Leadership Summit: Women in Finance

TANYA SALE

Tanya 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.

ANNA MCLIESH

Senior Executive, Board Executive and Chair with a passion to create, grow and rebuild businesses.Current Head of Business Services at Westpac–Australia’s oldest bank and company, one of four majorbanking organisations in Australia and one of the largest banks in New Zealand. Anna leads a direct salesand service business for Westpac’s business customers supporting Australia’s business community fromsole traders to Corporate/ Commercial. Within the first 8 months Anna increased productivity by 5% andin March 2020 she successfully led the business through the early stages of the COVID–19 pandemic.Under her leadership:

200 phone bankers were migrated to remote work within 60 days, driving engagement andmitigating risk 

Introduced video identification & verification (VIDV) for customers unable/ hesitant to visit abranch. By April 2020 over 100 customers had accessed the service.

Prior to Westpac, Anna was the Head of Business Banking at Bank of Melbourne where she was responsible for a portfolio of 30,000 business customers and a team of 140. Anna delivered a revenue growth of 41% in a reducing margin environment whilst also reducing FTE by 35%. Between 2009–2016 Anna held various senior leadership positions at National Australia Bank. She led a change agenda while building effective relationships within Asia across business and financial services sectors.

Anna is an advocate for authentic leadership and the power of transformation. She is an active mentor for Women in Banking Finance and volunteer at Go Girls, Go for IT. Having lived in multiple countries(Singapore, Japan, Canada) Anna is natural networker with the ability to quickly form genuine connections. She resides in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and four children.

MALINI RAJ

Malini has over 20 years of experience working across several prestigious domestic and international Financial Services organisations

Her experience spans several disciplines, namely Investment Banking, Corporate Advisory, Accounting, Property, Equity Capital Markets, Merger Implementation, Project Management, Human Resources, Business Strategy, Change Management, Community Engagement, and Customer Advocacy in both Retail and Institutional Banking.

She is a Senior Fellow of Financial Services Institute of Australasia (Finsia) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), with a Masters of Applied Finance and Investment (Finsia), Bachelor of Finance and Accounting (UTS), and graduated with Distinction in the INSEAD Gender Diversity Program.

She is currently Head of Strategy for Multicultural Community Banking at the Commonwealth Bank, a role that allows her to work in my area of passion on a daily basis – promoting cultural diversity and social cohesion.

The division is focussed on authentic/meaningful engagement with multicultural communities and in this role, she is involved in engaging at a strategic and government level, with business communities and at a local grassroots level through programs focussing on financial inclusion.

She consistently advocates for a more diverse workforce/diverse representation in the community and is seen as a strong ambassador/thought-leader for diversity and inclusion at the Commonwealth Bank and was profiled as part of International Women’s Day and Harmony Day external diversity campaigns and has been a mentor to over 300 women informally and through formal programs.

She is also Chair of CommBank’s Cultural Diversity employee network Mosaic which is responsible for promoting culturally diversity and inclusion across the Group. She was also responsible for introducing the Corporate Hijab into the CBA Corporate Wardrobe for Muslim Women Employees.

She has a strong interest in making a social impact, reflected her roles in Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Advisory Group on Preventing Financial Abuse of Women, Advisory Board Member of FlexCareers and SheQu, Finsia Diversity Advisory Council (previous Non-Executive Director), FECCA Women’s Advisory Group, Women’s on Boards Cultural Diversity Advisory Group, Board Director of PIEX Education and Entertainment for Change, Mental Health Foundation Australia Multicultural Ambassador and NSW Co-Chair, AFL NSW/ACT Multicultural Community Ambassador and volunteer at the Starlight Foundation for the last 9 years.

She has received several awards including 2014 Morgan Mckinley Women in Leadership Award, 2012 AFR/BOSS Australia’s Top Emerging Leader Finalist, 2012 and 2013 CPA Top 40 Young Business Leaders and 2011 Finsia Most Outstanding Young Professional, 2019 Women’s Agenda Leadership Award in the Changemaker category, 2019 Women in Banking and Finance/Turks Legal Scholarship Finalist, 2021 Women of Colour #ColourFuLL Leadership Award Finalist and 2021 Indian Business Council Awards (IABCA) Finalist in the Business Leader or Professional of the Year Award category.

