Helia announces new chair

Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) provider Helia has announced non-executive director Leona Murphy as the new chair of the company, succeeding previous chairman Ian MacDonald.

Murphy was appointed to Helia’s board on 1 November 2022 and chaired its remuneration and nominations committee while bringing chair and non-executive director experience in financial services (including C-suite roles in top 20 ASX-listed organisations) to the role.

Additionally, Murphy is currently the president and chair of RACQ Limited, chair of RACQ Insurance Limited, Club Finance Holdings Limited, Club Insurance Holdings Ply Ltd, and RACQ Bank.

She is also a non-executive director at Liberty Financial Group, along with her non-executive role with Helia.

Murphy said on her new appointment: “I would like to thank Ian for the enormous contribution he has made to Helia, and the strong leadership he has shown during a prolonged period of change for the business.

“I feel very privileged to be taking on the role of Chair and recognise that we need to continue the hard work in delivering on the strategy so we can continue with our important purpose of accelerating financial wellbeing by helping people achieve the dream of home ownership sooner.

“Helia has a strong and dedicated management team and a clear strategy. I look forward to working with Helia’s CEO, Pauline Blight-Johnston, as she leads the business to deliver growth opportunities, driving ongoing investor and customer value and ultimately helping more Australians succeed in purchasing a home.”

Since MacDonald’s appointment as Helia’s chairman, Helia declared $2.65 in aggregate dividends per share and returned an additional $638 million of capital to shareholders, according to the company.

Furthermore, MacDonald was at the helm of the company’s separation from Genworth Financial, Inc., which included the company’s rebranding to Helia, as well as its return to the ASX 200 index in December 2023.

Speaking at Helia’s AGM on 9 May, chief executive Pauline Blight-Johnston thanked MacDonald for 12 years of service as Helia’s chairman.

“As a director for 12 years and chairman for eight, Ian has been a passionate supporter of Helia, LMI and our purpose to help Australians,” Blight-Johnston said.

“He has dedicated himself to ensuring the company is well-governed and delivers for all our stakeholders, and has taken a keen interest in the development of our people.

“We are fortunate that the Board has elected as our new chair, Leona Murphy from within its ranks. A distinguished business leader with a knack for bringing out the best in those around her, the board, leadership team and I look forward to working with Leona to continue to deliver excellence for all our stakeholders.”

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Adrian Suljanovic is a journalist at Broker Daily with more than two years experience reporting on all facets of the third party distribution channel.

Adrian has written for a range of business and finance titles including IFA, Investor Daily and Lawyer’s Weekly before joining the mortgages team in 2022.

He graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2021 gaining a Bachelor of Communication & Media with a major in Digital & Social Media.

E-mail Adrian at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.