Bibby Financial Services appoints new Australia and New Zealand boss


Global debt finance specialist Bibby Financial Services has appointed Mark Cleaver as the company's managing director for Australia and New Zealand.
Cleaver, who has worked for Bibby for the past 16 years and is currently the regional chief executive of the company's European operations, will relocate to Australia in April.
Bibby chief executive for Asia Pacific, Ian Watson, said Cleaver's track record of growing the business in Europe made him ideally suited to the new role.
In his role in Europe, Cleaver transformed a three-market region into a seven-market region, "significantly expanding the business in Central and Eastern Europe", said Watson.
Before the regional chief executive role, Cleaver held various leadership positions at Bibby including group managing director of the company's UK-based businesses.
"Bibby's Australian business has grown at an average rate of 20 per cent per annum in recent years, and we anticipate further growth of 20 per cent in 2013 due to increasing awareness of debtor finance," Watson said.
Cleaver noted that the Australian and New Zealand arm of Bibby was one of the biggest among the 25 businesses in the group.
"Despite its impressive scale, there remains considerable opportunity for further growth in the market and I look forward to steering the business on the next stage of its journey," said Cleaver.
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