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
Heron Loban
Dr Heron Loban is a proud descendant of the Mabuyag and Boigu peoples, a lawyer, academic and company director. Dr Loban has held a number of key positions in community-based, not-for-profit companies and sat on numerous State, Territory and Commonwealth advisory committees on a range of issues relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia.
She is in-house counsel with Queensland South Native Title Services and a company director for Mura Lagh, a First Nations owned and led consulting firm. Among her appointments, she is a member of the Indigenous Advisory Group of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
As a lawyer she has worked as Principal Legal Officer at Gur A Baradharaw Kod Torres Strait Sea and Land Council, as CEO of the Torres Strait and NPA Legal Service, and as a solicitor with the Torres Strait Regional Authority and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. Among other roles, she has also been a director of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and a member of the Telstra Chief Executive Officer Consumer Roundtable. Her numerous academic positions include Senior Lecturer posts at Griffith University and James Cook University – where she completed her PhD thesis on “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and consumer law”.
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).
Raylene Bellottie – MAICD
Raylene Bellottie is a proud Nanda woman from Yamatji country with a wealth of expertise as an Aboriginal business director, consultant and board member.
Raylene has extensive financial sector experience of over 25 years. She is deeply committed to enhancing Indigenous financial literacy and has served as the Deputy Chair of the First Nations Foundation for more than 10 years. The Foundation strives to promote economic freedom for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
She is a business coach for the Waalitj Foundation, where she provides guidance and support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to enhance their competence and capability building. In addition, she has held various roles with the Indigenous Advisory Group, the Indigenous Financial Service Network, and as the Deputy Chairperson for Nanda Aboriginal Corporation. Raylene is currently a member and director of Yamatji Southern Regional Corporation and Chairperson of Yamatji Funds Management Ltd.
Previously, Raylene has worked for ANZ Bank and was National Business Development Manager of First Nations accounts for Credit Union Australia (CUA).
Yien Hong – LLB BCom BA
Yien Hong is General Counsel and Company Secretary at Judo Bank and has held senior roles in Australia and internationally across firms including Deutsche Bank, NAB and Linklaters.
Prior to joining Judo Bank, Yien was General Counsel and Company Secretary at Growthpoint Properties Australia, an ASX-200 listed property fund, and previously Senior Legal Counsel at NAB. Yien’s international experience includes three years as the Head of FX and Fixed Income Prime Brokerage Legal at Deutsche Bank, London, where she led a team that supported the structured derivatives business. Before joining Deutsche Bank, Yien held a senior role with global law firm Linklaters, delivering client solutions for private equity acquisitions, cross-border financings and complex structured finance transactions.
With a passion for social justice, Yien served for five years as the Director and Chair of the Development Committee at YWCA Housing (YWCA Victoria), working to provide accommodation and other services to disadvantaged women. Yien is a non-executive director of the Australian Arts Orchestra, one of Australia’s leading contemporary ensembles.
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.