She is a strong patient advocate for Cushing’s disease being a patient herself, diagnosed in 2013 after a 20 year journey to diagnosis. She is a Non-Executive Director of the Australian Pituitary Foundation (previous Chair), Board Advisor for the World Alliance of Pituitary Organisations (previous Non-Executive Director and Treasurer), and is on the Paraxel Patient Advisory Group to provide advice on how to increase diversity in clinical trials and in particular ethnic minority groups who are often under-represented. She is passionate about sharing her personal story and experience to create awareness, provide support and drive change domestically and globally, having spoken at conferences in London, Amsterdam, Sydney and Venice.

ANA MARINKOVIC

Ana Marinkovic is a values driven senior executive with a career spanning 15 years in financial services, across commercial and consumer banking, having delivered enterprise wide transformations, led complex technology programs and managed large-scale P&L businesses. 

Ana is currently leading Australia’s largest Small Business Bank at NAB and is actively supporting four hundred thousand small business customers experiencing unprecedented challenges in the current pandemic environment.  

Ana is also a key note speaker in the areas of complex transformations, product innovation and strategy execution in digital age whilst also being an advisory Board Member for Brilliant Women Global, organisation advocating diversity and inclusion in Australia and internationally.

THERESA ABELA

Theresa Abela joined Openpay in July 2019 as Chief Risk Officer and soon after also took on the role of Chief Operating Officer helping the company prepare for listing on the ASX. Theresa’s large remit encompasses Openpay’s Global Enterprise Risk Management framework as well as the Customer Service & IT Application/Support functions.

Prior to joining Openpay, Theresa lived and worked in the UK for 13 years in the banking industry which allowed her to combine her career aspirations with her passion for travel. Theresa also worked at Morgan Stanley as the EMEA COO for Risk, going on to lead the EMEA Fraud Risk Management function from a second line of defence perspective. 

From starting her career in Melbourne as a consultant at Ernst & Young followed by PriceWaterhouse Coopers specialising in process improvement and cost reduction, internal audit, IT security and governance across the Banking and Telecommunications industries Theresa has amassed exceptional knowledge and experience over the years spanning across finance, risk and IT departments.

Outside of work, Theresa enjoys spending time with her family and friends including her three young children and whenever possible exploring the great outdoors at the beach or country.

JULIE PATTERSON

Julie Patterson has been with NAB for 9 years and is Executive Specialised solutions in Business Banking. She is a highly skilled enthusiastic corporate banker with an in-depth working knowledge of people management and development, corporate finance, financial and business analysis and banking structures.

Prior to joining NAB, Julie was employed as a Senior Manager in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Corporate markets for 10 years.

Before joining RBS Julie qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG in Belfast and enjoyed extensive experience in a wide range of businesses and industries across the UK, US and Ireland

A graduate of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, she holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce.

Julie is a keen runner and enjoys marathon running and recently completed her 11th marathon in beautiful Queenstown. Julie enjoys spending time with her husband Stephen and two daughters Ella and Mia.

JENNIFER DALITZ

Jennifer Dalitz is a CA and CPA qualified finance professional with extensive strategic and operational experience in financial services and management consulting. An accomplished businesswoman, Jen was listed in the inaugural 40 Young Business Leaders List by In The Black magazine; has been a Telstra Business Awards finalist and the recipient of an Edna Ryan Workplace Award for improving the working conditions of Australian women. She represented Australia in a BBC global debate on the advancementof women and the Millennium Goals and the Women’s Summit hosted by Malaysia’s Minister for Women.

Jen is a Graduate of The Company Director’s Course and has 15 years’ experience on governance and advisory board in the financial services, agricultural and education sectors. Jen holds an MBA from the AGSM, is an accredited coach with the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership, and has founded three small businesses in the online, consulting and agricultural sectors. With this, she brings an ownership mindset and diverse perspectives to the organisations she works with. Her proven ability to deliver, combined with a passion for change, are highly regarded in the executive, board and advisory roles Jen holds.

