Inspiration drives our people.
So they inspire freedom in you.

Accounting & Structuring Team:

Our people blend accuracy and strategy.

Andrew Pearce

Adviser, Director, Head of Growth
Freedom = Diving

As a Business Adviser, Andrew challenges business owners to embrace change in the way in which they run their business to maximise efficiencies and to help grow their enterprises. This results in them taking back control and having the clarity and confidence to make sound business decisions, all of the time.

Andrew provides essential strategic advice for small business owners to help them reach their full business potential and maximise their business’s value, focusing on streamlining processes and driving net profits up. His skills and background as a small business owner ensures he is well placed to offer advice on every element within the business model.

Bachelor of Commerce

FCPA

Graduate Diploma of Financial

Planning

Cert. IV in Finance

Registered Tax Agent
Cert IV Leadership and Management
Accredited Mental Health First Aider

Bruno Palermo

Senior Adviser
Freedom = Football

Bruno says he is very proud that he was born and raised in Hobart. On the weekends he enjoys playing soccer, hitting the gym and enjoying the fun and busyness of raising his two daughters with his wife. He is a passionate Chair of Variety Tasmania. Variety – the Children’s Charity supports kids and families who are facing many challenges through sickness, disadvantage or living with additional needs.

Bruno invests in lasting relationships. By understanding his client’s needs and wants, he assists by getting to the core of the challenge or opportunity, for example, increasing profits for their business, advises on business strategies and the most tax effective way to structure businesses and personal affairs. Our team and valued clients are lucky to experience the warmth and genuine care that Bruno demonstrates with everyone he meets.

Bachelor of Commerce

Cert. in Public Practice

Diploma of Financial Planning

Cert. IV in Finance

Registered Tax Agent

Mark Guy

Adviser
Freedom = Playing golf

Since a very early age Mark has been heavily involved in sports. He has competed at a national level in sailing and running and represented Australia numerous times at the World Ironman Triathlon Championships in Hawaii. He was even ranked in the top 5 in Australia for Ironman Triathlon a few years in a row. Now well and truly retired from this grueling sports he continues to stay active riding his bike most days and playing golf.

Mark manages a small team and works closely with his client base to provide assistance with understanding their business performance and tax advice.

Bachelor of Education

Masters in Business Admin. (Professional Accounting)

Nathan McGrath

Senior Adviser
Freedom = Family beach days

Nathan grew up on a sheep and cattle farm, and has always enjoyed helping others and contributing to the community. Nathan always looks forward to a game of tennis, pottering in the garden, and spends most of his time with his wife and four daughters.

Nathan assists clients understanding their business performance and working with others within Collins SBA to help these clients achieve their goals. Nathan manages a team focussed on the preparation of financial statements, income tax returns and business activity statements.

Bachelor of Commerce

CPA

Registered Tax Agent

Shane Hill

Senior Adviser
Freedom = Long walks

Shane’s passion is building and renovation, the perfect interest for doing up his century-old farmhouse in the Huon Valley. When not spending time with family or taking long rambles with his wife, Shane is often rolling up his sleeves to plan and execute the next project.

Shane enjoys developing lasting relationships with clients to understand their needs and aspirations. Working with his team, he is dedicated to providing sound business and tax advice to meet their requirements.

Bachelor of Commerce
CPA
Registered Tax Agent

Garth Wilson-Roberts

Senior Accountant
Freedom = Family

Garth has a love of all things sport; from playing competitive table tennis, being an avid cricket follower, and during AFL season is a dedicated supporter of his beloved Adelaide Crows. Having recently relocated to South Australia, Garth enjoys spending his weekends exploring his new home state, and spending time with his wife and three gorgeous daughters.

Garth enjoys building long term relationships with his clients and assisting them to grow and develop their business. Garth assists his clients through the preparation of financial statements, tax returns, activity statements, budgets and cashflow modelling.

Bachelor of Commerce
CPA

Alice Bate

Adviser
Freedom = Adventure

Alice has had a life filled with adventure, travelling the world and working a variety of jobs – including working on a sheep station and milking cows! Acquiring globally recognised accounting certifications in the UK – as well as CPA Australia – she recently settled down in Tasmania, where she enjoys the wilderness by hiking, mountain biking, or camping.

