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Board of Directors and Leadership Team

Credit Union SA's Board of Directors and Executive Management team are responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of Credit Union SA, comprising of high-performing individuals with a diverse range of backgrounds, talents and financial skills.

The Board of the Credit Union is committed to protecting members’ interests, keeping members fully informed about the performance of the Credit Union and protecting and enhancing member value.

Effective governance provides the framework to ensure the Credit Union is managed soundly and prudently by a competent Board which can make reasonable and impartial business judgements in the best interests of the Credit Union and which duly considers the impact of its decisions on members.

Download our Corporate Governance Statement

Change to Board of Directors

Director Carolyn Mitchell recently retired from the Credit Union SA Board after 18 years service with Credit Union SA (and before that Satisfac Credit Union). Carolyn retired from the Board in May 2024 ahead of her tenure expiring in November 2024.

Carolyn has been instrumental to the success of Credit Union SA from overseeing the merger of Satisfac Credit Union and PowerState in 2009 to taking on the Chair role in 2018, Carolyn has led us through many periods, most notably the Global Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.

We sincerely thank Carolyn for her strong leadership, guidance and significant contribution across her tenure both as director and then as Chair.

Director Julie Cooper will commence as Chair effective 29th May 2024. We congratulate Julie on her appointment and look forward to what is to come. The Board will work diligently to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of our strong leadership and board governance.

Board of Directors

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Julie Cooper

Chair

GD.Mgt, BA, FAICD

Julie is an experienced Board Director with extensive experience across diverse commercial sectors. In addition to her role with Credit Union SA, Julie also sits on the Boards of a number of successful Australian Companies including Sarah Group Holdings and Nova Systems Pty Ltd. She is an independent member of the Adelaide Football Club’s Finance and Audit Committee and a non-executive Director on the Adelaide Crows Foundation. Previous Board roles include Chair of the South Australian Film Corporation; non-executive Director of Helping Hand; and National Board Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Julie is a former McKinsey & Company consultant and has lived and worked across the UK, Asia, and the Middle East. Prior to joining McKinsey’s London office, she held senior corporate and general management roles for BAE Systems PLC in Australia and the UK. Julie also worked in the banking and brewing sectors in South Australia. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum of Australia.

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Nicholas Anderson

Director

B.Acc, FCA, GAICD

Nicholas, a Chartered Accountant for more than 20 years, has worked with corporate and private investors in Australia, Europe and North America managing portfolio and asset execution strategies.

Nicholas is a Director of Capital Family Office, a firm providing independent advice and counsel to clients nationally.

Nicholas is married with three children.

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Paul Dewsnap

Director

PGDDigBus, DipElecEng, MAICD

Paul Brings twenty-five years of senior leadership experience, having spent the past eighteen years working with regional banks, credit unions and digital banks across Asia Pacific in the areas of strategy, architecture, digital technology, risk management and cyber security. Before moving into financial services, he spent several years in the United States where he led the delivery of large-scale business initiatives. Paul is the Managing Partner of a governance, risk management and cyber security advisory firm and facilitator and mentor at Business SA assisting young entrepreneurs turn their business concept into a reality.

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Philip Riquier

Director

MBA, B.Bus, FAICD, FCPA, FFIN, Chartered Banker

Philip is an experienced ASX 100 Banking Executive and professional company director, having previously worked as a Group Executive at Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Ltd, and holds a number of non-executive directorships across a broad range of industries including property, funds management, aged care and fintech.

Philip was also previously a Director of the Risk Management Association of Australia, the leading association for Risk Management professionals within APRA regulated financial institutions.

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Louise Small

Director

GAICD

Louise has more than 25 years’ experience in the banking and finance sector, including senior roles with Adelaide Bank and as State Manager SA/NT for Mortgage Choice. She is a current director of the SANFL and the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority, and former Chair and Director of disability service provider scosa, and harm prevention charity the Sammy D Foundation. She is a driven ambassador for improving inclusion and diversity in the workplace and community.

She is currently General Manager with multi award winning Adelaide building firm Turnbull Built.

A passionate advocate for women’s sport, Louise is a former State League netballer and premiership captain with Matrics Netball Club, assistant coach for the Adelaide Thunderbirds and AFLW Player Development Manager for the Adelaide Football Club.

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Matthew Walsh

Director

BAppSc, MBA, GAICD

Matt is an experienced director and former financial services CEO and executive with over 30 years’ experience. Matt is currently a director of Defence Health Limited, and a management consultant providing strategic advice to Boards and Executives around Australia.

Matt’s former roles include: Director and CEO, Australian Unity Health Limited; Director, Australian Unity Bank Limited and Director, Lifeplan Australia Friendly Society Limited; Director, Australian Health Service Alliance; Group Executive and Chief Executive Officer, Australian Unity – Retail; Chief Executive, Lifeplan Funds Management; Chair, Strategic Advisory Board of Adelaide University’s International Centre for Financial Services, and Management Consultant, Price Waterhouse.

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Kathryn Hawkins

Director

Kathryn is an Information Technology Executive with over 40 years working in technology and over 35 years of experience in the financial services sectors across banking, superannuation, and health insurance. Her previous executive experience includes 5 years as CEO of HAMBS Limited, a technology organisation distributed across Adelaide and Sydney servicing more than 20 APRA regulated private health insurers. She has also held various CIO roles with Pillar Administration in Sydney (now owned by Mercer) and ME Bank in Melbourne.

Kathryn’s passions are leadership and mentoring talent, delivery, transformational change, and risk management.

