Richard Hockney, former Westpac general manager for South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, has been appointed to the role of general manager, corporate development, at the industry association, according to a statement from SPAA released today.

Mr Hockney – who spent 22 years with the NAB group before joining Westpac – said he was drawn to SPAA's message of professional standards.

“In my career, I have always believed that success comes from focusing on people, customers, leadership, teamwork and strategy, and I fervently believe these same criteria can be applied to a professional association such as SPAA,” Mr Hockney said.

“I have been enormously impressed by the professionalism of both the organisation and the members, and believe the architecture is in place for SPAA to meet the growing demands of the SMSF sector.”

SPAA has also announced the appointment of former Deloitte adviser Joshua Greers to the role of finance and corporate services manager.

“Both Richard and Joshua bring important skill sets and experiences to SPAA that I am convinced will prove invaluable to the organisation,” said SPAA chief executive Andrea Slattery.