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OUR TEAM
INTRODUCING THE FINMA TEAM
At FINMA we value authenticity and passion, which we feel is necessary to foster strong collaboration and respect. The whole FINMA team represents these values.
Between us we have over 165 years of professional experience and we are excited to share our experiences and expertise with our industry partners and the FINMA cohort.
RICHARD HOWES
Chair & Instructor
AMP, Harvard Business School
BCom(Hons), The University of Queensland
​​BEcon, The University of Queensland
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Richard is a co-founder and Chairman of FINMA. His career has spanned trading, investment, and financial services leadership roles across three-decades in Australia and the United States. Richard's most recent full-time executive role was as CEO of Challenger Limited, an ASX-listed leader in retirement income and funds management. Richard has now turned his attention to education and the nurturing of the next generation. Richard sits on the Council at UTS and is an industry professor at UQ. Richard also serves as the Managing Director of Hearts and Minds Investments which operates a $900m listed investment company and the leading financial markets conference on the Australian calendar.
PROF. STEPHEN GRAY
Academic Director & Instructor
PhD (Financial Economics), Stanford University
BCom(Hons) University Medal, LLB (Hons), The University of Queensland
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Prof. Stephen Gray is leading expert in the fields of valuation, cost of capital, financial strategy, and pricing issues. Stephen is currently the Chairman of Frontier Economics a leading Economics Consultancy, and the Malcolm Broomhead Chair in Finance at the University of Queensland. In 2016, Stephen created the award-winning BAFE program at UQ and is the current program director. Stephen’s teaching excellence has been recognised by the Prime Minister's Award for University Teacher of the Year in the Economics and Business.
MARK TANNER
CEO & Instructor
BCom(Hons) University Medal, The University of Queensland
​​BEcon, The University of Queensland
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Our CEO, Mark, brings a rich mix of experience from academia and industry. At the University of Queensland, Mark was a co-creator of the successful BAFE program and has been nationally recognised for his teaching excellence in this program. Mark has over two-decades of industry experience spanning management consulting, private equity, corporate finance, and private wealth management.
ROISIN RYAN
Instructor - Strategy
MSc, Stanford University
BCom(Hons), The University of Queensland
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Róisín is a corporate strategist with a wealth of experience across multiple domains and industries. Róisín, started her career in investment banking before moving into corporate strategy. She has held a number of senior executive posts including Head of Strategy, Head of Platform, CFO, COO and CEO roles. Róisín is also active in the education space as an executive education coach for the LEAD program at Stanford Business School, and is an Industry Fellow at Queensland University of Technology.
MICHEL MAMET
Director, Instructor
GMP, Harvard Business School
BCom(Hons), The University of Queensland
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Michel has had an illustrious career in investment banking, with over two decades of experience in Australia and USA working for bulge bracket global banks and boutiques. Most recently Michel was a managing director and partner with Flagstaff Partners in Melbourne. Over the past several years, Michel has also dedicated considerable time to the education sector as Adjunct Professor at UQ Business School, delivering curriculum within the BAFE program.
LINDA McCONNELL
Head of Talent & Operations
BA(Hons), Liverpool John Moores University
MTHEM(Adv), The University of Queensland
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Linda is a banking and finance recruitment expert. She has led and directed graduate and intern recruitment for global banks such as Nomura, Credit Suisse, Barclays, RBS and UBS in London, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Since relocating to Australia, Linda has been instrumental in the graduate outcomes of the BAFE program at The University of Queensland and has led Industry Partnerships for the UQ School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
ANDREW LYE
Advisory Council - Technology Advisor
BCom(Hons), The University of Queensland
AI Program, MIT Sloan School of Management
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Andrew is a commercial and technology leader, with a broad-based career spanning consulting and commercial leadership roles across some of the world's largest businesses, as well as fast growing start-ups. Andrew's strength is in driving innovation through the application of technology, including AI. Andrew brings his industry knowledge as a Lecturer at UQ Business School. Andrew runs our Technology functions at FINMA.
VAIBHAV BHANDARI
Tutor
BCom(Hons), The University of Queensland
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Vaib is currently completing a Bachelor of Advanced Finance and Economics, graduating in 2026. He has gained extensive experience across M&A and investment banking through internships at KPMG, Kidder Williams, Greenhill & Co., and UBS. For the past 1.5 years, Vaib has also been actively involved with FINMA, further developing his expertise in financial markets and corporate advisory. Upon graduation, he will be joining UBS as part of their Infrastructure Investment Banking team.
Navdha Gupta
Marketing & Events Coordinator
BCom, The University of Sydney
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Navdha is a recent graduate from the University of Sydney. She has experience in digital content, social media, and brand engagement, contributing to marketing campaigns, event promotion, and audience outreach. Navdha is passionate about creative storytelling and building meaningful connections across diverse communities.
