Julian Travaglia is the company's new chief executive. He has experience in sales and third-party distribution and is currently head of client and broker engagement at AIG. Before AIG, he had senior management positions at OPI NZ, Activa Health and AMP.
NZHL chairman Neil Richardson says the calibre of applicants for the CEO role was very high, but Travaglia’s breadth of experience and expertise was a perfect match for the role. “We were very pleased with the quality of applicants for the position of CEO and are delighted to have appointed Julian as we enter into a new phase of growth and development in our business.”
New Zealand Home Loans has achieved ongoing positive growth since its launch in 1996.
The growth has continued throughout the change of ownership from three shareholders to Kiwibank in 2012. Two of the original three shareholders remain involved with the business; Neil Richardson (chairman) and Phil Harris (chief operating officer).
Over the past four years the company has grown from a loan book of $3.6 billion to $5.1 billion (42% increase), clients from 15,600 to 19,000 (22% increase) and outlet numbers from 57 to 81 (42% increase).
Richardson said the next phase of growth would involve NZHL transforming its offering.
“We have developed a strategy to double our size over the next six years to achieve a loan book of $10B. Our strategy involves a number of innovative transformation projects that will be implemented over the next three years to the benefit of both clients and franchises.”
He replaces Mark Collins as of October 12.
