Board of
Directors
Directors
John Nantes
Mr Nantes has over 24 years’ experience in Financial Services, Private Equity, Tax and Accounting, Corporate Finance, Capital Markets, and M&A. He is also the Executive Chairman of Cashwerkz, a leading fintech in Australia, as well as a non-executive director for Thinxtra, a public non-listed IOT technology company and advises Adcock Private Equity in a CEO capacity. Mr Nantes has a strong reputation for building growth businesses especially those reliant on technology and innovation, having previously also held roles such as; Group Head of WHK/Crowe Horwath Wealth Management, CEO Prescott Securities, and Executive roles at St George Bank/ Bank SA and advisory and leadership advisory roles at Colonial State Bank.
Craig Swanger
Mr Swanger has extensive board experience, including Macquarie Bank’s major funds management entity, Macquarie Investment Management Limited and a total of 15 internal and external boards since 2003. Since Macquarie, Mr Swanger has invested in and advised a large portfolio of technology companies across finance, health and entertainment. More specifically in areas related to Wisr, Mr Swanger was Chairman of 5 of the largest debt listed investment companies in Australia and New Zealand issued over the past decade, and more recently worked with Australia’s largest corporate bond and securitisation distribution specialists and is on the Investment Committee for two investors in SME financing in Australia and Asia.
Cathryn Lyall
Ms Lyall is a highly experienced senior executive, board member and strategic adviser with over 34 years of experience across finance, banking, government and fintech in Australia and the United Kingdom. She is a Partner at Seed Space Venture Capital, the Co-Founder of not-for-profit Seed Money Australia and of London-based SEIS and EIS discretionary fund, Seismic Foundry. Ms Lyall’s extensive experience in the Australian and British Financial Services sectors includes roles at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange. Most notably, Non-Executive Director Deutsche Bank UK Bank, sitting on the Bank’s Board Risk Committee (BRC), the Listed Derivatives Risk and Compliance Committee (LDRCC), and the Nomination Committee as Chair. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including Finalist Qantas Australian Woman of the Year in the UK, Ms Lyall is also an Independent Non-Executive Director FinTech Australia, Lead Independent Non-Executive Director Hutly, Non-Executive Director Boulevard Global, Non-Executive Director The Index Mortgage Company, Non-Executive Director the Australian National University Foundation UK and Advisory Board Member of Financy.
Matt Brown
Mr Brown is a highly experienced senior executive, board member, adviser and investor with over 20 years of experience across investment banking and technology in Australia and the United States. He is the Founder and Managing Director of independent investment and corporate advisory firm, Alluvion Capital. Prior to Alluvion Capital, Mr Brown was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of LiveTiles Limited (a global enterprise SaaS business). Prior to LiveTiles, Mr Brown was a Managing Director at Macquarie Capital, where he spent 12 years in Sydney and New York with a focus on M&A, capital markets and principal investing. Mr Brown is also a non-executive director of EncompaaS Software Limited, Thinxtra Limited and Upwire Pty Ltd and an active investor in early-stage, high-growth technology businesses.
Kate Whitney
Ms Whitney is a highly experienced senior executive with over 24 years of experience in Australian Consumer Law, accelerating growth, product expansion and driving customer acquisition through data and analytics across advertising, subscription television, FMCG, financial services, telecommunication, luxury and retail. She is the Chief Marketing and Growth Officer for the innovative foodservice business, Marley Spoon Australia. Before Marley Spoon Australia, Ms Whitney drove Pernod Ricard’s global digital transformation program in Australia and at the company’s US headquarters in New York. She spent two-and-a-half years as the Director of Digital. Between 2011 and 2014, Ms Whitney was the General Manager of Marketing at David Jones, and before that, she spent five years as Head of Brand and Retail Marketing at Foxtel. Her key achievements include driving $250M in revenue growth for David Jones via the Amex Storecard deal and delivering the highest ever customer growth from Foxtel’s 360-degree acquisition strategy. At Marley Spoon Australia, Ms Whitney joined the team at the start of the pandemic and saw the company’s revenue double in 2020 and subsequently grew customer and company growth again by over 25% in 2021.