Dieters to continue as FPA Chair with four new Board directors

13 Oct 2006

Ms Corinna Dieters will serve as the Chair of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) for a second year following a unanimous decision by the Board.

Ms Dieters, who was elected to the Board as a voting member board director in 2004 for a two year term, will step down at the Annual General Meeting on 24 November.  The Board has invited her to return as one of three additional directors it has power to appoint, and to continue in the capacity of Chair for a further year.

The Board’s view is that Ms Dieters' continued leadership will provide the required stability and experience, given the recent appointment of the CEO and a relatively new board in 2006.

Julie Berry CFP^® has been appointed as Deputy Chair.  Julie was elected to the Board in 2005 as a practitioner member. 

From 15 valid nominations received for four ‘voting member’ board directors, in a recent ballot members elected Louise Biti CFP^®, David Haintz CFP^®, Julie Matheson CFP^® and Mark Spiers CFP^®. 

The new directors take up their positions after the Annual General Meeting and will serve a three year term.  At the 2005 AGM, FPA members voted for an extension of the term of office for Board directors from two years to three. 

Continuing as FPA Board directors in 2006-07 are:  
Bruce Beakey CFP^® - elected 2005 as Practitioner member director
Julie Berry CFP^® - elected 2005 as Practitioner member director
Jo-Anne Bloch - FPA CEO
Bruce Foy – appointed 2006 as Additional director
Rob Gerrand – appointed 2006 as Additional director
Paul Gerrard CFP^® - elected 2005 as Principal member director
Matt Lawler – elected 2005 as Principal member director

Elected directors who stand down with effect from the AGM are Chris Craggs CFP^® and Leonie Henry CFP^®.  Sarah Brennan, who resigned in March 2006, was the fourth voting member director elected in 2004 for a two year term.

“The Board makes special acknowledgement of Leonie Henry’s long standing contribution at so many levels of the FPA’s work, including on the Board’s Audit and Risk Management Committee, the Professional Standards and Ethics Committee, as well as at Chapter level and in the organisation of FPA conferences.  We have, in addition, come to value the contribution made by Chris Craggs as a very able representative of members’ interests”, Ms. Dieters said.

Brief descriptions of the Chair, Deputy Chair and new board members follow:

Chair
Corinna Dieters B.Ed, PDM, FFPA, GAICD
Corinna has been involved in financial services since 1989, occupying a range of positions in management, compliance, business advisory and practice management.  In addition to her role as Chair, she is the Chair of the FPA Board Professionalism Committee, a member of the FPA Regulation Sub Committee and is the FPA director on the Joint IFSA / FPA Code of Alternative Remuneration Committee.

Deputy Chair
Julie Berry CFP^®, DipFp, FFPA, DipML, JP
Julie has been a financial adviser for over 17 years and a director of the FPA since 2003.  She is Managing Director of Berry Stacks Financial Services Pty Ltd.  She sits on the FPA’s Professional Standards and Ethics Committee and Strategic Marketing Committee.  Julie was Chair of the FPA Mid North Coast Chapter for 8 years and in 2006 a national judge for the inaugural Value of Advice Awards.

New Board members
Louise Biti CFP^® is the head of technical services at Asteron, based in Sydney, and has been a member and chair of the FPA’s Superannuation Committee since 1997.  She was awarded the FPA Distinguished Service Award in 2005 for contributions to the financial planning industry.

David Haintz CFP^® is the founder and executive chairman of Haintz Financial Services in Melbourne.  He has 17 years’ financial planning experience and is a member of the FPA Disciplinary Board and the FPA Professional Standards and Ethics Committee.

Julie Matheson CFP^® is a director of Sovereign Bridge Pty Ltd in Perth.  She is a member of the FPA Regulations Committee and was previously FPA Perth Chapter Chairman and a member of the 2005 CFP Advisory Committee.

Mark Spiers CFP^® is the chief executive of Magnitude Group and has 24 years’ financial services experience.  For the past eight years he has been on the FPA Legislation and Regulation Committee, the last four years as Chair.

For further information, refer to media contacts

Note to journalists

The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) is the peak professional body for financial planning in Australia. The FPA has a network of 31 Chapters across the country, which provide a focus for business networking and professional development activities for more than 12,000 members. FPA practitioner members manage the financial affairs of more than 5 million Australians whose investments are valued at $630 billion.

 CFP^® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ are certification marks owned outside the U.S. by the Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd (FPSB).  Financial Planning Association of Australia Limited is the marks licensing authority for the CFP marks in Australia, through agreement with FPSB.