AFCA is governed by a Board that is made up of an equal number of directors with consumer and industry experience and is overseen by an independent Chair.
Independent Chair
Professor John Pollaers (Chair) – OAM MBA BA
Appointed Independent Chair of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority on 15 May 2021, Professor John Pollaers OAM is an eminent international Chair, Chief Executive and Non-Executive Director. John brings a unique set of experience and insights to his role at AFCA, gained in his many years as a distinguished leader across a range of multi-dimensional and complex industries, including consumer products and advanced manufacturing. He has been chief executive and director of major companies, including Foster’s Group Limited and Pacific Brands, where he regenerated the company culture and was recognised as further simplifying the business model and successfully driving performance of key functions.
Responsible for leading several successful company turnarounds in the face of difficult industry circumstances, John is highly effective in leading organisations operating in ambiguous, unpredictable and sensitive environments. He has been instrumental in building close engagement with the Government and media across a range of complex and dynamic industries, notably as founding Chair of the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council and Chair of the Australian Industry and Skills Committee, and as a member of the Prime Minister’s Industry 4.0 Taskforce.
Socially minded, John thrives on contributing to much needed debates on a range of issues facing society. He speaks widely on the issues of skills development, the imperatives of 21st-century global business, and the necessity of building meaningful collaboration between research and industry. John is also driven by a passion to harness the benefits of technology and data to make radical, positive change to communities and industries to improve our society.
Professor Pollaers holds an MBA from INSEAD and Macquarie University, as well as degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2018 for service to the manufacturing sector, to education and to business. He is also currently the Chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.
Directors with consumer experience
Carmel Franklin – BEd Dip (Financial Counselling)
Carmel Franklin was appointed to the inaugural Board on 4 May 2018. She is a former consumer director of the Financial Ombudsman Service Limited.
Carmel has been the CEO of Care in the ACT for 14 years. She has been involved with consumer issues for a number of years, including as the Chair of ACT Gambling Harm Community of Practice, Co-Chair of ACT Anti-Poverty Week Committee, Member of the ATO Individual Stewardship Group, and as a board member on the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission.
She is a former member of the ASIC Consumer Advisory Panel as well as the FOS Consumer Liaison Group and, most recently, former Chair of Financial Counselling Australia, a position she held for 12 years.
Gerard Brody – BA, LLB
Gerard Brody has extensive experience in the consumer sector, having worked as a lawyer, policy officer and consumer advocate for 20 years. Until recently, he was the chief executive of the Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC), a leading consumer advocacy organisation that provides legal assistance and financial counselling. He held that role for 10 years until February 2023.
Gerard is the current Chair of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia, the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia, and has held this position since 2015.
Gerard is also an experienced director. He has been on the board of the Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria since 2014, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman since 2022, and Community Legal Centres Australia, the peak body for community legal centres, since 2021.
Delia Rickard – BA, LLB
Delia Rickard was appointed Deputy Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in June 2012. She has extensive public service experience and a passion for consumer protection, and has worked in a variety of senior roles, primarily at the ACCC and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). She is also an Associate Member of the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Throughout her career she has had a strong interest in financial services and the impact of the financial services industry on vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers. She oversaw development of the highly regarded Moneysmart website at ASIC and has been a member of numerous committees at the ACCC, including those on the consumer data right, enforcement and compliance and product safety, as well as the the ACCC’s Financial Services Competition Board. She also chaired the ACCC’s market study into the cost of insurance in Northern Australia.
She is also a trustee of the Jan Pentland Foundation, which provides scholarships for those who want to work as financial counsellors, and is the Chair of Good Shepherd’s Advisory Committee on Financial Inclusion Action Plans.
She was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2011 for her contribution to consumer protection and financial services. She has also been awarded the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2022 was named the inaugural winner of the Law Council of Australia’s Consumer Rights Award.
Erin Turner – BA MPP GAICD
Erin Turner was appointed a consumer director by the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services on 4 May 2018.
Erin is the CEO of the Consumer Policy Research Centre and the Chair of Financial Rights Legal Centre.
Previously she was the Director of Campaigns and Communications at CHOICE. She represents consumer interests on the ACCC Consumer Consultative Committee and has previously sat on the ACMA Consumer Consultative Forum and the ASIC Consumer Advisory Panel.
Directors with industry experience
Swati Dave – BCom
Swati Dave joined the AFCA board on 1 September 2023.
She is an experienced C suite executive and non-executive Director with an established track record of successfully leading and growing complex financing businesses in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. She was most recently the Managing Director and CEO at Export Finance Australia from 2017 to 2022 where she successfully led a significant business and cultural transformation.
