BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Get to know more about our incredible board members today.
GILLIAN GEORGE
Chair
Gillian has worked for 32 years in the Transport industry; she is currently employed with Sydney Trains as a Business Analyst within Corporate Finance and IT.
Gillian previously served on the Encompass Credit Union Board as a director for 6 years, during that time she held the position of Chair of the Board Risk Committee and served on the Board Risk, Audit and Governance. She is passionate about the future of Credit Union Mutuals in Australia.
Gillian is a director of Transport Life and Leisure, a Not for Profit organisation which provides member benefit services, including sporting activities and accommodation at discounted rates to employees of the Transport industry. Gillian was the first female director elected to the Board of the Transport Life and Leisure, previously known a Railway Institute, (established over 100 year’s ago) Gillian currently holds the position of Treasurer of the Institute.
Gillian has attended and facilitated at the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions Women and Youth Forums in Bali and Thailand in 2014 and 2015, encouraging women and youth to self-promote and explore opportunities in obtaining a director’s position and developing their career in the future.
MARK WORTHINGTON
Director
Mark Worthington is the CEO of Australian Mutual Bank based in Sydney. He has held senior management positions in credit unions for over 20 years, and has completed Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees. He is also a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mark is a director of the managed services company TransAction Solutions Ltd, which provides platform and infrastructure hosting services to over fifty clients in the financial services sector, including four mutual banks.
He has participated in credit union development as a technical advisor in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, and Tuvalu. His experience as a credit union presenter includes Asian Confederation Forums since 2007, Credit Union Development Education courses, the Oceania Confederation of Credit Union Leagues, and the PNG Federation of Savings and Loans Societies.
ROSANNA ARGALL
Director
Rosanna Argall is the CEO of G&C Mutual Bank based in Sydney. She has been working within the finance industry in a range of roles and organisations for over 25 years.
Since joining G&C Mutual Bank, Rosanna has held positions within marketing, human resources, call centre operations, IT and business development, sales and Executive Management.
Rosanna is the Secretary of the Board Audit Committee, Board Risk Committee and Board Governance, Nominations and Remuneration Committee and is also the Company Secretary of G&C Mutual Bank.
Rosanna is also a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and Australian Mutuals Institute and a Member of Australia Institute of Company Directors. Rosanna is also a Councillor on the Mutual Banking Employers Association.
PAUL DAWSON
Director
Paul is General Manager of First Choice Credit Union, since 2001, based in Orange NSW. Prior to this he held senior management roles in credit unions and commercial banking.
Paul sits on the Executive of the Small Australian Mutuals Network and is a past Chairman of the Orange No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS) and Community Chest.
He has participated as a mentor and facilitator at Development Education workshops conducted by the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU) since 2014 and has been a regular presenter at ACCU Forums and Conferences for 8 years. In 2017, Paul was the Co-facilitator of a Women and Youth in Credit Unions Workshop (ACCU).
Paul is a Fellow of the Institute of Strategy, Innovation and Leadership (INSTIL) and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
MIKE LAWRENCE
Director
Mike is the Chief Executive Officer of the Customer Owned Owned Banking Association (COBA), the industry body for Australia’s credit unions, building societies and mutual banks, following his appointment on 4 December 2017.
Mike has over 30 years experience in financial services, primarily gained with AMP Bank and National Australia Bank.
In April 2018, Mike became a Director of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), the peak international body for the credit union movement globally.
Mike was Managing Director of AMP Bank 8 years and prior to this, Mike undertook senior roles in all distribution channels of banking, namely, Corporate, Commercial and Retail and having done so across three continents, Australia, UK and USA.
Mike is passionate about community involvement and using his skills that have been acquired over a very fortunate career in playing his part in helping others, more recently as Vice Chair of Heart Research Australia and the many activities associated with Special Needs.
MELINA MORRISON
Director
Melina Morrison is inaugural CEO of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) appointed in 2013. She is a well-known advocate for member owned businesses and commissioned the first national mapping reports for the mutual sector in Australia. Her advocacy work resulted in the Australian Government minting a coin and producing a stamp series commemorating the International Year of Cooperatives in 2012.
Melina was also successful in advocating for a Federal Government inquiry into the co-operative and mutual business sector, which handed down 17 ground-breaking reforms in 2016. This was followed by Scott Morrison (then Australian Treasurer) ordering an independent inquiry into access to capital issues for co-operatives and mutuals. This led to the first enabling legislation for mutuals in Australia in 18 years. Enacted in April 2019, the new laws permit mutuals to raise investment capital whilst safeguarding their mutual corporate status.
LOUISE TRATT
Director
Louise has been appointed to the board of the Australian Mutual Foundation following the transfer of assets from Instil – Engaging Bright Minds, where she has been a Director since 2016 and Chair since 2019.
Louise was the Executive Manager – Sales and Lending with Endeavour Mutual Bank (now Australian Mutual Bank) from February 2006 to December 2019, and has considerable experience in lending, marketing, business development and sales.
During her time with Endeavour, Louise was heavily involved in raising awareness of the incredible work Barnardo’s does and encouraged staff participation in fundraising, volunteering, and supporting their many initiatives.
Louise has also attended and facilitated at the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions Women and Youth Forums in Indonesia and Thailand in 2014 and 2015.
Louise is invested in inspiring and mentoring the younger generation, and she is a founder and committee member of Women in Mutuals.