New heads named to steer advocacy, compliance, and industry strategy
The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has confirmed the appointments of presidents and deputy presidents across its five national forums for 2025, following a nomination and election process involving industry members.
The forums include representatives from various sectors of the mortgage and finance industry and play a key role in advising the MFAA on policy, advocacy, and sector-wide developments. The five groups are the National Aggregators Forum, Compliance & Regulation Forum, Equipment & Commercial Finance Forum, Lenders Forum, and Mortgage Managers Forum.
“The National Forums ensure that we gain vital up-to-date feedback and insights from our broker members and partners on the industry issues that matter,” said MFAA chief executive Anja Pannek. “This in turn helps to inform and strengthen our advocacy and policy development work throughout the year.”
According to Pannek, input from forum members has supported major MFAA projects, including the Value of Mortgage and Finance Broking 2025 report and a review of its Industry Intelligence Service reports. The forums also contributed to the MFAA’s submission to the NSW Payroll Tax inquiry.
Anthony Waldron (pictured above left), chief executive of Mortgage Choice (REA Group), has been reappointed as president of the National Aggregators Forum, with Gerald Foley, managing director at nMB, also returning as deputy president.
Shirley Elliot (pictured above centre) of AFG will also remain as president of the National Compliance & Regulation Forum. Finsure’s Samantha Wills, head of compliance and risk, continues in her role as deputy president.
At the National Equipment & Commercial Finance Forum, George Obeid (pictured above right), chief third party officer at Judo Bank, will lead the forum for another term, with Mhairi MacLeod, managing director at Astute Ability Finance Group, continuing as deputy president.
Meanwhile, Darren McLeod (pictured directly above, left), head of third party at Beyond Bank, steps up as president of the National Lenders Forum after serving as deputy president. Barry Saoud, general manager of mortgages and commercial at Pepper Money, has been named deputy president.
At the National Mortgage Managers Forum, Doug Daniell (pictured directly above, right), director at Mortgage Mart of Australia, remains as president, while Melissa Ashcroft, general manager of AAA Financial Group, has been appointed as deputy president.
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