Major brokerage bolsters compliance team

Mr Stierli, who was most recently senior legal counsel at FlexiGroup, has more than 12 years of experience working both in-house and in private practice advising clients on banking, superannuation and insurance matters.

Over his career, Mr Stierli has been an in-house legal adviser to a variety of ASX 300 financial services companies, including Westpac.

Speaking of the appointment, Mortgage Choice CEO Susan Mitchell commented that Mr Stierli’s ”wealth of experience in banking and financial services will set him in good stead to support Mortgage Choice through the significant regulatory and compliance changes our industry faces”.

Ms Mitchell added: “The mortgage broking industry is entering an era of enhanced regulation with heightened expectations around risk management, and Mortgage Choice is gearing up for a transformation.

“The company is fully committed to strengthening its risk management practices in 2020 and beyond. 

“Mr Stierli’s appointment bolsters the company’s risk framework and supports our strong growth strategy.”

In this newly created role, Mortgage Choice’s new general counsel and company secretary will lead the brokerage’s risk and compliance team.

As well Mr Stierli’s appointment, Mortgage Choice has also welcomed Paula Ferrando to the newly created position of head of compliance.

Ms Ferrando has more than 10 years of experience in assurance and compliance and was most recently sales compliance manager at Aussie.

She started her new role at Mortgage Choice in December 2019.

Speaking about his appointment, Mr Stierli said: “I am excited to join Mortgage Choice to help deliver the transformation strategy and lead an industry-leading risk and compliance team. 

“I look forward to working with the team to enhance the company’s risk management capabilities and ensure that Mortgage Choice is well positioned for the changes that lie ahead,” he concluded.

Ms Mitchell added: “Robust risk management practices and processes mean that we can further support our franchisees by continuing to protect and help them grow their businesses in a changing regulatory landscape.

“This will allow them to remain focused on what matters most – their customers,” she said.

Tim Donahoo leaves Mortgage Choice

The compliance function was previously the responsibility of long-time Mortgage Choice employee Tim Donahoo, who left the brokerage earlier this month.

Mr Donahoo, who had worked at Mortgage Choice for more than 20 years, left his post as head of lending operations on 10 January 2020.

Writing in a LinkedIn post, Mr Donahoo stated that it had “been [his] privilege to work with so many fine people during [his] time with Mortgage Choice”, adding that his two decades with the major brokerage had resulted in a “very rewarding and satisfying career”.

“I’m proud of the fact that I will depart with the legacy of establishing and maintaining a robust compliance framework that has protected and well served the business and its franchise network,” he wrote.

“I’m glad that I have been able to assist a significant number of brokers obtain the knowledge, skills and awareness that become foundations of successful businesses by sharing the experience and wisdom I’ve accumulated across 35 years in our industry. 

“It is certainly very rewarding to witness new brokers especially, who build thriving and prosperous businesses, and any contribution I've made to those outcomes is highly gratifying,” he said.

“Now it’s time to explore new opportunities elsewhere, and I’m excited about the prospect of applying my accumulated knowledge and skills base to the benefit of another business seeking to add to its team an industry leader who is capable of delivering outstanding outcomes,” Mr Donahoo’s post reads.

“I’m very eager to tackle new challenges as financial services, especially credit, move towards a new era,” he concluded.

[Related: Expect more sector scrutiny in 2020, associations warn]