New Governance role at Newpark

Garth Clarricoats has been made chair of the board of Newpark Home Loans, which is part of Newpark Financial Services and is wholly owned by SHARE.

He had his first board meeting on Wednesday.

His position is a new role and was created along with other changes within the SHARE group.

This included the departure of its chief executive of five years, Tony Dench.

A search for his replacement is underway.

Clarricoats is a mortgage, financial and insurance adviser and has been in the business for 30 years.

He has been on the board of SHARE and has also had governance roles in the not-for-profit sector.

He is taking up his new role at a time when the home loans industry is stressed by rising interest rates, high inflation and economic insecurity.

But Clarricoats is undeterred, saying there are other matters to think about.

“It is not just about the current economic issues,” he said.

“It is about positioning yourself for growth in the new regulatory environment…..for us it is very important that we get our processes right, our governance right, and our people right.”

Meanwhile the appointment process for a replacement for Dench is still going on.

SHARE is a network of mortgage, insurance, investment and KiwiSaver professionals which is owned by its adviser shareholders.

It is particularly active in the upper North Island but also has offices in major North Island population centres and four places in the South Island.