Swati has over 30 years of banking and financial sector experience across a number of sectors, including infrastructure, energy and utilities, renewable energy and property. She has held senior roles at National Australia Bank, Deutsche Bank, AMP Henderson Global Investors, Bankers Trust and Westpac.
Swati currently serves as the inaugural Chair of the Centre for Australia India Relations. She is also the Deputy Chair of Asia Society Australia and an independent member of the QIC Global Infrastructure Investment Committee. Swati has also been appointed by the Department of Home Affairs to the Reference Group for the Multicultural Framework Policy Review.
She previously served as an Advisory Board member of the National Foundation for Australia China Relations and as a Director of State Super, Australian Hearing, Great Western Bancorp, Inc. (USA) and the NAB Wealth Responsible Entity Boards.
Swati holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Newcastle and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Gary Dransfield
Gary joined the AFCA Board on 1 January 2022 and has more than 37 years experience in the retail financial services sector, holding senior roles with Suncorp Group, IAG, Lend Lease, AMP and St George Bank.
He was most recently Chief Executive, Insurance, for Suncorp, having also been Chief Executive of its Customer Platforms and Personal Insurance units, as well as its Vero Insurance business in New Zealand. At St George, Gary played an integral role in the successful conversion of St George from a building society to a bank.
Gary is a former President and Chair of the Insurance Council of Australia, former President of the Insurance Council of New Zealand, and a former director of CareFlight NSW. He is currently a non-executive director with Hollard Insurance and Chair of the panel advising the NSW Government on the design of Decennial Liability Insurance for apartment buildings.
Gary is currently the Independent Chair of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).
Andrew Fairley – AM LLB (Melb) Hon Doc (Deakin) FAICD & FAIST
Andrew Fairley AM was appointed an industry director by the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services on 4 May 2018. He is a Commercial and Equity Lawyer with over 40 years experience in Superannuation, and is a Consultant at Hall & Wilcox. He is the immediate past Chair of Equip Super, an industry fund with assets under management of over $30b. He founded the Law Council of Australia’s Superannuation Committee in 1985, and served as its Chair for 10 years.
Andrew is the Chair of Qualitas Limited, a leading Australian alternative real estate investment manager. He is the former Chair of Zoos Victoria, Parks Victoria, and a former Deputy Chair of Tourism Australia.
He is very involved in the philanthropic sector as Chair of the Sir Andrew Fairley Foundation and Deputy Chair of the Mornington Peninsula Foundation.
Claire Mackay – BComLLB LLM GAICD
Claire Mackay was appointed an industry director by the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services on 4 May 2018.
Claire is a Director and Principal Adviser at Quantum Financial and is a Chartered Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Tax Analyst and a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund specialist. Previously Claire held roles at Macquarie Bank and PwC.
Claire is a Director of the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board. Her current appointments include the FPA Professional Standards and Conduct Committee, the RMIT School of Accounting Program Advisory Committee and the Finance Audit and Compliance Committee for Surf Lifesaving NSW.
As the owner of an independent financial services business, Claire regularly engages with other business owners and smaller financial firm operators in industry forums and conferences.
Company Secretary
Anna Campbell - BA LLB
Anna Campbell joined AFCA as General Counsel in November 2019, and is an experienced senior executive with cross-sector and regulatory expertise. Anna’s extensive knowledge of financial services means she is uniquely positioned to provide expert advice to AFCA on complex legal matters, corporate governance and risk management.
Anna was previously General Manager of Enterprise Compliance at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) where she was responsible for the ASX Group’s regulatory assurance function, involving Corporations Act licensing obligations, Trade Practices Act requirements and other statutory obligations.
Anna also held the role of Deputy General Counsel at ASX for nine years, after joining the ASX from Allianz where she was Acting General Counsel. She has worked as a lawyer in both the private and public sector and exhibits a breadth of experience in providing expert instruction on a range of matters. Anna is a highly effective operative in developing and leading organisational approaches to management, corporate governance, risk management and stakeholder management.
Dawn Logan Keeffe - Deputy Company Secretary
Dawn Logan Keeffe is a senior governance professional who joined AFCA in 2023 from New York Stock Exchange listed Clarivate Plc, a large multinational information and data company. Dawn was Company Secretary and Senior Trademark Counsel based in Clarivate’s London office, then in Sydney. Dawn is a lawyer and chartered company secretary, having started her career in the UK as an intellectual property attorney. She has had extensive experience in Australia and the UK, working in top-tier intellectual property legal practices and in governance and legal counsel roles for large, global corporate entities.
