In a statement, SuperAA confirmed it had appointed Stephen Doulgeridis as general manager for Victoria.
Mr Doulgeridis was the founder of Melbourne-based SMSF administrator JustSuper, which was acquired by SuperConcepts in 2015. Following the business’s acquisition, Mr Doulgeridis rose to the position of general manager business development at SuperConcepts, which he departed in April this year.
Commenting on the appointment, SuperAA chief executive Mike McHenry said securing an executive of Mr Doulgeridis’ experience would help bolster the firm’s presence in the market.
“Stephen is without doubt one of the most respected practitioners working in the SMSF industry today, and we look forward to actively contributing to, enhancing and growing the firm’s presence in the SMSF market,” Mr McHenry said.
Mr Doulgeridis said he was excited to be working for one of the leading administration and audit firms in the SMSF sector.
“SuperAA is the fastest growing SMSF business in Australia and it has achieved this via organic growth rather than via acquisition,” he said.
“The secret to its success is very simple: provide exceptional service at a competitive price point and guarantee your turnaround time. Add in the great culture that Mike has built both in Australia and Vietnam, and my decision to join SuperAA was obvious.”
Elsewhere, specialist SMSF law firm SUPERCentral has appointed a new special counsel for super.
The firm announced that Maria Siu, whose previous roles included senior compliance and technical positions with Standard Chartered Bank, APRA and Deutsche Bank, would join the firm to provide super research and advice across SUPERCentral and its sister firm Townsend Business and Corporate Lawyers.
Townsend principal and SUPERCentral managing director Peter Townsend said the firm was delighted to welcome Ms Siu on board.
“Maria will be an invaluable addition to our team with the remit of focusing on the promotion and delivery of our technical advice and compliance services at the highest level,” Mr Townsend said.
Does this announcement signal a shift in focus from organic to acquisition at SuperAA? Culture and service are generally the first casualties with such a strategy followed by staff. The lesson from the many failed attempts at consolidation is the industry needs to collaborate and work together as it’s still quite small. There is no room for ego’s or taking the eye off the compliance ball when there are Trustees with 600,000 SMSFs to assist.
Daniel, you try talking sense in to the short term bonus driven execs at Super Concepts! Good luck.
Daniel. This stuff happens. Mr Doulgeridis subtle message is jproduct differentiation. He is just highlighting significant differences between SuperAA & SuperConcepts.
Thats fine but lets remember Mr Doulgeridis was the beneficiary of the growth by acquisition strategy. He was a senior manager at SuperConcepts at a time when growth was via acquisition, and if the secret to success is so simple then why could he not implement or influence the other senior managers.
We are super excited that Stephen has decided to join our team. From what I can see Stephen is simply stating the facts about why he has joined SuperAA. There is absolutely no mention of his previous employer or any underhanded shots. What a great addition to the SuperAA family and we are looking forward to what the future holds.
Fact check – statement that “There is absolutely no mention of his previous employer” is False
Mr Doulgeridis was the founder of Melbourne-based SMSF administrator JustSuper, which was acquired by SuperConcepts in 2015. Following the business’s acquisition, Mr Doulgeridis rose to the position of general manager business development at SuperConcepts
Future was not so flash for Mr Doulgeridis. His LinkedIn profile shows he is no longer employed at SuperAA /Seamless.
No fanfare regarding his departure. These firms are all too happy to publicise arrivals but not so keen when they dont work out
Congratulations Mr Stevie D. I am sure you will bring a wealth of knowledge to be shared across the business.
I guess Super AA hoping to suck back in all the Just Super work with a nice buffer zone from Geelong to Melbourne to make non competes hard to argue.
A couple of low blows by Mr Doulgeridis to his former employer. Industry is too small for underhand shots at competitors.