She has a flair for organising teams, and enjoys solving tax issues and preparing financial statements. With a mind for problem solving, Alice is one step ahead in discovering and solving her client’s issues.

ACCA

CPA

AAT

Bachelor of Science

Cert. Leadership and Management (in progress)

Xero Certification (in progress)

Dionie Lippis

Senior Accountant

Freedom = Travel

Dionie was a reserved child during school and grew her confidence as a drama student and an 19 year old leaving home with friends for an language exchange program in Taiwan. Fast forward, and Dionie continually challenges her personal and professional growth by taking on something new. Currently she is working full-time, studying to be a CPA and baking olive bread in her spare time. Her family and friends are willing ‘test’ participants.

Dionie finds great satisfaction in the conversations she has with clients and combining the technical knowledge, analysis, and insights of our team to provide rationale to any challenges or opportunities clients may have. Dionie takes every opportunity to network, attend conferences, and share her professional experiences on leadership panels, specifically supporting emerging leaders and new grads in Tasmania.

Bachelor of Business
Bachelor of Economics
Diploma of Languages

CPA (in progress)

Keith de Mel

Graduate Accountant
Freedom = Running and Long Drives

Keith developed a passion for sports growing up in Sri Lanka. As a professional athlete he has participated in several international competitions and won medals including a Commonwealth Youth Games Gold Medal. He has retired from his sports career but continues to play rugby and he enjoys travelling with his wife.

Keith started his professional career as an Attorney at Law and has worked as a Legal Adviser to a top tier bank in Sri Lanka and Legal Counsel in a private practice. After Keith and his wife relocated to Australia, he continued his studies in accounting. Keith embodies the values of Collins SBA and we all admire his achievements, courage and discipline.

Cert IV – Finance Broking

Bachelor of Laws

Master of Laws

Master of Professional Accounting

Attorney at Law (Sri Lanka)

Jessica Roberts

Graduate Accountant
Freedom = Girl Guides

Jessica grew up and currently lives on a farm in the Southern Midlands of Tasmania. Professionally, she has successfully combined her love of the outdoors and business with diverse work placements on Bruny Island and the Commonwealth Bank. Jessica has provided peer mentor support to students on the Autism Spectrum to assist with time management and assessment planning. She is a Unit Leader with Girl Guides Tasmania, who have a mission to empowering girls and young women to discover their potential as leaders of their world.

Jessica developed a keen interest in business and accounting during her studies at University of Tasmania and she explains that the Australian Guide Promise plays a significant part in all that she undertakes. This includes promising to do her best, be true to herself and serving the Community. We are all grateful to have the opportunity to work with Jessica at Collins SBA.

Bachelor of Business (in progress)

Wealth & Cashflow Planning Team:
Our people blend guidance and security.

Jonathan Elliot

Adviser & Managing Director
Freedom = Cycling

Jonathan’s mad about sport. A relaxing weekend might include mountain bilking, surfing, hockey, or even snowboarding. Between all the action, he’s also a keen photographer.

Jonathan leads CollinsSBA and helps clients build, protect and manage their wealth—with sound investment, risk insurance and estate planning.

Bachelor of Commerce
Diploma of Financial Planning

CFP^TM

Nick Davey

Adviser
Freedom = Family

Nick values a healthy and active lifestyle, and spends as much time with his family as possible. He’s also involved in coaching and developing our future AFL stars on a part time basis via the AFL Tasmania State Academy.

Nick’s focus is on empowering his clients to make smart and informed decisions with their money, and make certain they achieve their desired lifestyle and goals for their future. His coaching, advice and guidance ensures his clients are in charge of cash flow, managing debt, and building and protecting wealth tax effectively. He specialises in providing advice to health and sporting professionals, and small business owners.

Diploma of Financial Planning

CFP^TM

David Woolford

Adviser
Freedom = Hockey

Sport, specifically hockey, took up a major part of David’s life for many years representing Tasmania from junior teams to the Tassie Tigers. He believes his success was fuelled by a competitive spirit to be the best he could be at whatever he did.

