People on the move

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Liz Canon, the former head of Westpac third party distribution, has announced her retirement.

She has been replaced by Chris Poledniok, whose role will be national manager third party and retention channel.

Chris Poledniok was appointed the new National Manager of Third Party and Retention at Westpac NZ in January this year. He has been with Westpac for over 12 years and moved into the Third Party space after 5 years of heading up the Mobile Mortgage Manager Channel.

Prior to that he held various roles as

Liberty Finance has appointed a chief operating officer, Igor Stychinsky, along with a new business development manager, Andrew Mackay

Stychinsky, whose role is newly created, previously worked with Liberty chief executive Aaron Skilton at NZ Home Loans, where he was general manager strategy and transformation.

Mackay has previously worked as a mortgage adviser at Astute, and as a business performance and sales coach at NZHL. Most recently he was the owner of a local Harrisons Solar store.

Skilton says he is thrilled to welcome the new appointments - a sign of growth for the non-bank lender.

“Igor has immense expertise and knowledge in growth and transformation strategies, and Andrew’s proven capability shows our commitment to building a market-leading business-development team.”

Peter Wood, the long-standing face of Australian non-bank lender Bluestone throughout both its forays into the New Zealand market, has left the business.

Most recently managing director strategic partnerships, he leaves the company after two decades.

Bluestone first entered the New Zealand market before the global financial crisis, then left afterwards.

According to a Bluestone statement,

Area Manager, Business Development Manager and frontline lending roles. He brings to the role a strong background in lending, leadership and strategy planning which fits well in driving growth and understanding the mortgage industry.

He is passionate about building relationships and has been getting around the country meeting Mortgage Advisors, listening to insights and understanding their business.

“I am focused of making things simple and delivering an exceptional customer experience. Our goal here at Westpac is to work together with the industry to have the customer at the heart of everything we do”.

Wood played a “pivotal role” in the company’s re-entry here, launching the Select Home Loan programme in 2019 with the New Zealand Financial Services Group.

“Peter’s legacy will be the strong relationships he built across financial services in New Zealand and Australia.”

Bluestone chief customer officer James Angus, who, according to the statement, “has an outstanding track record of leading highly successful sales teams and developing strategic distribution relationships”, will add the strategic partnerships portfolio to his existing responsibilities.

New Zealand’s largest non-bank first mortgage lender, First Mortgage Trust, has appointed a new business development manager as it continues to grow in the South Island.

Sam Oughton, who brings more than 10 years’ experience in the finance, property and real estate sector, as well as experience as a registered property valuer, will be based in Christchurch.

FMT head of lending Sam Burgess says the company is delighted to have Oughton join the garden city office, which opened in late 2022.

“It’s great to have Sam come onboard during this exciting time.”

Oughton is passionate about delivering exceptional customer service and helping people on their property finance journey.

John Botica, who fronted many of the regulatory changes for the financialadviser community, is heading to retirement.

Botica first joined the FMA in 2013 and has held several leadership roles during his tenure, in particular leading the focus on market engagement.

Currently director of regulation and operations, as well as director of market engagement, he will leave the FMA in June.

Chief executive Samantha Barrass says Botica has made a significant contribution to the regulatory authority.

“His experience and knowledge was instrumental in our successful implementation of the new financial advice regime. He is well-known and highly regarded in the industry."

Meanwhile, the FMA has appointed Sharon Thompson to its newly formed enterprise leadership team, as executive director transformation and operational delivery.

Thompson has extensive seniorleadership experience in the New Zealand public sector and financial services industry.

She joins the FMA from Inland Revenue, where she was deputy commissioner for the customer and compliance services (individuals) group.

She led the IRD’s large, customer-facing teams through the organisation’s multi-year business transformation, including digital technology, business process, capability uplift, structural and culture change. ✚