After guiding the company through an ASX listing and a global pandemic, the exec prepares to step away
Latitude Financial Services CEO Ahmed Fahour has announced that he will step down as head of the non-bank lender.
Fahour, a former Australia Post managing director who has led the non-bank since 2018, will step down by August 2023. Since taking the reins as CEO, Fahour has shepherded Latitude through an ASX listing and a global pandemic. He said that after stepping down he planned to spend more time focusing on a portfolio of private investments.
“It’s definitely a retirement from Latitude; I have no job I’m going to,” Fahour told The Australian. “I don’t know what retirement means in the modern world, but I don’t think it means I’m going to pick up my golf clubs.”
Fahour’s announcement came on the heels of Latitude’s latest earnings report. The company’s cash net profit after tax fell 11% year over year to $93 million for the half year to June 30. Volumes rose 2% to $3.7 billion and delinquency rates were higher, The Australian reported.
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Statutory net profit was $30.6 million, a 66% fall compared to the same period in 2021. Latitude said it expected delinquencies to remain below historical levels due to the low unemployment rate.
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Latitude will launch a search to find a replacement for Fahour, The Australian reported.
Fahour’s impending departure comes after a tempestuous few months for Latitude. The non-bank saw a proposed $250 million acquisition of Humm’s consumer lending arm fall apart in June. There’s also been a push to transition its loans to a new platform.
Fahour told The Australian that stepping down was a “difficult decision,” but that now was “the right time to prepare for my departure next year and support the board as it plans for my succession as chief executive.”
“Getting Latitude ready for life as a public company and then realising that goal during a global pandemic is something I am particularly proud of,” he said. “While I remain focused on leading Latitude until I depart next year, I am looking forward to preparing for the next phase of my career and exploring the chance to increase my contribution to the community.”
