FPA CEO to step down

Dante De Gori, the chief executive officer of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), has announced that he will step down from his position at the end of 2021 after nearly six years in the role and nearly 12 years with the professional body.

During his tenure as CEO, De Gori has led the FPA through one of the most difficult periods for the financial planning industry, including fronting as a witness at the Royal Commission.

De Gori also led the professional body through the introduction of the five-year strategic priorities of members, advocacy, and consumers, and he developed the FPA’s 10-point plan future of financial advice white paper in 2014, with nine of 10 points subsequently being delivered, including protecting the terms financial planner/adviser into law.

FPA chair Marisa Broome CFP said De Gori had made an exceptional contribution to the financial planning profession.

“From his original appointment to work as the FPA head of policy and government relations, then adding professional standards to his remit, through to his appointment as chief executive in March 2016, Dante has always put the profession of financial planning and the FPA members first,” Broome commented. “Dante will leave a lasting positive legacy at the FPA.”

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De Gori’s other achievements during his tenure as the organisation’s CEO include:

• Launching the FPA policy platform “Affordable Advice, Sustainable Profession” in 2020 to improve the profession’s future, including individual registration and separating product and advice;
• Spearheading the FPA’s commitment to advocating for tax deductibility of financial advice fees;
• Launching FPA Community to ensure members can communicate with each other in a safe and respectful environment;
• Introducing the FPA Learning Management System, allowing the FPA to offer FPA MyCPD, continuing with its CFP programme including remote exams, and supporting members returning to study;
• Launching the first FPA consumer education programme, including the FPA Match My Planner Service, linking consumers seeking advice with CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals;
• Launching Money and Life website to provide a direct link between the financial planning profession and the public;
• Representing the 190,000 CFPs globally as the chair of the Chief Executives Committee of the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB Ltd) for the past three years; and
• Leading the cooperation between the key associations that represent financial planners for one message many voices approach to advocacy, including the cooperation with the AFA on successfully obtaining the extension to the FASEA exam and degree equivalent requirements.

De Gori commented: “With the FPA’s five-year MAC strategy in place and the launch of the FPA Policy Platform Affordable Advice Sustainable Profession, the time is right for a new custodian to lead this amazing organisation.

“I will forever be grateful to everyone who has supported the FPA; it has been both an honour and privilege to have served in this role,” he added. “I would like to thank the FPA team for their dedication and passion in supporting our members and the profession, our chapters and committees, the board and our partners, and, of course, our FPA members who are the true champions of the advice profession and for whom I will always remain their biggest advocate.

“I would also like to acknowledge Marisa Broome for her support and also past chairs who have supported me, specifically to Julie Berry CFP, Matthew Rowe CFP, and Neil Kendall CFP.”