Insignia Financial has looked internally to appoint its new chief technology officer (CTO), following the announcement of its new operating model last July.
The wealth management firm confirmed that Damien O’Donnell had commenced in the CTO position on 6 January 2025.
Having unveiled its new operating model and executive team in July 2024, Insignia stated at the time that it was in the process of recruiting a CTO, which would be held temporarily by Frank Lombardo until an appointment was made.
O’Donnell has spent 17 years at Insignia and recently served as its general manager of wrap technology and operations, where he oversaw the construction of its proprietary technology and operational teams supporting Insignia’s wrap business.
Previous roles he held at the company include general manager of strategy and data, general manager of platform technology and architecture, and head of business systems and delivery.
Scott Hartley, Insignia chief executive, remarked: “I’m excited to welcome Damien to the Insignia Financial executive team in his first executive role.
“With more than 25 years’ experience within IT and financial services, including 17 years with Insignia Financial (formerly IOOF), Damien brings to this role a deep understanding of the technology and financial services industries and will be an integral part of the execution of our FY2030 strategy.”
During its Investor Day on 13 November, Insignia announced it will be looking to maximise the benefits of scale and drive efficiency to achieve around $200 million per annum net cost savings by FY30.
This also includes increasing its revenue per adviser from $0.8 million currently to $1–1.1 million in FY28 and to $1.1–1.3 million in FY30, a 62 per cent increase.
Hartley continued: “Damien’s appointment is a testament to the calibre of people we have within Insignia Financial, and our commitment to fostering and developing leaders across the business to support our ambition to be the leading and most efficient wealth management company by 2030.”
The CEO also thanked Lombardo for acting in the CTO position and his contribution to the company for nearly a decade, having joined the company back in 2015 as general manager for transformation.
“While acting in the role over the last six months, he’s overseen the completion of our NAB separation and supported the transition to our new operating model.”
Following O’Donnell’s appointment, the full executive team at Insignia now consists of:
- Scott Hartley, CEO of Insignia Financial
- Adrianna Bisogni, group company secretary
- David Chalmers, chief financial officer
- Lawrence Hastings, chief legal officer
- Renee Howie, chief customer officer
- Liz McCarthy, CEO of MLC Expand
- Garry Mulcahy, CEO of MLC Asset Management
- Damien O’Donnell, chief technology officer
- Anvij Saxena, chief risk officer
- Jason Sommer, chief operating officer
- Mel Walls, chief people officer
- Dave Woodall, CEO of superannuation
AMP also internally appointed its CTO last November, with Kavita Mistry taking up the role following the resignation of Felicia Trewin. Mistry first joined the financial services firm in January 2023 as director of technology across its wealth, digital and enterprise platforms.
