Peter Johnston
Executive Director
Peter Johnston
Executive Director
Peter Johnston started his financial services industry career in 1979 after deciding not to pursue an education/teaching path. Whilst playing AFL with Glenelg in the SA NFL he was approached by Scottish Amicable who had been successfully operating investment and insurance business through the Melbourne based VFL clubs.In 1980 Peter was a foundation partner of Goldsborough Financial Services, an Adelaide based practice specialising in Retirement strategies where he gave advice for 20 years and the practice still operates today. In 1998 he established the AIOFP after being frustrated with the other options in the market place and saw a need to differentiate independently owned advice practices from the institutionally aligned.
Peter holds a Diploma of Teaching, Batchelor of Education, Diploma of Financial Services and an Advanced Certificate for Marketing Planning.
Sarath Delpachitra
Chairman
Sarath Delpachitra
Chairman
Professor Sarath Delpachitra currently serves as the Director of the UTS Business School in Shanghai. He has previously served as the Deputy Dean of the Flinders Business School. He specialises in banking, economics and finance issues in Australasian region and has previously served in World Bank, Asian Development Bank, ILO and DEFAT as an International consultant. He has published extensively in refereed journals and professional publications and he was the recipient of Australian Government (Australia Future Unlimited) by granting him the Australian Alumni Excellence for Research & Innovation Award in 2013. He has also served as a senior executive in the General Treasury in Sri Lanka.He has interacted with policy-makers as a resource person in several Asian countries such as India, Vietnam, People’s Republic of China, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. He is also serving as the Managing Editor of the Australian Economic Papers; an internationally ranked journal in the field of economic and finance. He teaches applied finance and economics and economic reasoning for public policy and guided over 20 doctoral candidates for completion. His professional memberships include, a Fellow (Finance and Securities Institute of Australia –FinSia and a Fellow – CPA (Australia).
Halle Yilmaz
Non-Executive Director
Halle Yilmaz
Non-Executive Director
Halle is dually qualified, simultaneously practicing financial adviser, and business consultant/mentor operating in Melbourne. As a financial adviser she is one of the authorised representatives of Lifespan Financial Planning and takes a holistic approach to financial planning.With over 19 years international experiences in helping small to medium size businesses, and self-employed professionals, Halle has been consulting and mentoring business owners and managers with their business set up, management and growth opportunities.
Besides running her own businesses for over 14 years, she tutors and assesses Master of Financial Planning students at Kaplan Professional Education on a part time bases in Australia and New Zealand, and lectures MBA students of Kaplan Business School in Melbourne.
Prior to her current roles, she worked in the corporate world in Australia and overseas, and tutored at RMIT on financial planning.
Halle holds the following qualifications: Master Degree in Finance from RMIT University, Master Degree in International Business, Bachelor of Economics from Istanbul University, and a Diploma of Financial Planning.
She has published a number of academic research papers, and 6 wealth and business management e-Books. As a member of a committee she has reviewed and developed some of study materials for Master of Financial Planning Courses of one of the Australian’s highly regarded business schools.
Halle also believes in giving back, and since 2015 she is a volunteer expert business mentor with Small Business Mentoring Services which is a non-government, non-profit organisation of volunteer expert mentors helping small businesses in Australia.
Garry Crole
Non-Executive Director
Garry Crole
Non-Executive Director
Garry Crole started his career in the financial services industry in 1987 with Colonial Mutual as a tied agent and shortly after founded one of the early multi agency adviser networks, The Money Planners which later became the ASX listed company known as Deakin Financial Services , DKN) growing its footprint to more than 300 associated advisers over an 11 year period. As the CEO, the business transitioned during changes in legislation to become a life insurance broker, an Australian Financial Services Licensee, known as Deakin Financial services and was one of the first adviser groups to establish a registered training organization and assist advisers’ transition into the licensed environment by completing its own Diploma of Financial Services.
In 2004 Garry established the AFSL of InterPrac Financial Planning Pty Ltd which was later merged in 2017 with the ASX listed Sequoia Financial Group (ASX- SEQ) in 2017. Garry is currently the Managing Director of Sequoia Financial Group and a Director of several of the companies in the Sequoia Group.
He has a passion for investment markets and is part of Sequoia’s Investment Committee and manages several of the group’s share portfolios.
Garry has a Diploma of Financial Services. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed specialist courses in portfolio management, SMSF administration and ASX listing rules.
Garry lifelong legacy is to support and represent advisers needs in the IFA space.