David works with clients to build, protect and manage their wealth through a broad range of financial strategies. He enjoys creating long-term relationships that ensure clients remain on-track to achieve their personal and financial goals.

CFP^TM

Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning

Bachelor of Economics

Additional accreditations in SMSF, Margin Lending & ASX Listed Products

Patrick Gardner

Adviser
Freedom = Exploration

Patrick enjoys playing futsal and experiencing Tasmania’s unique surroundings, but a university semester abroad in Sweden created a keen interest in exploring overseas destinations whenever he gets the chance.

Patrick works in collaboration with Advisers in the formulation of strategy, production, and creating a client journey free from ‘friction’. After 2 years working within the banking industry, Patrick’s aspiration to achieve great outcomes and enhance the financial wellbeing of others has been reaffirmed, as well as his unparalleled enthusiasm for finance.

Bachelor of Business (Finance)

Bachelor of Economics (Economic Foundations)

Diploma of Financial Planning

Philip Hall

Adviser
Freedom = Travel & beach time

Phil is an experienced planner who enjoys working with clients to meet their financial goals now and into the future. Having previously been a teacher, Phil educates and guides clients; enabling them to make informed decisions to build, protect and manage wealth through a broad range of financial strategies.

Phil grew up in Hobart, but has worked and travelled widely overseas and interstate prior to returning and settling in Tasmania. He commenced working in the Financial Services industry in 2002 and has completed an Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning, several specialist courses in ASX listed products, SMSF, margin lending and is a Certified Financial Planner®. Phil enjoys travel, getting outdoors and spending time at the beach with his family.

Bachelor of Education (Honours)

CFP^TM

Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning

Liam Catchpole

Adviser
Freedom = Surfing

Liam values hard work and dedication, although understands the importance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle. He can often be found surfing various breaks around the state, indulging in one of the many natural bush walks Tasmania has to offer, or simply watching the football with his mates on the weekend.

Liam works in collaboration with our advisers to formulate strategy and produce advice for our clients in line with their goals and objectives.

Bachelor of Business

Bachelor of Economics
Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning

Master of Financial Planning (in progress)

Zahnia Kentish

Senior Paraplanner
Freedom = Wilderness

After spending 4 years in retail management in Sydney and discovering her love of people management, through training and workplace culture to enable them to succeed, Zahnia moved to Hobart to embark on a new journey in the finance industry. When she doesn’t have her head in studies, you will find her hiking and exploring our wonderful island and inviting her friends, family and team members with her to share the experience and beauty Tasmania has to offer

After graduating from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor and a Master of Professional Accounting Zahnia successfully works in collaboration with the team of Advisers at Collins SBA with a goal of empowering our valued clients to achieve their goals and objectives to live their best life. Zahnia brings positive energy, creativity and kindness to everything she undertakes.

Bachelor of Contemporary Arts

Master of Professional Accounting

CPA

Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning (in progress)

Kristy Howard

Paraplanner
Freedom = Adventure

Kristy likes to keep active and fit! She particularly loves to travel interstate and overseas as much as possible and enjoys many adventures and bush walks with her young son, Hudson.

Kristy is thoughtful with a quiet confidence and innate friendliness, and goes above and beyond for clients. She provides support to our Financial Planning team to ensure that all recommendations provided to clients are implemented accurately, and on time.

Diploma of Financial Planning and Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning (in progress)

Business Coaching Team:
Our people blend experience and insight.

Michael Denehey

Business Coach
Freedom = Giving Gold

Michael loves the company of family, friends, work mates and clients. Weekends are spent with family — watching his boys play sport and enjoying life. He’s played table tennis and cricket at the top level locally, and these days spends plenty of time on a bike and at the gym. It’s no surprise then, that he’s found a way to combine both loves — with many afternoons and weekends spent coaching his son’s cricket team.

Michael works as a strategic planner and business coach for our clients, as well as growing our business in the SME advisory space.

Bachelor of Commerce

Rob Cameron

Business Coach
Freedom = Living life on my own terms

Rob is focused on doing meaningful work with people who value developing meaningful working relationships.

