The chief executive officer of the Association of Financial Advisers, Richard Klipin, has quit and will depart the association in February. He is due to take up a senior role with ANZ Wealth’s millennium3.
Klipin has led the AFA for the past seven years. Former AFA president and its current treasurer, Brad Fox, will fill the CEO role until a replacement for Klipin can be found.
Klipin told Professional Planner that he believes he leaves the AFA in “robust health” and well positioned to represent its members as they strive to transform financial planning into a respected profession. Klipin’s last national conference as CEO of the AFA was held on the Gold Coast in late October.
“It’s obviously been an honour to lead the AFA,” Klipin says.
He says the association has been “transformed” in the past seven years.
“We lead the market in so many ways,” Klipin says, including its advocacy for financial advisers and its development of young advisers through its GenXt program.
“After seven years it’s time to pass the baton,” Klipin says.
“The place is in robust health. It’s no longer just a one-man show; in the NSW state team there were 20 people at a planning day.
“What I am most proud of is the passion and commitment of the community we have built.”
In a statement the president of the AFA, Michael Nowak, said Klipin had “led the AFA on a remarkable journey of transformation over the past seven years”.
“He has built the AFA into a strong adviser association which leads the market with its clear and authentic advocacy work, its ground-breaking GenXt platform which has nurtured the future leaders of advice into the industry, and its powerful, collaborative community that draws together all parts of the market place.”
Klipin told Professional Planner that when he was contemplating his future with the AFA he was told that three years as CEO of any organisation was “a good number; four [years] was exceptional; and five years, you’re a lunatic”.
Before joining the AFA Klipin was head of strategic relations at ING. He says joining ANZ – which now owns ING – is not really a homecoming because the key personnel ANZ today were not at ING when he was there.
Commenting on the appointment Neil Younger, ANZ’s head of practice-based financial planning, said: “Richard has played a significant role in leading industry discussion on the importance of advice in Australia and we’re pleased to have appointed him as the new CEO of millennium3.
“In this role, Richard will have responsibility for further strengthening millennium3’s position in the advice industry and guiding the business through transformation as it works through significant regulatory change.”
Current joint managing directors Barry Martin and Darryl Foster will be staying on as dealer principles with Martin continuing to focus on adviser development and recruitment and Foster working as the group’s chief operating officer.
Klipin will officially commence with millennium3 in mid-February 2013.
Richard thank you for the great job that you have done within the AFA and for the financial advice industry as a whole. I think your input was a super effort and as a practitioner adviser I am most grateful that your leadership that has helped build a strong voice for advisers for the future as we face the challenges ahead. I wish you all the best for the future and I look forward to catching up with in your new role. After attending the recent AFA Annual Conference I am sure that the AFA will go from strength to strength as the Association of choice for practitioner advisers.