Grow Finance appoints board members

Grow Finance has appointed two executives in the finance industry to its board, with John Murphy joining the lender as the new chairman and Julie Elliot joining as non-executive director.

Mr Murphy, who has also invested in the business, was previously a partner in the international accounting firm Arthur Andersen & Co, where he specialised in mergers and acquisitions, and insolvency and reconstruction.

He has been a founder and managing director of private equity funds including Investec Wentworth Private Equity and Adexum Capital.

He was a director of Investec Bank Australia from 2004 to 2012.

He has held non-executive director roles at Southcorp, Specialty Fashion Group, Vocus Communications, Ariadne, Gale Pacific, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries and Vita Group.

Ms Elliott has over 30 years’ experience in executive and director roles across banking, financial services and government.

She is a non-executive director of Cash Converters International and P&N Bank, and a director of Asia Pacific Capital.

Her previous roles have included CEO at Bank of Sydney from 2013 to 2016, and chair of State Trustees. She previously led financial services teams in senior managerial roles at KPMG, NAB and Westpac.

Meanwhile, Grow Finance executive director Greg Woszczalski announced that David Fairfull is stepping down from the board.

Commenting on his departure, Mr Woszczalski said: “I would also like to acknowledge David Fairfull who is stepping down from the board. He has made a tremendous contribution, and I thank him for his service.”

Mr Woszczalski also welcomed Mr Murphy and Ms Elliott to the board, stating: “On behalf of the Grow Finance board and staff, we welcome John Murphy and Julie Elliott to their new roles. We are already making an impact on the market, and their experience will benefit our growth as we create a strong and sustainable future for the company.”

Mr Murphy spoke of his appointment to the board, stating: “I am delighted to join Grow Finance at this time of great opportunity.

“Despite the pandemic, many businesses have adapted to change successfully, creating new prospects for growth. The management team have harnessed a broad range of product platform that helps SMEs to exploit these opportunities. I look forward to contributing to the company’s growth and helping our talented team achieve their aspirations for the business.”

Grow Finance was established in 2015, with Mr Murphy saying that the platform has placed more than $700 million of loans to more than 12,000 customers.

The lender offers asset finance, trade finance, invoice finance, insurance premium finance and business loans.

It recently appointed a new chief operating officer, Lee Clarke, to help manage its day-to-day activities, and partnered with global electronics manufacturer LG and was named as LG Solar and Energy’s preferred financial supplier.

Grow Finance acquired Australian Invoice Finance in 2020 and the Eclipx Commercial business for $14.6 million in 2019.

[Related: Business lender acquires invoice financier]