In WA, Elodie Castagna A FIN has handed over the reins to Lashan Wanigasekera A FIN. In New South Wales, Michael Tran handed over the reins to Katrina Filacouridis SA FIN and in Queensland Adam Crombie SA FIN has handed over the reins to Petra Kliese G FIN.
“Joining the WA FYP Committee as Chair has had a huge impact on my career development, where I’ve had the opportunity to accelerate my leadership skills with my peers and industry leaders,” said Elodie.
“I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved as a team, starting from reinventing ourselves in covid times, where we had to shift from physical events to 1:1 mini-webinar series with leaders, and running with all the other YFP Committees an online forum for the Current & Future Leaders signature event.
“We also strategically decided to partner with third-party associations to expand our audience base, which led to joint events with Westpac, Deloitte and Perth YP, resulting in some of our highest-sold ticketed events.
“This would not have been possible without everyone’s commitment and effort in our committee, and we’ve truly become really good friends, brought together by the same passion and drive.
“Our YFP Committee's relationship with the WA Regional Council, led by Wayde Keyser, has also been invaluable, working towards the same goal collaborating on our joint Quarterly Sundowners.
“We have a lot of plans looking into 2024, and I’m excited to see Lashan Wanigasekera leading efforts as the new Chair going forward.”
In a recent InFinance profile, Adam said: “FINSIA has opened countless doors for me over my career.
“The networking opportunities have allowed me to meet a lot of new contacts in the industry and led to several mentoring relationships and job opportunities.
“The benefit of being able to meet people in an informal setting at an early stage of my career has really helped. I now count many of those connections as trusted friends and as people I can turn to for help in my job.
“Moreover, participating in FINSIA committees has greatly expanded my network within Brisbane and equipped me with skills I would not have learnt elsewhere.”
And his enthusiasm for FINSIA’s Current & Future Leaders event has shone through.
“The format allows you to get just the right mix of open format networking,” explains Adam.
“Those who love working the room can do that. Then when you break into very small groups with four, five, six people at a table with a leader, you've got real personal interaction.
“That means those more introverted people can still easily talk to others and meet other professionals.
“Walking into a big room of 50, 60 people and trying to walk away with a few contacts can be very daunting.
“But being on a table of four or five people makes it easier to introduce yourself. You meet all those like-minded people.
“The other incredible benefit is that you will be talking to someone senior in the industry.”
Read more from Adam here
Michael said: “I'm thankful to FINSIA for allowing me the opportunity to Chair the NSW YFP over past two years. It has been a rewarding experience, opened many doors and allowed me to meet many like-minded people - all striving to give back.
"FINSIA has always been a great industry supporter and the YFP play a critical role in supporting the next cohort of professionals.
"I believe the world of finance can be a small place and having the right compass, with FINSIA's help, will allow younger professionals to solidify their path. FINSIA events such as the "Emerging Leaders" are a great way to transfer the wisdom from current leaders to emerging leaders.
"As a I depart from the Chair role (but not from FINSIA), I leave an African proverb for my colleagues and hope this solidifies our community: 'If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.'
"Thank you to FINSIA, NSW YFP, and all the great people I have met along the way."
Find out more about our YFPs here
