MFAA concludes voting on new board members

Voted onto the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) board were Caroline Jean-Baptiste, who was re-elected for a second term as director, along with two new directors, Peter Clark and Robert McFadden.

Ms Jean-Baptiste carries 17 years of industry experience and is the owner of a Mortgage Choice franchise in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley and has been a member of the MFAA board since 2019.

Mr Clark is the principal of BeckMitch Pty Ltd and general manager at Equilibria Finance. Along with this, Mr Clark has 23 years of experience in the mortgage and finance industry, which includes mentoring and coaching new and existing brokers in the industry.

Mr McFadden has worked in the mortgage and finance industry for 18 of his 30 years in the finance industry and is the founder and chief executive of Hypotheque based in Barangaroo, Sydney.

In addition, Kerri Buurman was named chair of the MFAA board, with Ms Jean-Baptiste taking the mantle of deputy chair.

Ms Buurman joined the MFAA board in 2021 and is the founder of Buurman Finance Solutions in Perth and has worked as a mortgage and finance broker for 16 years.

Ms Buurman and Ms Jean-Baptiste will replace Rose De Rossi and Will Foster (serving for five and three years, respectively) who both retired from the board.

“As a longstanding member of the MFAA it is a privilege to represent all members as a Board Director. The Board has placed their trust in me as Chair and I am committed to upholding that trust,” Ms Buurman said.

“Our industry is in a strong position, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Board and the MFAA management team in advancing the interests of our members through advocacy and education and support to help them grow their businesses.”

Ms Buurman welcomed the three electees to the board, as well as acknowledging Ms De Rossi and Mr Foster for their “leadership, dedication and support of the MFAA and industry throughout their time on the Board”.

The trio were elected from a record number of 19 nominations from MFAA members after the three positions became vacant in over the last year.

Commenting on the nominees, MFAA CEO Anja Pannek said at the time that the number of nominees reflected the “incredible engagement the MFAA has amongst its members, which is no doubt also a reflection of the results of our advocacy work for the industry in recent years”.

[RELATED: MFAA board members voting opens]

Written by Adrian Suljanovic

Last Updated: 17 November 2022

Published: 18 November 2022