Southern Cross builds senior team

The lender has announced a new-look management team to run the business alongside Carr, a former executive at consumer goods company Newell Brands.

Cameron Harper, new head of sales and marketing, was most recently head of growth for content and advertising company BrandWorld. According to his LinkedIn profile, Harper has also worked for The Radio Network, the company behind Newstalk ZB.

Ed Lund joins Southern Cross as head of credit and compliance. He has formerly worked for ASB Bank. Lund is tasked with looking after Southern Cross's regulatory requirements, and to find a "balance between maximisation of outcomes against investor safety and continuously evolving regulatory requirements".

Rhys Trusler, previously New Zealand business leader for Wells Fargo Distribution Finance, joins Southern Cross as head of special projects. 

Trusler is responsible for analysing investment models and finding opportunities for new products. 

Trusler adds: “Having worked for large, heavily structured organisations I wanted to join an organisation that has a strong family-like culture, particularly one where the leadership is willing to listen and consider new ideas."

Carr said Southern Cross was well-placed to both fill the gap in bridging finance and provide investment opportunities.

“In particular, the majority of our investors are retired or near retirement age and need regular, healthy interest rate returns. It is a demographic that is growing and, since we don’t expect the mainstream low-yield environment to shift anytime soon, we believe the outlook is good," Carr added.