Our Board

Elizabeth is the Chair of the Customer Owned Banking Association, the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, Hearing Australia, Ochre Health and the newly established Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese Ltd. She is the Emeritus Deputy Chancellor of Macquarie University.

Elizabeth is a member of the Boards of the NSW Institute of Sport, Hunter Water and Health Infrastructure, the organisation that builds all public hospitals in NSW. Elizabeth has held previous roles on the Boards of ASX listed ReadyTech, Macquarie University Hospital, Western Sydney Local Health District, Bingo Industries, SGS Economics and Planning, Chandler Macleod Group, McGrath Estate Agents, RailCorp and the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences.

She chairs the NSW Government’s Audit and Risk committee for the State Emergency Service and the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade. Elizabeth has previously chaired the NSW Government’s Non-Government Schools Council and the Office of Heritage and Environment’s Audit and Compliance Committee.

Elizabeth is a respected executive coach and moderator with the Orijen Group and spent 16 years with the Federal Government before moving into the private sector where she held various roles including as the Chief Executive of the Housing Industry Association. She holds a Bachelor of Economics and, in 2020, completed her Masters of Cyber Security. In 2019 she was awarded an Order of Australia for her services to higher education and the rail transport sector.

Steve has more than 20 years’ experience in banking operations in Australia, including a variety of executive roles spanning both the listed bank and mutual sector. At Great Southern Bank (formerly CUA), Steve has held the roles of Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and now Executive, Small Business Banking.

He is passionate about the future of the mutual sector – in particular, Steve has been active in exploring mutual collaboration opportunities and has played a leading role in industry advocacy on sector issues such as capital reform for mutual ADIs. Steve is also a strong advocate for greater industry level collaboration.

He is a Director on the Board of Mutual Marketplace Limited and has extensive experience in strategic management, change leadership, building strong and engaged teams, and delivering positive customer outcomes and strong financial returns.

With over 25 years in the financial services sector in Australia’s leading ASX100 organisations and customer owned sector, Marnie’s background reflects a deep-seated understanding of the banking industry’s nuances and challenges. Marnie has worked with a broad spectrum of customers from institutional to retail in a variety of executive and senior roles. Her passion is for the everyday Australian and helping people create a better life through good financial decisions.

Since joining Defence Bank in 2021, Marnie has led the transformation of the bank’s Lending ecosystem and led the Member and Growth teams through a period of outstanding growth and innovation targeted at removing friction and simplifying the experience for our members and people. Marnie is also the sponsor of Defence Bank’s Lending Journey Continuous Improvement Program.

Marnie holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Arts from the University of Melbourne, Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Information Systems from RMIT and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Christine Mackenzie is the Chief People Officer of P&N Group, which operates P&N Bank in Western Australia and BCU Bank in New South Wales and southeast Queensland.

Christine leads the People & Culture division which includes people services and capability, work, health and safety, wellness, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), corporate affairs, and change management.

With twenty-five years’ experience in financial services gained in the UK, Singapore and Australia, Christine is a passionate advocate for the customer-owned banking sector as a trusted and purpose-driven alternative to the major banks.

Christine has a wealth of experience in change, mergers and acquisitions, and integration. Her credentials include long-standing experience of managing large and distributed multi-disciplinary HR teams and building cultures of high performance and engagement. Christine has passed her AICD, so is now a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Darlene has been the Chief Executive Officer for Australian Military Bank (AMB) since March 2020. She brings 15 years’ executive experience within the Mutual Sector and more than 20 years’ experience as a strategic leader reporting at the CEO and Board level in both private and public organisations.

Prior to her appointment with Australian Military Bank, Darlene held the position of Deputy Chief Executive at People’s Choice. Her position included Chief Strategy, Marketing and People Officer, responsible for the development and implementation of the People’s Choice Strategic Plan as well as the leadership of the credit union’s strategies for People and Culture, Member Strategy, Marketing & Products, Communications & Public Affairs, and the transformation framework to develop and deliver a new Member Centric Target Operating Model. This position included director of Mutual Market Place representing People’s Choice in the Joint Venture Procurement company.

Darlene completed the advanced management program with Harvard University in 2018 became a member of Chief Exective Women in 2022. She has received external awards and recognition including the 2016 Telstra Business Women’s Award, Corporate & Private South Australian; a finalist in the 2017 National Retail Banking Awards for Executive of the Year and Australian Human Resource Institute (AHRI) 2008 People Leadership and People Strategy Awards.

Stephen joined the Community First Bank Board as a Director in May 2002 and has been Chair since November 2015. He has been a Director of the Customer Owned Banking Association  since September 2016 and a Director of the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network Board. He has more than 40 years’ experience in the utilities, health, financial services, superannuation and insurance industries including State Building Society, St George, GIO Australia and HCF.

Stephen brings a wide range of mutual sector experience as an executive and independent director. He has experience in project and operations management, property management, mergers and integration, process improvement, IT systems and development especially in ehealth, sales, marketing, customer service, hospitality, financial management, retirement, home community care, aged care, strategic planning, corporate governance and risk.

Todd joined Credit Union SA in June 2020 as the Chief Executive Officer having spent over close to 12 years as a Senior Executive at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Todd is passionate about leading a highly effective, performance-driven team of finance professionals who are dedicated to achieving outstanding results for their members and customers.

With over 25 years working in finance and professional services across Australia and the UK, Todd has developed a strong understanding of a wide range of financial and commercial disciplines from accountancy, audit and insolvency to Institutional Corporate, Commercial and Retail banking.

Todd holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy from the University of South Australia and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand, Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Governor’s Leadership Program. Todd is currently the Chair of Scotch College and the Leaders Institute of South Australia.

Elsbeth is the Chief Operating Officer/Chief Risk Officer for First Option Bank and has substantial executive experience within the mutual bank sector. Elsbeth is a qualified Accountant and Fellow of the IPA and holds a Certificate in Business Studies – Law. She is a member of FINSIA, AICD and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.

Elsbeth has been actively involved in the sector participating in, and contributing to, a number of working group initiatives and in representations on regulatory and government policy fronts.

Elsbeth is also a Director of our only indigenous owned and run banking organisation, Traditional Credit Union.

John was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Summerland Bank in July 2019. John has 30 years’ experience in the banking industry and was most recently Managing Director of H3 Consulting Group which provides strategy, technology and payments consulting services.

John was previously CEO of a technology company providing banking solutions to the Australian, New Zealand and USA financial services markets. This role followed an extensive executive career at Heritage Bank in roles as COO and CIO.

John has been a Director of several financial services and health related organisations including Australian Settlements Limited (ASL), Shared Service Partners, Lifeline Darling Downs, Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network, and TSWG. He was awarded the Medal for Management Excellence by the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders. John is proudly a White Ribbon Ambassador and a champion for equality.

John holds an MBA and Associate Diplomas in Engineering and Applied Science and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders, a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.