He works with clients to help them set a strategy that will help them get where they want to go by coaching & advising them on ways to ensure the strategy gets “done”.

Often initial client engagements turn into long term working relationships where Rob becomes a business owner’s trusted adviser and helps share some of the load of being in the business leadership position.

Bachelor of Engineering

Grad. Cert. in Change Management

Masters in Business Admin.

Client Services Team:
Our people blend service and excellence.

Janine Bryant

Client Services Coordinator, Reception

Freedom = Family

Janine greets clients as they walk through the door with a chat and a welcoming cuppa — we know our clients will always feel welcome. She supports the entire Collins SBA team and helps to keep things operating smoothly.

Family is important to Janine. With two children fast growing into adults — life is always on the go! Apart from family life, Janine enjoys the company of others, reading, walking and the odd sail with friends on the beautiful Derwent.

Fiona Duncan

Client Services Coordinator – Accounting

Freedom = Writing

In her spare time, Fiona writes short stories and plays, enjoys listening to live music, spends time with her husband and two dogs, and seeks out the sun at any opportunity.

Fiona’s career began in the cultural heritage arena, which involved travelling to regional communities to deliver training modules in museum administration and providing advocacy. Her administrative support to the accounting team — working with BAS and Tax lodgements, corporate compliance, super funds returns, and taking care of our clients – is invaluable.

Anna Mckay

Client Services Coordinator – Accounting

Freedom = Family time

Anna enjoys spending quality time with her family. She also enjoys reading, scrapbooking, relaxing and going away on trips whenever possible.

Anna provides administrative support to the Accounting team — working with BAS and Tax lodgements, corporate compliance, super fund returns. She loves taking care of our clients and supporting the accounting team.

Cert. IV in Frontline Management

Liezel Velmonte

Client Services Coordinator – Financial Planning

Freedom = Camping and Craft

Liz and her partner moved to Tasmania from the Philippines in 2017. She loves to take advantage of nature including any dog friendly hikes that are available, and grilling a steak while camping. Liz spends any spare time sewing, honing her skills with pottery and their dog named Lily.

Liz joined Collins SBA in 2022 with a keen focus and administration experience on managing the many details of a busy team. We love her warmth and passion for her work, life and study in Tasmania.

Diploma in Accounting

Bachelor of Business Administration Major in Marketing

Master of Professional Accounting

Lydia Toghill

Client Services Coordinator – Financial Planning

Freedom = Horse Riding

Lydia’s passion for horses and riding started at four (4) years of age. She readily takes on the challenge and compassion required to train inexperienced horses including her 15h stock horse, named Marnie. Lydia also balances her time away from work and study with a commitment to engaging in team sports such as soccer and touch football.

Lydia joined Collins SBA in 2021, after five (5) years in the Financial Industry, based in Queensland. She brings positivity to everything she undertakes and is passionate about ensuring our team members and clients have a remarkable experience.

Certificate IV in bookkeeping and accounting (in progress)

Daisy Bacon

Client Services Coordinator – Financial Planning
Freedom = Country roads & mountain view

Daisy loves to explore people and places. She has a deep interest in culture and society, specifically Indigenous studies and Sociology. Daisy uses some of her free time listening to live music and is learning to play the Banjo and Drums.

Daisy brings her innate curiosity and genuine interest in people and how we interact and connect, to Collins SBA everyday. A people first culture is highly valued among our own team and the valued clients we support and Daisy brings her authentic and creative self to everything she undertakes.

Certificate III Customer Engagement

Karly Vanson

Client Services Coordinator – Financial Planning
Freedom = Nature

Karly finds happiness and balance being surrounded by her family, friends, horses and dogs. She values healthy lifestyle choices and supports this by growing her own food and she loves cooking. A favourite past-time is the opportunity to take her time wandering through local markets, especially Farmers Markets. She supports the local ethos of farmers getting back to the way it used to be and selling their fruit vegetables and meat direct to the customer at local farmers markets.

Karly has experience across Agricultural sales and merchandise, contracts administration and clients services and she utilises her eye for detail supporting our Advisers to provide remarkable experiences for our valued clients. We all love the opportunity to work and learn from Karly.

