Board & Management

Andrew Saxby, Chair
Chief Executive Officer, Hume Building Society, Albury

Andrew Saxby is the Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary of Hume Building Society, which serves over 50,000 members in the North Eastern Victorian and Southern NSW regions. Andrew has over 21 years experience in the mutual industry, including 6 years as the CFO of Heritage Building Society prior to taking up his role with Hume. Andrew was Deputy Chairman of AAPBS prior to the establishment of Abacus in 2006 and is a founding director of the industry body for Australian mutuals.

Andrew has qualifications in accounting and 9 years of service with the Australian Army.

Larry Anthony, Director

Larry Anthony is an independent Director and Deputy Chairman of Indue Ltd, and continues to serve as the Chairman of NCUA. Mr Anthony has held numerous nonexecutive directorship positions with Australian public companies. He is a founding Director of government relations firm the SAS Group and Chairman of uniDap Solutions.

He is also active in the philanthropic sector, as the Chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards for Australia and Deputy Chairman of the International Awards in London. Mr Anthony is a former MHR and a Minister in the Australian Government.

Prior to politics Larry spent 10 years working in the financial sector. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and is a Fellow of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Finsia.

Sonia Casanova
Director, Country First Credit Union, Griffith

Sonia is a Director with Country First Credit Union, serving members in the Riverina region of NSW. Sonia is also a member of the credit union’s Audit Committee and Policy Committee.

Sonia’s professional background is in marketing, and she currently operates a marketing consultancy business. Sonia’s experience includes over 15 years in marketing and business development roles in the financial services industry and tourism/aviation industry.

Sonia is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Australian Mutuals Institute and Australian Marketing Institute. She also holds a Master of Business and Master of Legal Studies.

Gary Green, Director
Chairman, Community CPS, Adelaide

Gary is the Chairman of Community CPS, one of Australia’s largest credit unions with more than 180,500 members, 550 employees and 36 service centres across SA, ACT, NSW and WA. Gary was appointed Chairman in 2007 and has been a member for over 22 years. Gary is a Fellow of the Australasian Credit Union Institute, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has been a Company Director since 1984.

A marketing, communications and IT specialist, Gary has worked in radio and television and at senior levels in advertising and IT. Gary recently sold the Mac1 group, the third largest AppleCentre group, to focus on the development of Community CPS and his investment portfolio. Gary is based in Canberra and his latest passion is aviation, flying in his Airborne XT912.

Scott King, Director
Chief Executive Officer, Qantas Staff Credit Union, Sydney

Scott King is CEO of Qantas Staff Credit Union and is the Chairman of the Indue Board Corporate Governance Committee. He is also a Director of the Australasian Mutuals Institute (AMI). Prior to joining the Qantas Staff Credit Union Scott worked within the wholesale banking environment. Scott is a Chartered Accountant having spent 5 years at KPMG specialising in the Banking division.

Don Magin, Director
Chief Executive Officer, Greater Building Society, Newcastle

Don Magin is the Greater Building Society’s Chief Executive Officer, appointed in April 2008 after more than 20 years of senior management experience. Prior to his move to the mutual sector Don managed the System Software Development Group at BHP Newcastle.

Don has an extensive involvement in financial services as a Director of ASL, Past Alternate Director of Cashcard and Past Building Society representative on APCA's CEC Management Committee.

Don is a Director of Mayumarri Trust and until recently served as Chairman of the Newcastle Wesley Mission Advisory Committee. Don has a degree in Mathematics, a Graduate Diploma in Management and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Management.

John Minz, Director
Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Building Society, Toowoomba

John Minz is the CEO of Heritage, Australia's largest building society. With more than $6 billion in total assets, John has steered the Society through its most recent growth phase. Appointed to the role in late 2003, under John's leadership the Society has become the first Australian building society to attain two credit ratings, receiving both a Standard & Poor's and Moody's rating; returned more than $95 million to members in additional member value and maintained member satisfaction ratings above 90%. John has more than twenty years experience in the financial services sector.

Tony Ryan, Director
Chief Executive Officer, Big Sky Credit Union, Melbourne

Tony Ryan has been involved in the credit union industry for over 20 years and is currently the CEO of Big Sky Credit Union in Victoria. Tony was a Director of the former Australian Institute of Credit Union Management, and is a Fellow of the Australasian Credit Union Institute (ACUI). Tony’s previous experience includes executive positions within Victorian Government statutory authorities.

Margot Sweeny, Director
Chief Executive Officer, The Summerland Credit Union, Lismore

Margot Sweeny is the Chief Executive Officer of The Summerland Credit Union Ltd. Margot has worked in accounting and finance across both the public and private sectors for national and international companies. Her involvement with mutual organisations commenced in 1993 when she became a Director of Summerland Credit Union. She is an active member of the local community and has been ministerially appointed to both State and Federal Boards. She is also a Member of the Southern Cross University Council and Chair of the Audit Committee.

William Wolke, Director
Chief Executive Officer, Victoria Teachers Credit Union, Melbourne

William Wolke has been the Chief Executive Officer of Victoria Teachers Credit Union (VTCU) since 2002 and has more than twenty years experience in financial services, both in Australia and overseas. Victoria Teachers Credit Union has established itself as a progressive and modern Credit Union in its chosen market, the education community.

William’s career has included general management and director appointments in a mutual building society, retail and commercial banking, financial planning, and included leadership roles in management consulting and the accounting professions.

He holds chartered accountancy and master of business administration qualifications.

Chris Wright, Director
Managing Director, Lifeplan Australia, Adelaide

Chris was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Lifeplan Funds Management in 1992 and Managing Director in 1998. Prior to that time he held a number of positions with the Lifeplan Group. He is also Chairman of the Australian Friendly Societies Association and is a Director of National Pharmacies and the Australian Institute of Management (SA).

Management

The management team of Abacus – Australian Mutuals.

Louise Petschler is the Chief Executive Officer of Abacus – Australian Mutuals. Louise is also a Director of the World Council of Credit Unions, the peak international body for the credit union movement globally.

Before her current appointment, Louise led the Public Affairs team at Abacus and its predecessor organisations, overseeing representation, advocacy and media. Prior to 2001, Louise was with the Australian Consumers’ Association working on financial services issues.

Previous roles include positions with the NSW Cabinet Office and the former Chemical Bank (in Australia and the US). Louise has memberships with the Australasian Mutuals Institute and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Louise is based in Sydney and has qualifications in Political Science and Public Policy.

Mark Degotardi is the Head of Public Affairs for Abacus. Mark has worked in the Public Affairs team at Abacus since 2003. Prior to taking a role with the CUSCAL Industry Association (the predecessor to Abacus) in February 2003, Mark worked in the NSW Cabinet Office, in various roles in the development and construction industry and as a senior taxation consultant at Arthur Andersen & Co. Mark’s qualifications are in political science. Mark is a member of the Mutuals Advisory Committee to the Financial Ombudsman Scheme, an external dispute resolution scheme for many Abacus members.

Dominic is Head of Business Services at Abacus, which covers Compliance Services, Abacus Legal, Fraud and Financial Crimes, Research Services and Movement Marketing Database. He has been with Abacus and the Cuscal group for more than 13 years. Before joining the mutual sector, Dominic’s career has included roles at a major bank in consumer and corporate finance, institutional banking, strategic planning and economic research. Dominic has Bachelor of Economics and Master of Business degrees.