Iress boosts wealth exec team

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

3 August 2023

Continuing its series of wealth-focused executive appointments, Iress has announced Kelli Willmer as Chief Customer Officer – Wealth ANZ and Amara Haqqani as Chief Operating Officer – Wealth ANZ.

The appointments come after a lengthy search process managed by newly appointed CEO, Wealth Management Harry Mitchell, creating the Chief Customer Officer role (CCO) for Willmer to lead the firm’s client engagement strategy across account management, business development and client and product support.

The former Chief Client Strategy Officer at Bennelong Funds Management, Haqqani will be responsible for driving strategic, operational and financial outcomes for Iress’ Wealth arm in her role as Chief Operating Officer (COO).

“I’m delighted to welcome Kelli and Amara to the Wealth Management leadership team,” Mitchell said.

“Customer centricity is an absolute priority for Iress and the CCO and COO roles are critical in enabling us to get closer to our clients and drive higher performance as we move Iress forward on its next growth trajectory.

“Kelli and Amara bring complementary skill sets and impressive experience to the Wealth team, with a combination of deep internal understanding of Iress and its clients, and extensive knowledge of the broader industry’s policy environment and priorities.

“Their values-based leadership styles and strong track records of delivering consistent commercial and strategic outcomes will be a great asset to Iress as we drive improved value for our Wealth clients now and into the future.”

Willmer and Haqqani bring over 40 years of combined experience in the banking, financial services, wealth and technology industries, as well as across product and strategy in investment management, advice and superannuation in particular.

After joining Iress in 2015, Willmer spearheaded its IFA client account management team and held the positions of Head of Commercial Office and Head of Transformation Office. Her roles prior to Iress included leadership roles at BT Financial Group and within several advice practices.