Philippa Hunt
Non-Executive Director
Philippa Hunt
Non-Executive Director
Philippa Hunt is both a Financial adviser and Licensee with her own practice on the Sunshine Coast Queensland.Commencing her life journey as a teacher of English to migrants, she studied for her degree in Business Management specialising in Organisational Psychology, Human Resource Management and Change Management and worked in that field for 10 years adding Psychology qualifications later on.
Fortunately, she says, I was mentored into financial planning 19 years ago and saw this field as an extension of my business experience and a way of being of service in a direct and positive way to assist people change their life on a personal level. I completed all the post-graduate studies in finance to become a qualified Financial Adviser while building my business along the way. A great step was achieving my own privately held Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) in January 2016 as one of the very few women at this top level in the industry.
Along the way I spent many years of my life working with women’s issues and groups such as President of Business and Professional Women (BPW) Canberra and served as a member on the Sydney Women in Finance Committee.
Assisting women with their growth and development adds a quality to society so I created the Wisegirls Money program after working as a qualified Financial Adviser for many years and deciding it was time to assist women who desired to learn and develop the self-empowerment to understand their emotional relationship with money and acquire the skills and knowledge to save and invest.
Women told me that they wanted to learn how to create their own financial future.
Our WiseGirls Money Mission is to provide the opportunity and place for growth and development of women of all ages in personal and financial skills in a supported female environment so that they take control of their future to become financially competent and capable to reach their own financial independence.
Philippa sees the invitation to fill a casual vacancy on the AIOFP Board as a further extension of her objective of being of service to the industry and her fellow AIOFP colleagues.
Michael Pinn
Chair, Finance & Audit Sub-Committee
Michael Pinn
Chair, Finance & Audit Sub-Committee
Since 1979 engaged in direct business development and advising on strategic issues in a range of business enterprises including but not limited to retail financial services, insurance underwriting, transport, real estate, building services and international procurement and distribution.
Actively engaged in family office, multi generational wealth management and transfer engagements, estate planning and complex groups.
Responsible Manager and member of investment committee of AFSL. Direct involvement in sophisticated investment portfolio management.
Michael is a Registered Company Auditor, an Authorised Trust Account Examiner (NSW Law Society), a Registered Tax Agent, a SMSF Auditor, and a NTAA Fellow.
Michael is a member of the Small Practice Committee, the Audit & Finance Committee, and the Disciplinary & Governance Committee (Chair).
Michael is the Executive Chair of the Pinn Deavin Group (Pinn Deavin & Co – Business Advisory Services and Pinn Deavin Securities Pty Ltd – AFSL).
Mark Livingston
Non-Executive Director
Mark Livingston
Non-Executive Director
Mark Livingston has been an adviser for over 25 years and in that time has advised on Risk, Investments, Corporate and Personal Superannuation.He has previously been a board member of adviser associations and representative groups and has always strongly defended the position of advisers; particularly those who are not aligned with banks or product manufacturers. As a former managing agent with over 30 advisers, he understands that different advisers have different problems, but now almost all advisers are finding it difficult to cope and to maintain their businesses.
Mark has Post Graduate degrees in both Law and Business Administration, but it is his practical approach to problems that has allowed him to help and guide others in the Financial Services business.
As an experienced advocate and negotiator, he has continually represented the interests of Advisers both formally and informally where required.
Advisers face a quickly changing business environment and there is an urgent need for advisers to take a strong position to make sure that advising is both sustainable and profitable on a long-term basis.
The AIOFP has taken a strong line to defend the industry and Mark is strongly supporting this action with all the experience, ability, and contacts that he has garnered over many years in this business.
Mark Harris
Non-Executive Director
Mark Harris
Non-Executive Director
Mark has been a Financial Adviser since 1986, he started his career with the AMP Society as a Tied Agent in Adelaide then relocated to Queensland. In 1991 he left AMP and established Ipsure Pty Ltd and has operated in Ipswich Queensland as a independently owned non-aligned financial advisory service, providing clients throughout Australia with holistic financial advice.
Mark is both a Financial Advisor and Licensee (Discovery Wealth Pty Ltd) and has recently completed a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning as well as a Diploma in Financial Services and Diploma in Insurance Brokering and is currently completing a Masters in Financial Planning.
Mark is passionate about the direction of the Financial Services industry, and particularly the Risk Insurance industry. He is not afraid to express his views, or advocate for a fairer deal for non-aligned financial advisers and after being a member of both the FPA & AFA for many years he has found that the AIOFP is the true representative of the independently owned non-aligned financial adviser.