New Zealand National Council

Bernard has been involved in the financial services sector since the 1990’s. He was previously General Manager AIA New Zealand and worked with Sovereign as General Manager Corporate Distribution. He has also worked with; Trustee Executors, Tower and ANZ Bank. He is a company director with his company, North South Consulting and acts as a Financial Adviser for the past 11 years. He is the Founder of SimpleWills in NZ. He has been a member of FINSIA since 1987 and has been on the NZ Council for the past 12 years and Chair of the NZ Council for the past 5 years. His qualifications come from Waikato University and Massey University and he is involved in the local business community, currently Patron of the Rosebank Business Association in Auckland. The other main interests are supporting his family and coaching at Takapuna Rugby club.

Phillip Meyer is an experienced company director and investment banker. He has been a director, Chairman and trustee of a number of major companies on both sides of the Tasman. His past and present directorships include Southern Cross Healthcare Group and subsidiaries, Australian Financial Services Group, Kordia, Institute of Directors, Young Enterprise Trust, Crimestoppers Trust, New Zealand Institute of Management, Institute of Financial Advisers and the Trans Tasman Business Circle, among others. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Markets Disciplinary Tribunal and a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal for the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. He was also National Chairman of the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal Committee.

Leon has been a member of FINSIA since 2011.

Adam is responsible for BNZ’s Broker Business, Home Loan Partners and Home Loan Specialists. A Chartered Banker and Fellow of FINSIA with more than 25 years of experience in Sales and People leadership, Change Management and External Stakeholder Management, Adam has the proven ability of transforming average performing businesses into high performing teams by focusing on clarity, capability, and motivation within a defined structure.

Ian has more than 35 years’ financial service experience in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. He has worked in life insurance, general insurance and banking in a variety of finance and risk roles. He is a qualified actuary and convener of the New Zealand Society of Actuaries Retirement Income Interest Group. Ian has been a FINSIA member since 1999.

Carolyn has been a member of FINSIA since 1991.

Claire has been in her current role since 2014, having joined Massey University in 1996 after 12 years in various roles with Trust Bank. She previously taught banking and financial advice and continues to supervise Masters and PhD students. Her research interests are consumers’ financial behaviour, decisions and attitudes, with a particular focus on payments, financial capability, retirement planning and KiwiSaver. As a Research Associate with the Massey Fin-Ed Centre, Claire authors the Centre’s annual Retirement Expenditure Guidelines report and is part of the research team for the Centre’s longitudinal study on financial literacy in New Zealand. Claire’s PhD in Banking studied Switching Costs in the New Zealand Banking Market. She is co-chair of the board of Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre and was formerly a director of NZCU Baywide (now Unity Credit Union), and chair of Co-op Money NZ (now Banzpay) and the Eastern and Central Community Trust. Claire has been a FINSIA member since 1985.

Amber is the Senior Strategy Manager – Rural at ASB Bank and has nearly 20 years’ experience in the rural sector and marketing leadership across both the financial services and telecommunications industries. These roles have primarily focused on developing and implementing robust rural strategies, new products while driving positive, mutually beneficial partnerships and delivering complex projects across a wide range of areas.

Geoff was previously Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank from 2013-2021, a member of the monetary policy committee and responsible for overseeing financial (prudential) regulation and the compliance of financial institutions. While setting rules for the sector, I forged strong collaborative relationships with commercial bank and insurance company boards and senior executives. Previously I oversaw the critical business functions of the Bank, including currency, payments & settlements, IT, Finance, audit/risk and HR. Prior to joining the RBNZ, Geoff was chief executive of Statistics New Zealand from 2007-2013. Geoff has previously worked in the Treasury and the International Monetary Fund. With a Master of Economics from the Australian National University, he has extensive experience in financial sector regulation, monetary policy and public sector management, as well as overseeing some major investment projects. Geoff is a director and trustee of several entities Including the Nelson Building Society, New Zealand’s largest non-bank deposit taking institution, and is an occasional consultant. Geoff lives in the Wairarapa where he is involved in family and charitable volunteer activities.