"With interest rates and inflation rising and the share market decreasing in Australia and New Zealand, consumers are understandably stressed. As a result, FinTechs and financial service providers have a tremendous opportunity to guide consumers toward financial wellness.

Tonia Berglund, Head of Open Data and Product Innovation, CreditWatch

Tonia currently heads up Product Innovation and Open Data for Equifax Australia and New Zealand. Previous to this she ran the Australian Product function and Open Banking program for Envestnet I Yodlee, overseeing the accreditation and execution of the ADR platform to new and existing customers in the region. She worked closely with Yodlee’s banking and fintech customer base to educate and inform them on the latest developments and future benefits of an open data ecosystem.

Previous to this Tonia worked as a senior leader driving digital change in the Technology and Finance space, working across CBA, Westpac and the Federal Government. She holds Post Graduate Degrees in Business and IT and has been at the forefront of transforming the way industry can innovate and change towards a better banking experience for Australian business and consumers.

Chris Ellis, CEO, Finder Australia

CEO of Finder Australia, the “#1 emerging giant in Australia” as ranked by KPMG in 2022. During his 2.5 years at the helm, the company has launched its first personal finance management app and helped millions of consumers make better financial decisions throughout the challenges of COVID. Under Chris’ leadership Finder has been certified as a Great Place to Work in Australia three years in a row (2020, 2021 and 2022).

As a member of the Government’s Consumer Data Standards Committee, Chris champions greater financial freedom and choice for all Australians. Through Finder’s membership of the Tech Council of Australia, he advocates for innovation and tech-related job creation.

The early part of Chris's career was spent driving growth at web pioneers such as Netscape, Compuserve, AOL and MySpace. More recently Chris founded and was Chief Executive of GorillaStack, a SaaS developer of cloud automation tools which was acquired by SoftwareOne in 2020 (SIX Swiss Exchange: SWON).

He holds an Honours degree in Business Studies, a diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and is a graduate of Henley Business School’s senior leadership programme, as well as the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Lauren Applegate,

Director Customer Success and Marketing Australia and New Zealand, Envestnet | Yodlee

Lauren Applegate is a customer success and retention expert with deep experience in the financial industry. As Envestnet | Yodlee‚Äôs ANZ Director of Customer Success and Marketing, Lauren's role is centred around ensuring that her customers can innovate, succeed, and grow through the use of Data Aggregation, Open Banking, Account Verification, Data Enrichment, Financial Wellness, and Credit Accelerator tools. With a background of executing marketing functions for online start-ups, as well as holding sales leadership roles within large Insurance providers, Lauren has a great mix of experience to assist everyone from small Fintechs to large Financial Institutions with their growth strategies.

Richard Shanahan, Chief Product & Data Officer, Tic:Toc

Richard has over 20 years’ experience in financial services in Australia and the UK, with a focus on building and optimising data-driven products. Richard held various roles in proposition development for HSBC UK, through to ANZ Institutional products and senior software leadership consulting roles for the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A pre-launch member of the Tic:Toc team, Richard was responsible for the development of Tic:Toc’s data and AI capabilities. Richard now leads the Product function to align customer needs and business strategy to create the best possible experiences and value for Tic:Toc.

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