Board of Directors and Leadership Team

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Nicole joined Credit Union SA in the role of Company Secretary in December 2021 bringing over 14 years of experience as a commercial lawyer in both private practice and in-house roles. Since she commenced with Credit Union SA, Nicole has had responsibility for the management and oversight of the Credit Union's company secretariat function and the provision of legal guidance and counsel to the Credit Union. Nicole has recently been appointed to the role of Chief Risk Officer now having responsibility for overseeing all aspects of Credit Union SA’s Governance, Risk and Compliance functions and the Financial Crimes team.

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.

Liana joined Credit Union SA in the role of Chief People and Strategy Officer in January 2022 and was responsible for People and Development, Strategy and Projects across the organisation. Liana has transitioned into the role of Chief Experience Officer in November 2024. Liana's deep understanding of our people and strategic direction positions her perfectly to enhance the overall experience for our members and partners. With over 20 years' experience in senior leadership & executive roles in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and retail and not for profit sector in global and local businesses, Liana has a breadth of experience she brings to the role.

Liana is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, 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 President of the AHRI State Council here in SA. Liana also holds the role of Non-Executive Director on the Board of Kudos Services, an employee-controlled mutual in the Disability Services sector.

Karen joined Credit Union SA in October 2016 and has previously held Executive roles as our Chief Distribution Officer and Chief Member and Experience Officer where she was 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. As of November 2024, Karen has moved into the role of Chief Transformation Officer.

The role represents an evolution of the Chief People and Strategy Officer role, reinforcing our commitment to making transformation an ongoing part of our business. This new position will allow Karen to leverage her extensive experience and expertise to drive strategic initiatives and transformative projects that are critical to our future success.

With over 30 years of experience in the Mutual Sector, Karen has extensive knowledge in retail banking, member service, process and performance improvement. Karen is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Master of Business Administration.

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.

Jacqui joined Credit Union SA in 2024 as Company Secretary and General Counsel. In her role, she oversees the Credit Union’s secretariat function and provides legal advice to all departments.

With over 17 years of legal experience in private practice, in-house, and government roles, Jacqui has dedicated much of her career to supporting financial institutions. She also spent several years as in-house counsel at another financial institution, providing invaluable legal guidance.

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.