AFA announces new board line-up


The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has appointed Michael Nowak as president, Sam Perera as vice president, and Matthew Hawkins as treasurer to its board.
Nowak had been a member of the AFA board for eight years and had been vice president for the two previous terms.
He had also been president in 2013/14 during the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reform period.
The announcements were made during it’s virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) this week.
Nowak said he was honoured to again serve as the AFA president and that the organisation had set a firm forward strategy with a strong policy and advocacy focus, with a business plan well positioned to meet the changing conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I acknowledge that there are significant challenges ahead for financial advisers, but it is encouraging to see a change in the tone regarding reform,” Nowak said.
“It is crucial that reform is delivered to ensure that financial advisers can continue to serve the financial advice needs of Australians."
Katherine Hayes had been appointed to the board as the new state director for NSW/ACT and Stephen Knight had been appointed as WA state director.
Six of the nine current board members would remain, which included the three executive members and also Sam Robinson in Victoria, Patricia Garcia in Queensland and Jawad Ahmad in SA/NT.
Philip Kewin, AFA chief executive, thanked out-going president Marc Bineham for his contributions.
“Marc is a passionate advocate for financial advice, and has served on the board for 10 years, including two consecutive terms as President,” Kewin said.
“We would also like to acknowledge the contribution from outgoing WA state director James Ford, who steps down after six years on the board.”
The new AFA board line-up was now:
Executive
- President – Michael Nowak
- Vice President – Sam Perera
- Treasurer – Matthew Hawkins
- Company Secretary – Philip Kewin
State Directors
- NSW/ACT – Katherine Hayes
- VIC – Samantha Robinson
- QLD – Patricia Garcia
- SA/NT – Jawad Ahmad
- WA – Stephen Knight
- TAS – Vacant
Members of the AFA board hold office for two years and must be practising financial advisers.
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