Experienced business leader Mr David Moffatt will be appointed Chair of the Joint Venture. Mr Moffatt is currently Chairman of Ventia Services Group, and a Senior Adviser to Apollo. He has held senior roles in a range of sectors, including CEO of GE & GE Capital in Australia and New Zealand, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Consumer at Telstra, and CEO of Lebara Group. Mr Moffatt will commence his new role on 15 September 2022.

“I’m excited to Chair this new Joint Venture between Challenger and Apollo to bring innovative new lending solutions to Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Moffatt said. “I look forward to contributing to its success, using my experience in technology and financial services.”

Senior Challenger executive Chris Plater will be appointed CEO of the Joint Venture, effective 15 September 2022.

Mr Plater has held a number of key leadership roles since joining Challenger in 2003, including Deputy CEO and Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of the Life business. Given the importance of the Joint Venture to Challenger’s future growth ambitions, and Mr Plater’s extensive markets knowledge, he will remain a member of Challenger’s Leadership Team.

Challenger Managing Director and CEO, Mr Nick Hamilton welcomed the appointments.

“David has wide experience building and running businesses across financial services, telecommunications and infrastructure services. His knowledge of the market and understanding of finance and technology make him the ideal person to chair the Joint Venture,” Mr Hamilton said.

“Chris is an accomplished senior executive who is widely recognised for his investment expertise and leadership capabilities. Chris’ deep understanding of Challenger’s operating platform, as well
as his relationships and knowledge of lending markets, makes him the ideal candidate to lead this important strategic partnership.”

Apollo Partner and Head of Asia Pacific, Mr Matthew Michelini, said: “The appointments of David and Chris mark an important milestone in building our Joint Venture strategic partnership with Challenger. We believe the Joint Venture represents a significant opportunity in Australia and New Zealand to deliver specialist lending solutions to under-served segments, particularly in the SME market. In David and Chris we have strong, experienced executives with the right mix of knowledge and relationships to lead and grow the Joint Venture.”

The Joint Venture, initially announced in February 2022, is equally owned by Challenger and Apollo. It will provide a variety of financing solutions across a range of sectors, such as accounts receivable finance, invoice and trade finance, equipment finance, auto finance and agricultural funding.