationally in 2008 and 2009 and, most recently, a finalist in the 2009 Telstra Women’s Business Awards.

Read about Cathy in Broker Forum

10.00am Thursday 20 May

Chelsea Bouma

In 2009 Chelsea received the MFAA Achievement Award in recognition of her business phenomenal growth through innovation and acute attention to market needs. Chelsea provides complimentary seminars to the community and local businesses, promoting understanding and education about the mortgage industry.

Since winning the award Chelsea has broadened her role within the industry to assist Mortgage Consultants/business owners achieve greater success and satisfaction working in a dynamic team with Mortgage 500. Mortgage 500 assists successful business owners in the industry by providing coaching, tracking support and training creating a culture of support, excitement and growth.

Chelsea embraces her own development and commitment to improve with weekly business coaching sessions. As well as master minding with other leaders in the mortgage industry, to keep acquiring resources and knowledge to expand her business.

Read about Chelsea in Broker Forum

10.00am Thursday 20 May

Claire Wivell Plater

Claire Wivell Plater LLB is the Managing Director and majority owner of Gold Seal Risk Management Services and Gold Seal Legal. Her consulting and legal firm works with financial services businesses to assist them to manage compliance, regulatory and legal issues. Claire is passionate about simplifying legal concepts and making them available to the SME businesses. She wrote the MFAA’s Mortgage Broker Manuals which provide a complete guide to the operation and regulation of mortgage broking businesses and similar manuals on the financial services regulatory regime for insurance brokers, underwriting agencies and financial planners. A leading expert on licensing, Claire sits on the Business Advisory Committee to ASIC’s Licensing Division.

Read about Claire’s session To Licence or Not To Licence – that is the question


3.45pm Thursday 20 May

Gerard Fitzpatrick

Gerard Fitzpatrick
Gerard has experience in a variety of regulatory, policy and advocacy roles. Most recently, he was General Manager, Policy & Government Relations with the Financial Planning Association of Australia, dealing with a range of issues including credit and margin lending. Prior to Gerard’s move to Australia in 2007, he was Secretary General to the Institutional Money Market Funds Association and International Policy Adviser for the Investment Management Association in London.

Previously Gerard undertook a range of supervisory and regulatory roles with the Bank of England and the UK Financial Services Authority, including extensive international work, particularly through IOSCO and European fora.

Read about Gerard in Industry Panel

Hali Strandlund

Hali Strandlund is Chair of the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals and the President Fisgard Capital Corporation, one of Canada’s largest private Mortgage Investment Corporations. She was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia and has been licensed Mortgage Broker since 1989.

Her responsibilities at Fisgard include business development, residential and commercial mortgage underwriting, investor and borrower relations, risk assessment, and project and performance draws inspections. She is Fisgard’s corporate liaison with the mortgage brokerage community and conventional lending institutions.

Read about Hali in Industry Panel

3.30pm Wednesday 19 May

Iggy Pintado

Iggy Pintado is an accomplished and experienced business leader, executive, speaker and author. He is an internationally recognized connection technology practitioner and a dedicated observer of societal and business models and patterns. Over 22 years, he’s held professional, management and executive positions in marketing, sales, channels, operations and online management at both IBM and Telstra. He is currently co-founder, CEO and CNO (Chief Networking Officer) of ConnectGen, a business networking and marketing consulting business based in Sydney. His first book, ‘Connection Generation’, is a fascinating study of how connectedness affects our place in society and business and the challenges and opportunities this compelling development presents.

Read about Iggy’s session Marketing through social networks


2.00pm Thursday 20 May

Julie Berry

Julie Berry is the current Chair of the Financial Planning Association, a position she assumed at the Annual General Meeting in November 2007, having been an elected Board director since 2003.

Julie has been a financial adviser for over 20 years. She is currently the Managing Director of Berry Financial Services Pty Ltd in Port Macquarie, on the New South Wales Mid North Coast and an Authorised Representative of Comcorp Financial Advice.

In her professional life, Julie’s success is built on long term relationships with her clients and providing them with quality advice and personal service.

Julie’s commitment to the FPA is a long-standing one. She was Chair of the Mid North Coast Chapter for eight years, and the recipient of a Distinguished Service Award in 2000. Julie has been an FPA Board member since 2003, having served as Deputy Chair in 2007.

Read about Julie’s presentation Industry Panel

Justin Langer

Until the announcement of his retirement from Test cricket in 2007 Justin was one of Australia’s great top-order batsmen, playing 105 test matches and scoring 7,696 runs including 23 test centuries. Few have worn the baggy green cap with greater pride. Justin has also played for and captained Western Australia domestically and Somerset in English County Cricket. In July 2009 whilst playing for Somerset he surpassed Sir Donald Bradman as the most prolific batsman in Australian cricket with a total of 28,068 first-class runs since his debut for Western Australia in 1990.

Justin is patron of The Make a Difference Foundation, Solaris Care, Jason McLean Foundation, Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research in Western Australia, and an ambassador for the Cerebral Palsy Association, Peel Health Campus and the Jack Dunn Foundation. In 2008 he was named as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his services to Australian cricket and the community as patron of a large group of charities. He has addressed conferences, seminars, corporate and government events in Australia, Asia, the UK and Africa.

Read about Justin’s session The Power of Passion



11.45am Thursday 20 May

Robin Napper

Former UK Detective Chief Inspector Robin Napper has a long and distinguished career in law enforcement. After many successful years and hundreds of serious crime investigations Robin became the Head of Operations of Britain’s National Crime Faculty – the centre for excellence and training for all UK police. He was seconded to Australia in 1998 as a Detective Superintendent with the NSW Police in Sydney. During his time there Robin was instrumental in introducing DNA technology across Australia, and was a consultant to both Federal and State governments. Robin is now based in Perth and is an Independent Forensic Investigator. He has advised and lectured in many countries around the world on policing issues, and is consulted today by many agencies in complex homicide investigations.

Read about Robin’s session How to Remain Ethical and Solvent in a Changing World



2.00pm Thursday 20 May

Sarah Brennan

Sarah Brennan has worked in executive and non executive senior management and director roles in major financial services firms for more than twenty years. As founder and Managing Partner of Brennan Partners, Sarah has worked with many small, medium and large financial services businesses in Australia and Asia.

Additionally, as the Senior Principal in Brennan Partners’ wholly owned Comparator Business Benchmarking, Sarah has extensive knowledge on the operations and business models across a range of financial services businesses.

Read about Sarah’s presentation Industry Panel

3.30pm Wednesday 19 May

Yvonne Adele

Yvonne insists that the next BIG idea will only be found by those businesses that create time and space for fresh thinking. Through her highly engaging and interactive keynote presentations and workshops, Yvonne inspires everyday individuals to become ideas activists, and gives them a suite of practical tools and processes to generate, evaluate and implement their ideas. She believes everyone has unlimited ability to think creatively about everyday challenges, and she is on a mission to show people how to unleash those hidden talents.
Having achieved the National Speakers Association highest international designation of Certified Speaking Professional, Yvonne motivates audiences from all walks of life to embrace creative thinking techniques; techniques that can be used for business growth as well as personal development.

Read about Yvonne’s session What’s the BIG idea for your Business



10.00am Thursday 20 May