How the GFC helped Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's Amanda James determine her direction
How the GFC helped Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's Amanda James determine her direction
2002: SUPPORTS A TEAM
Amanda James kicked off her career as an administration officer in the mortgage help area of Adelaide Bank. “My day largely consisted of filing, sending out default letters, and attending courts to lodge legal documents.”
2003: LEARNS FROM THE FRONTLINE
James worked in the call centre department for three years answering customer queries before becoming a senior consultant in the retention team. She’s glad to have had the experience because it taught her to consider customers in every decision and gave her a detailed understanding of the bank’s products and services. “Working on the frontline gave me a really solid grounding for my future career progression.”
2007: MANAGES THOUSANDS
As a risk incident manager at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, James was responsible for leading operational risk events and making sure a quick and satisfactory resolution was provided. “Events I’ve managed ranged from around a hundred customers to tens of thousands.”
2009: DEVELOPS A PASSION FOR BROKING
Moving to the product department at the end of the GFC was an exciting time for James. As product manager, she looked after the pricing, features and documentation of third party products, and provided analysis on portfolio and growth opportunities. Her achievements include the launch of SmartSaver and SmartDoc Plus products, and numerous legislative-driven changes. “I really learned and developed my passion for the third party banking business during this time. I knew from then on that it was an area I wanted to continue my career in.”
2014: WORKS WITH EXECUTIVE TEAM
James joined the bank’s finance business partner team and was promoted to team leader in 2016. Her team provided advice and analysis on business performance to the group’s executive team. Her senior managerial role allowed her to work alongside leaders who were instrumental to her career growth. “This role was an excellent opportunity to learn first-hand how the executive and a high-functioning senior leadership team operate.”
2017: CO-LEADS THIRD PARTY
As head of third party banking support, James now co-leads the broker business with Darren Kasenhagen, head of third party distribution. They handle operations, onboarding broker support, value proposition, and strategy implementation. Her team is working to further digitise and streamline the bank’s offerings and increase its market presence. “I’m extremely proud of what we’ve been able to achieve as a third party banking business over the last year in both our broker and wholesale channels, with our new business volumes doubling over the last year.”
2018 and beyond IMPROVES THE EXPERIENCE
James will continue to focus on improving the partner and customer experience, particularly through the use of better technology without losing sight of what underpins the bank’s value proposition – great personal service combined with an affordable, relevant and fully featured product range. “I’m really excited about the opportunities for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in third party banking, both directly through brokers and with our wholesale partners.”