Kathryn has extensive experience in digital technology systems and governance, data management, data security, cyber-crime prevention, major technology transformation projects and technology business acquisition in addition to the leadership and growth of technology-based organizations.

In her most recent role as CEO of HAMBS, Kathryn was responsible for: prudent management of the organisation, reporting to the Board, delivering on transformational change in customer service and satisfaction, people and culture, process, and technology.

Kathryn is married with one daughter.


Leadership Team

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Todd Roberts

Chief Executive Officer

FCA, FAICD, FGLF

Todd joined Credit Union SA in June 2020 as the Chief Executive Officer having spent over close to 12 years as a Senior Executive at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Todd is passionate about leading a highly effective, performance-driven team of finance professionals who are dedicated to achieving outstanding results for their members and customers.

With over 25 years working in finance and professional services across Australia and the UK, Todd has developed a strong understanding of a wide range of financial and commercial disciplines from accountancy, audit and insolvency to Institutional Corporate, Commercial and Retail banking.

Todd holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy from the University of South Australia and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand, Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Governor’s Leadership Program.

Todd has held a significant number of Chair and Director roles with various not-for-profit organisations and charities throughout his career and is currently the Chair of Scotch College and the Leaders Institute of South Australia.

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Nicole Santinon

Chief Impact Officer & General Counsel

LLB (with Honours), B. Int. Stds, GDLP, Dip Lang., GAICD

Nicole joined Credit Union SA in the role of Company Secretary in December 2021. Nicole is responsible for the management and oversight of the Credit Union's impact and sustainability efforts, the provision of legal guidance and counsel to the Credit Union and holds the role of Company Secretary.

Nicole has over 14 years of experience as a commercial lawyer spending 11 of those years at Cowell Clarke Commercial Lawyers before moving to an in-house role as Senior Legal Counsel at Statewide Super in 2018 and being appointed as Company Secretary in 2020.

She brings general commercial acumen with broad legal experience to the role.

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Tim Prowse

Chief Operating Officer

MBA, BCom, GAICD

Tim joined Credit Union SA in August 2018 and is responsible for the Credit Union's lending administration, credit operations and product and portfolio management.

With over 33 years commercial experience in Australia, the USA and Germany, including over 25 years in financial and professional services, Tim has extensive experience in the areas of member/customer experience, marketing, product development, strategy development and implementation, change management and performance improvement.

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Liana Reinhardt

Chief People & Strategy Officer

FCPHR, GCertProfEd&Trng(WVET), DipMgt, Dip Pos Psych & Accredited MHFAider

Liana joined Credit Union SA in the role of Chief People and Strategy Officer in January 2022 with over 20 years experience in senior leadership & executive roles in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods).

Liana holds a Graduate Certificate Professional Education and Training, Diploma of Management, Diploma Positive Psychology and Wellbeing and is an Accredited Mental Health First Aider. Liana is also a Fellow Certified Member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) and Vice President – Certification of the AHRI State Council here in SA and and MAICD industries.

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Chris Ryan

Chief Risk Officer

BA (Acc)

Chris joined Credit Union SA in April 2013, and is currently Chief Risk Officer.

Chris is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Credit Union SA’s operational and compliance risk functions and the Financial Crimes team. This includes oversight of our AML program, credit underwriting and impairment functions, risk, compliance, internal audit and fraud management.

With over 30 years of senior management experience within the Australian financial services and mutual sectors, Chris has had extensive exposure to operational and credit risk management across both the managed fund and retail financial services industries, in addition to organisation wide re-engineering programs.

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Karen Beard

Chief Member and Experience Officer

MBA

Karen joined Credit Union SA in October 2016 and is currently Chief Member and Experience Officer.

Karen is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Credit Union SA’s distribution including the Member Experience Centre, Marketing, Residential Development, Broker relationships, Mobile Lenders and Education and Community relationships.

With over 30 years of experience in the Mutual Sector, Karen has extensive knowledge in retail banking, member service, process and performance improvement.

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Simone Dyda

Chief Financial Officer

CA, BCom(Acctg), BFin, LLB

Simone joined Credit Union SA as the Chief Financial Officer in May 2023. Simone is responsible for the finance, treasury, reporting and analytics functions.

Prior to joining Credit Union SA, Simone was most recently at Hostplus where she was the Executive Manager responsible for overseeing all finance related activity. Prior to the successful merger between Hostplus and Statewide Super in May 2022 she held the role of Chief Financial Officer of Statewide Super and prior to this she was a Director at Ernst & Young, where she worked for 15 years.

Simone is a dedicated leader with strong capabilities in driving corporate strategy, business planning, short and long term financial modelling, financial reporting, financial due diligence, regulatory and compliance matters, evaluation of systems and controls, process improvement and financial risk management.


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Dr Susan Stone

Credit Union SA Chair of Economics for UniSA

Associate Professor Dr Susan Stone has a global track record in both industry and academia and has a strong commitment to expanding awareness of economic issues and the advancement of South Australia. Professor Stone recently relocated to Adelaide, following a successful tenure as head of the Emerging Policy Issues division of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. In her previous role, Professor Stone focussed on issues relating to trade and the environment, the digital economy and subsidies in addition to leading the team that developed the OECD Metro model, a computable general equilibrium trade model.

With Professor Stone's knowledge Credit Union SA will have access to the best economic insights to help us support our members, team and community. Professor Stone will also be an expert commentator for the media on relevant topics that will help raise the brand profile of Credit Union SA.