La Trobe announces new leadership appointments

La Trobe Financial has announced the appointments of David Bleakley, Rick Drury and Annie Sestito to its executive team.

Mr Bleakley has been appointed to the role of vice president, treasury and settlement services.

Mr Bleakley has been serving as La Trobe’s chief settlements officer since April 2018, and joined the non-bank from ANZ, where he served as chief risk officer, Americas.

The new appointee served for 10 years at ratings agency Standard & Poor’s before joining NAB as director of securities in 2005.

Reflecting on his appointment, CEO of La Trobe Financial Greg O’Neill said: “We are delighted to have David join us. His solid credit and capital markets experience will play an important role as we grow, and we very much look forward to supporting him in his leadership as we expand our operations.”

Mr Bleakley added: “I’m genuinely excited by our prospects and the genuine point of difference La Trobe Financial bring to market, the opportunity set is very large indeed.”

Further, Mr Drury has been appointed to the role of senior executive chief lending officer, commercial.

Before joining La Trobe Financial, Mr Drury was the managing director of NAB’s UK commercial real estate run-off business.

Commenting on Mr Drury’s appointment, chief lending officer Cory Bannister said: “We are delighted to welcome someone of this calibre to our team.

“His strong experience in leadership makes him a valuable addition. Rick will play a major role in executing our strategic plan.”

Mr Drury added: “This is a once in generation opportunity for non-banks to truly serve customers with distinction and excellence.

“Our culture is rightly focused on customers first, and our processes and credit hygiene are first rate. We are great stewards of investor capital, having managed over $17 billion since inception, serving over 140,000 customers, so we are confident we can deliver something special for our customers and staff.”

In addition, Ms Sestito has been appointed senior executive head of people, PR and marketing.

Prior to joining La Trobe Financial, Ms Sestito served as executive manager, head of strategic partnerships and alliances, and previously in corporate and private banking for over a decade.

Ms Sestito has also held roles as head of corporate and wealth with ME Bank in their treasury department and has also held roles at AXA Australia and AMP where she managed large operational teams.

Reflecting on her appointment, Ms Sestito said: “At the heart of every great organisation are great people, and we are building on a company that has the right core values to succeed.

“This is such a wonderful place to work, and I’m delighted to join such a solid group of professionals at this point of my career.

“We see the future through the customer lens and, notwithstanding the opportunity, know that our success can never be at the expense of our clients or staff.”

She concluded: “I encourage all people-oriented bankers who are looking for the next challenge to reach out as we have other senior positions available.”

La Trobe Financial revealed that it will be announcing further appointments in the near future.

[Related: Prospa reports 36% growth in loan originations in FY19]