Amanda Jones

Marketing Manager
Freedom = Experiences

Amanda returned home to family and friends in Tasmania after working in Sydney, NSW and New York, USA in marketing and media advertising roles. She loves to hike, watch the waves crash and connect with our community.

Amanda describes her working ethos as “people first” and she loves exploring the significant impact the work at Collins SBA has on the lives of entrepreneurs, business owners, their families and the wider community. Amanda has experience working across Healthcare, Technology, Management Consulting and Professional Services and is passionate about showcasing the stories and innovative ideas of the clients we support.

Mini MBA, Marketing

Enterprise Project Management, NYU Stern School of Business

Roni Black

Administration Manager
Freedom = Adventure

Roni enjoys getting creative in the kitchen and surprising friends and family with baked goods. She loves using her free time to unwind on the beach, or take road trips to explore our beautiful country.

Working within the Administration team, Roni draws on her many years of experience with Collins SBA to provide advice and focus on internal accounts. Amongst other things, she manages payroll, cash flow, suppliers, refunds and IAS and continues to enjoy the dynamic and forward thinking environment of Collins SBA.

Executive Team:
Our people blend operations and leadership.

Jo Willoughby

Independent Non-Executive Director & Chair

Freedom = Travel

Jo joined the Collins SBA Board of Directors on 10 February 2021 as Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Board.

Combining strategic, governance and commercial experience, Jo has a proven ability to deliver profitable and sustainable growth through customer-led innovation and change in fast-paced, complex, and highly regulated operating environments.

An experienced executive in business scale and up and transformation, Jo was the Chief Operating Officer and Head of Sales and Marketing at Infocus Wealth Management. Before that, Jo held various senior management roles at Australia Post spanning digital and business transformation, marketing and data commercialisation. Her last role at Australia Post was Head of Salesforce Transformation.

Jo currently serves as a Non-Executive Director at Winson Group, Non-Executive Director at Ceres Tag, and member of the Advisory Board at Priestley’s Gourmet Holdings.

Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors

Bachelor of Business

Jonathan Elliot

Adviser & Managing Director
Freedom = Cycling

Jonathan graduated with Bachelor of Commerce from UTas in 1998 and immediately started his career in financial planning as a Paraplanner. Jonathan was a founder of Collins SBA in 2003 and now leads the Collins SBA team as Managing Director, overseeing the strategic direction and integration of our people and processes to ensure we deliver on our purpose of empowering our client’s best financial lives. Jonathan also fulfils the roles of Responsible Manager for our Australian Financial Services License (SBA Advice) and Advises clients directly regarding personal wealth and business succession planning.

Jonathan uniquely holds professional designations as both a CFP^TM and CPA and was awarded the highly coveted IFA Practice Principal of the Year 2017 and has led the Collins SBA team to be Finalists in various awards. Jonathan also led Collins SBA’s world-first trial of a ‘5 Hour Day’ which gained international media attention for successfully implementing this unique working approach which rewards team members efforts to continually improve outcomes for clients.

Jonathan is married to Louise with daughter Esther and son Thomas. “Being a great dad and husband drives me to give my best in business because my family’s financial security depends on me. Mountain biking and cycling keeps me fit as well as a place for mindfulness which allows me to recharge and stay focused. ‘Walking the talk’ is how I empathically lead our Collins SBA team, as we empower people to understand the risks, opportunities and trade-offs of the decisions they make to achieve clarity, confidence and control so they can live their best financial life.

Bachelor of Commerce
Diploma of Financial Planning

CFP^TM

Claudia Parsons

Director, Head of Human Resources and Business Support
Freedom = Cooking

Claudia is part of the Collins SBA executive team who are responsible for ensuring the business is on track to deliver on its business strategies and goals.

Claudia has been involved in the financial services industry for more than twenty years and is is now charged with ensuring the Collins SBA team are engaged and motivated whilst also ensuring the business is functioning in a way that will allow for sustainable growth. Claudia also leads our accounting team and is responsible for ensuring the team have all the tools they need to deliver world-class accounting advice and service.

Bachelor of Economics
Masters of Professional Accounting
Diploma of Financial Planning
Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment