Get to know our leadership team

Akiko is an internationally experienced Non-Executive Director and strategy adviser.  Akiko has more than 30 years’ experience as an executive in the financial services industry including with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Macquarie Bank and Westpac in Australia and MUFG Bank and Shinsei Bank in Japan, and as a strategy management consultant in the US and Australia.

Akiko has worked in both the private and the public sectors, in large corporations and start-ups and has extensive experience in strategy & business development, risk management and large-scale transformation, including digital transformation.

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Mario joined Pepper Money in 2011 and has held various roles including Managing Director, Australian Mortgages and Personal Loans,  and Director of Sales and Distribution, Australian Mortgages and Personal Loans. Mario was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Pepper Money in 2017 and is responsible for the strategy and oversight of Pepper Money’s businesses across Australia and New Zealand.

With over 20 years of extensive experience across banking and finance, Mario has held senior positions in ADI’s as well as the non-bank sector. Mario’s previous roles include State Manager, Mortgage Broker Distribution - Western Australia and South Australia for Westpac.  Mario is a known champion of mortgage broker education and growing the specialist lending category.

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Mike has over 36 years’ experience in the financial services industry, both in Australia and abroad.  Mike has extensive knowledge of comprehensive credit reporting regimes in Australia and international markets and was one of the original champions of comprehensive credit reporting in Australia.

Mike is currently a Non-Executive Director of Sezzle Inc., a NASDAQ listed buy-now-pay-later company, is the Chair of PF BidCo Pty Ltd (trading as Arteva Funding) and a Non-Executive Director of Tower Limited, a New Zealand and Pacific Islands insurer. Prior to joining the Pepper Money board, Mike held various executive positions including Group Managing Director of Equifax ANZ, Chief Risk Officer ANZ Bank (Australia Division), CEO at GE Money Australia & New Zealand, and CEO of OAMPS Insurance Brokers.

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Justine has over 25 years’ experience in driving commercial business success with her specialist legal experience on executive employment and related governance issues, in both private and public enterprises and on national and global levels. 

Prior to joining the Pepper Money board, Justine held various positions including a founding Partner of Seyfarth Shaw Australia and Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills. More recently Justine has consulted to businesses on workplace behaviour and culture issues.

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For over 35 years Rob held senior positions at investment and commercial banks, in Australia and the United Kingdom, in the areas of Fixed Income, Capital Markets, Infrastructure and Securitisation. 

Rob’s roles have included Head of DCM Origination BZW Australia (Barclays Banking Group), Head of Fixed Income Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Europe), member of Management Committee CBA (Europe), Head of Primary Markets CBA, and a leading member of CQ (CBA’s Institutional Bank Diversity and Culture Council).

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Des has more than 40 years’ global experience in Banking and Consumer Finance. 

He was appointed to the Pepper Global Group Board in March 2014 and he Chairs the Group Board Audit and Risk Committee. Des is currently Chair of Oodle Finance - a U.K. based auto finance business.  Des was Chair of Byblos Bank Europe and a board member of Byblos Bank in Lebanon until 2024.

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Vaibhav is Managing Director in the London office of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). Vaibhav joined KKR in 2021 as a member of the Credit team in London. Prior to joining KKR, Vaibhav helped establish and co-headed the specialty finance investing team at M&G Investments in London, where he specialized in investing in mortgage and consumer portfolio credit opportunities in Europe.

Previously, he was head of securitized products finance in EMEA at Credit Suisse. During his career, Vaibhav has also worked in New York and Tokyo. 

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