Hejaz Financial Services has expanded its senior leadership team as the firm inches closer to its goal to become the first licensed Islamic bank in Australia.
The new appointments include Andrew Oey as head of lending, Samrah Sahi as head of customer service and Michael Trist as general manager of sales and distribution.
Hejaz Financial Services founder and CEO Hakan Ozyon said the firm’s growth would enable it to service the 1.2 million Muslims in Australia, representing an estimated market of $192 billion.
“These people want to save, invest and buy houses just like other Aussies and our ambition is to be able to provide a full range of services to help them achieve their financial ambitions in a way that doesn’t compromise their beliefs,” he said.
“We enjoy a good relationship with APRA, who have been instrumental in guiding us towards our goal of becoming Australia’s first Islamic Bank.”
With a decade of banking experience at the Bank of Melbourne, Ultradata and Bankwest Melbourne, Mr Oey will be responsible for driving growth, developing new relationships and sourcing referral partners through the Hejaz Dealer Group network.
Ms Sahi has more than eight years of experience in the financial and insurance industries, including senior roles at Sunsuper, Innovation Group (Suncorp) and the Commonwealth Bank, and most recently led the migration and startup of the Melbourne Investor Centre for FNZ on behalf of Vanguard Australia.
Finally, Mr Trist joins with over 23 years of experience in financial services sales. He has formerly worked at Norwich Union/Aviva (Australia), Netwealth, Halifax Bank of Scotland (Australia), VicSuper, IOOF, NAB Wealth and AMP, and most recently served as executive vice-president at Dark Horse Capital.
“Hejaz is on a mission to ensure that Muslims don’t have to compromise their values in order to access best-in-class financial products,” said Hejaz Financial Services COO Muzzammil Dhedhy.
“Our success so far has been founded on the world-leading expertise of our team and the arrival of Andrew, Michael and Samrah will take us to a new level. Each brings exceptional experience and pedigree that will enable us to solidify our status as Australia’s premier Islamic bank.”