SHARON SAMSON

Sharon is a senior leader with deep technical expertise, and a passion for delivering value at scale. She is a trusted advisor on digital transformation, software engineering, end user computing, and innovation.

Sharon is passionate about her craft and provides high energy environment where everyone is encouraged to contribute. She strives to bring people together and cultivate an engaging workplace culture where professional growth and value delivery go hand in hand.

Sharon has 20 years of global experience spaning Management Consulting, Manufacturing, Logistics, Enterprise Software, Human Resources and Financial Services sectors across USA, Europe, Asia and Australia. Sharon is currently working @ANZ helping to create the freedom for Employee to work where and how they love.

Sharon is an advocate for diversity and inclusion, providing mentorship and coaching. She has lead programs to support the development of women in technology and build talent pipeline through innovative STEM programs in the education sector. Sharon’s greatest joys are family time, swimming and giving back through community programs such as St Vinnies CEO Sleepout.

AMY CUNNINGHAM

Amy Cunningham is the Head of Digital at ING and part of the Retail Leadership team.She joined in July 2020 and leads the Digital Tribe which spans across optimising the digital experience for our customers, future platform strategies, and delivery of a large project portfolio, the design function across our assets and our innovation practice and pipeline to market.

Prior to ING, Amy was at Commonwealth Bank for 10 years working primarily in Digital teams across Retail products and ecommerce, Operational management, and Technology including driving transformation programs. Amy worked in the healthcare industry before banking and believes in the correlation between your finances and health and is an advocate for financial wellness.

Amy is passionate about people and their development and championing diversity and is involved in communities to support this including the Lioness community at ING.

DIANE TATE

Diane’s core mission is to ensure that AFIA drives a culture of integrity, transparency and fairness across its membership. She is responsible for working with industry leaders on developing the strategic direction of AFIA and driving the performance of AFIA.

Diane has over 25 years of experience in financial services, stakeholder engagement, industry reform and public policy. She has represented the Australian banking and financial services industry in numerous international forums and has advocated for strong governance, balanced regulation and consumer protection and the importance of financial literacy for the wellbeing of individuals, families, communities and economies.

Prior to joining AFIA, Diane held various senior executive roles at the Australian Banking Association, including Deputy Chief Executive Officer, where she led the industry through the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry and was the architect of the Banking Reform Program announced in 2016. She has also worked in the Federal Government, AUSTRAC, ASIC and the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA).

Diane holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from Macquarie University and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School, Australian Institute of Company Directors, and FINSIA. She is a passionate activist for women in leadership roles, particularly in the financial services industry.

SARAH BATESON

Sarah is a customer-focussed marketing leader with extensive experience across the finance, entertainment, retail, and gaming industries. BT Finance, GE Money, Laura Ashley, and Crown Resorts have all benefited from Sarah’s marketing and business strategies, commercial acumen, and track record of delivering strong business growth.

With over 15 years of experience across the marketing and communications spectrum, Sarah has a proven track record of developing high-performing teams, building multi-discipline alignment, and driving digital performance, transformation, and customer-led innovation.

As General Manager Marketing at Australia’s better big bank, Bendigo Bank, Sarah is responsible for customer marketing across the consumer, business and agribusiness portfolios, as well as the bank’s Digital, CX and Customer Insights, and Brand, Media and Content centres of excellence. Sarah is also led Bendigo Bank’s brand refresh, where her added expertise in change management has seen Bendigo Bank navigate a change in identity alongside the widespread disruption of COVID-19.

SUSAN MITCHELL

With over 25 years’ financial services experience, Susan was appointed Chief Executive Officer for Mortgage Choice in April 2018 following nine successful years as the company’s Chief Finance Officer.

Susan has enjoyed an international career holding a number of senior finance roles including Credit Suisse and KPMG (UK), Bear Stearns (US) and ABN Amro and Seiza Capital in Australia, before joining Mortgage Choice as Chief Finance Officer in February 2009.

She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and holds a MBA from The University of Texas at Austin, and a BFA degree from the Tulane University.