Dean has built a licensed bank from nothing and run distribution at one of the largest. He founded fin.associates on the view that banks undertaking the changes that define them should be advised by people who have delivered those changes themselves.
He was Chief Executive Officer of Islamic Bank Australia, which he built from scratch and which held a full Australian banking licence. Before that he ran home loan distribution at Commonwealth Bank, Australia's largest bank, and spent two years in Hanoi as Chief Digital Officer of Vietnam International Bank.
Career
Islamic Money Australia — Chief Executive Officer. The business continues as Islamic Money Australia, providing Shariah-compliant financial services to the Australian market.
Islamic Bank Australia — Chief Executive Officer, from April 2018. Created a new Australian bank from scratch and led the regulatory engagement with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority that delivered its banking licence in July 2022. Accountable for the whole business: launch, product, distribution, marketing, profitability and risk profile. The licence was subsequently returned and the business now operates as Islamic Money Australia.
Grovelands Consulting & Strategy — London, 2019. Wrote the UK mortgage strategy for a top-three UK bank, across all brands and channels, direct and broker. The strategy was endorsed by the bank's retail leadership group.
Commonwealth Bank — Head of Home Loan Distribution, 2015 to 2017. Responsible for all home loan distribution at Australia's largest bank, with accountability for more than US$50 billion in annual home loan sales across proprietary and broker channels. Also led Residential Mortgage Group, the bank's white-label manufacturing subsidiary.
Vietnam International Bank — Chief Digital Officer and Deputy Head of Retail Banking, Hanoi, 2013 to 2015. Posted offshore by Commonwealth Bank to its investment in Vietnam, working across a network of more than 150 branches to transfer group practice into the business. Led VIB's direct distribution and digital operations.
Bankwest — twelve years to 2013, latterly as Head of Customer Experience and Head of Strategy for the retail bank. As Head of Mortgages for Bankwest and HBOS Australia from 2007, grew the mortgage book from $19.0 billion to $38.8 billion — the fastest growth of any top-ten Australian mortgage business over that period on APRA's published data. Earlier roles covered retail sales management, broker distribution and structured finance credit.
Board and industry
Founding Chair of Australia's Islamic finance industry association.
Chair of the United Kingdom's international aeromedical service, which under his chairmanship grew from a local operation into an international service repatriating citizens to NHS care at no cost to the patient.
Qualifications
- Oxford Executive Leadership Programme, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
- Master of Applied Finance, Macquarie University
- Bachelor of Economics, University of Sydney