Wisr makes two executive appointments

Wisr has announced the appointment of Ben Berger, former head of product at retailer The Iconic as its new chief product officer (CPO), while former Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) executive Dr Lili Sussman has been appointed as chief strategy officer (CSO).

According to the lender, the CPO role was created to focus on Wisr’s financial wellness segment, product management and technology capability.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Mr Berger has over 19 years of experience in product management, technology innovation and user experience.

His previous roles have included director of internal product management and IT at The Iconic, director of product management (cloud solutions) at Dimension Data, and senior product manager at IBM.

Commenting on his appointment at Wisr, CEO Anthony Nantes said: “Ben is a widely respected leader in his field and has a unique ability to quickly learn customer needs and relate those to a deeply technical product.”

“His experience across all stages of the product life cycle – from analysing and formulating a market approach to building and delivering innovative tech-driven solutions that create amazing customer experiences and services – is remarkable.”

In her new role, Dr Sussman will be focusing on growth and innovation, according to Mr Nantes.

She has 16 years of experience in strategy, innovation, transformation and social change.

Before joining Wisr, Dr Sussman was the CSO at Social Ventures Australia and has also held various roles at CBA, including head of payments strategy, executive director, industry solutions and executive manager strategy.

Mr Nantes said her role at Wisr will focus on mergers and acquisitions, and generating both organic and inorganic growth.

“Her passion for problem solving complex social issues and developing evidence-based social change strategies will be integral in delivering Wisr’s vision to improve the lives of Australians through financial wellness,” he said.

Both Mr Berger and Dr Sussman said they were attracted to the roles at Wisr because of its focus on financial wellness.

“I’m really looking forward to helping Wisr grow and make a tangible impact on the financial wellness of Australians,” Dr Sussman said.

[Related: Wisr reports 92% surge in loan originations]

Malavika Santhebennur is the features editor on the mortgages titles at Momentum Media.

Before joining the team in 2019, Malavika held roles with Money Management and Benchmark Media. She has been writing about financial services for the past six years.