Reverse mortgage lender Inviva has welcomed industry veterans Rob Ryan and Adrian Cunningham to its senior leadership team as it builds its broker proposition.
Inviva – a new home equity release lender established in 2023 to help over-55s unlock the equity in their property to fund their retirement and lifestyle goals – has announced two key executive appointments as the business accelerates its national expansion.
The company, which was co-founded by former Wingate managing director Kevin Wunsh and former Medfin founder Andre Karney, is preparing to broaden its broker distribution with the appointment of former Nationwise Group leaders Ryan and Cunningham.
The duo started in their new roles at Inviva on 27 January and will be tasked with setting the lender up on aggregator panels and increasing broker engagement.
Ryan, who was most recently the chief operating officer and group company secretary of the Nationwise Group (which owns growing aggregation group Viking Aggregation), has joined Inviva as its new general manager, partnerships & growth.
In his new position, Ryan will focus on strengthening partner engagement and expanding the distribution referral partnerships of the equity release business.
Inviva noted Ryan’s extensive leadership experience across the broker channel, including as general manager, group strategy and growth at the Lending Association, head of northern region for aggregator FAST, and in various senior leadership roles at National Australia Bank (NAB) Broker (including national manager).
Meanwhile, Cunningham – who was most recently Nationwise’s chief customer and information officer – has been appointed general manager, distribution at Inviva.
In his role at the non-bank lender, Cunningham will lead the development of the company’s distribution footprint, ensuring brokers and partners are supported as Inviva broadens its product suite and equity-release capabilities.
Cunningham has more than 25 years of experience in the finance space and worked with Ryan at the Lending Association. He also spent more than 13 years in various broker-facing roles at NAB and was formerly the head of distribution for Virgin Money Australia.
Inviva said the new strategic appointments “reinforce Inviva’s commitment to building a robust distribution model and deepening partnerships across lending, financial services, legal and aggregation networks”.
Commenting on its new GMs, Kevin Wunsh, CEO of Invivia, said: “Rob and Adrian are outstanding leaders whose experience and capability will have an immediate and lasting impact on Inviva. Their appointments come at an important time as we scale our presence and consolidate our commitment to helping more Australians over 55 enjoy the financial security and retirement lifestyle they have worked hard for.
“Rob’s strategic mindset and deep broker-channel expertise make him uniquely positioned to accelerate our partnership model. He understands exactly what brokers and partners need to succeed.
“Adrian brings a rare combination of distribution leadership, customer insight and commercial acumen. His ability to build and scale channels will be critical as Inviva grows nationally.”
The CEO suggested that, together, Ryan and Cunningham would play central roles in driving Inviva’s next phase of growth by expanding its distribution capability, strengthening broker engagement, and establishing new strategic partnerships.
Since it began lending in January 2024, Inviva has offered home equity release loans and investment property equity release loans of up to $3 million.
The lender secured a $100-million facility from private equity company Pacific Equity Partners Capital Solutions last year to help build its reverse mortgage solutions.
[Related: Adrian Cunningham joins Nationwise Group]
