Presenter Profiles

Dante De Gori

Dante De Gori is responsible for driving the proactive policy and government relations strategy for the FPA, leveraging his extensive experience in supporting financial planners in technical strategies and legislative analysis. 

Since joining the FPA in 2010, Dante has participated in more than 12 Government Committees and Consultation Groups, led the formulation of FPA policy on over 50 submissions to Government and ASIC, and been instrumental in the FPA’s consultation with Treasury on the FoFA reforms.

Prior to joining the FPA, Dante was a Technical Manager at ClearView Financial Management providing technical support to financial planners in the areas of taxation, superannuation, estate planning, life insurance and social security legislation.  Dante has also worked at Zurich Financial Services and Asteron, providing technical strategies and legislative analysis to financial planners. 

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John Bacon

John Bacon is the General Manager, Professional Standards at the FPA and is responsible for developing, maintaining and enforcing the FPA Code of Professional Practice and other FPA professional requirements. He was a member of the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) Code Committee which drafted the first global Code of Ethics and Practice Standards for FPSB affiliates, and is a proud architect of the FPA’s Code of Professional Practice. John holds combined honours degrees in law and political philosophy from Macquarie University and his professional background as a lawyer extends over 20 years

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Justin Hooper

Over the past 28 years, Justin has advised over 2000 clients most of whom are financially successful. Through his non-judgmental, caring approach, he has been able to make a significant difference to most regardless of their situation. He has a unique ability to combine a deep emotional resonance with a rigorous planning approach and has a special ability to help clients gain insights they had never before contemplated. His view is that “there’s no point in delving deeply into what’s important unless you give yourself the greatest probability of achieving it”.

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Michael Arnold

Michael has been a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria since 1966 and was admitted as an Attorney, Solicitor and Proctor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1976. He was a foundation partner of Melbourne firm Arnold Thomas & Becker (Solicitors) in 1968.

Michael was a Member of the Victorian Parliament between 1982 and 1988 and a Judge of the Victorian Accident Compensation Tribunal between 1990 and 1992.

He was the National Referee, Alternate Panel Chair and Adjudicator with the Insurance Ombudsman Service between June 1996 and November 2003. He then was National Panel Chair at the Financial Industry Complaints Service from November 2003 to June 2008. He has been National Panel Chair and Ombudsman at FOS since July 2008.

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Neil Kendall

Achievements
Neil qualified in the 2006, 2008 and 2010 Masterclass, an assessment that recognises the Top 50 financial planners in the country. Neil was the “Money Management Financial Planner of the Year in 2006" and the runner up in 2009. He has clients in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth; and has developed a specialist niche providing advice to high net worth clients, and other financial planning industry professionals, including other financial planners.  Neil is a regular industry speaker on improving the quality of financial advice and has spoken throughout Australia and overseas on this topic.

Industry Background
Neil is a practitioner member of the Financial Planning Association. Neil joined the practice in 2002 after spending many years with major financial institutions. Neil was General Manager with the National Australia Bank running one of their financial planning divisions with over 120 advisers. Prior to his departure he was instrumental in building a holistic financial planning business and driving a client focus into the culture. Neil also spent seven years with Bankers Trust and resigned from his position of Vice President to join MLC in 1999.

Qualifications
Academically, Neil has achieved recognition in completing the Diploma of Financial Planning; the industry recognised standard, and a Bachelors Degree in Business Management. Neil has also achieved the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) certification, a standard recognised internationally.

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Paul Barsby

Paul Barsby is responsible for developing the relationship that the FPA has with Professional Partners, who are Australian Financial Services Licensees. Paul works closely with the Professional Partners in promoting Professionalism, the FPA’s Code of Professional Practice, the CFP designation and the benefits of joining the FPA community.

Paul joined the FPA in 2011, following 25 years financial services experience in the UK and Australia.  During this time, Paul has worked within funds management, financial planning, sales and marketing roles for AXA, Deutsche Asset Management, Westpac and Prudential. 

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