Executive leadership

Adam Vise is the Acting CEO of the Wealth & Capital Markets platform at Australian Unity, where he leads strategic growth across financial services, social infrastructure, and investment management.

At Australian Unity, Adam has led the Treasury, Strategy, and Impact teams, driving scalable impact and commercial returns by systematically measuring wellbeing outcomes.

His work has helped embed purpose-driven decision-making across the organisation, including the development of the Community & Social Value (CSV) framework and the release of the company’s first Social Impact Report in 2021.

Under his leadership, Australian Unity secured a sustainability-linked loan from Westpac based solely on its social impact goals—an Australian first.

Adam’s deep expertise in impact investing and strategic finance has made him a leading voice in ESG innovation, particularly in measuring the “S” in ESG.

Adam also serves as Chair of Birchal, Australia’s most successful provider of equity crowd-sourced funding for entrepreneurs, and Chair of the Investment Committee of a $6 billion superannuation fund serving over 30,000 members.

Throughout his career, Adam has championed stakeholder-led innovation and strategic clarity, helping organisations align financial performance with meaningful social outcomes.

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As the Executive General Manager for Life at Australian Unity’s Wealth & Capital Markets business, Adnan is committed to ensuring the financial wellbeing of his clients, through the use of Australian Unity’s tax-efficient investment products that are designed to help people prepare for future expenses.

He leads Australian Unity’s $3.6 billion specialist wealth management arm that delivers a range of tax effective investment solutions including investment, education and funeral bonds. Australian Unity is the largest and one of the most experienced providers of investment bonds in Australia, servicing over 180,000 clients.

Prior to this role, Adnan was General Manager – Executive (Chief of Staff) reporting to the CEO of Australian Unity’s Wealth & Capital Markets business and before this was Australian Unity’s Head of Product. Adnan is the current President of the industry association Friendly Societies of Australia.

Adnan has a Bachelor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, major in Applied Mathematics from the University of Adelaide. 

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Kirstin Follows, Executive General Manager – Trustees,  Wealth & Capital Markets platform, Australian Unity

Kirstin joined Australian Unity in April 2018 as the GM of Legal, Risk and Quality - Independent and Assisted Living, and has been acting in the Executive General Manager role since July 2023, and was appointed to her current role of Executive General Manager officially in December 2023.

In this role Kirstin will continue to lead Australian Unity Trustees, our professional trustee services business, that provides estate administration, financial and legal administration, trust management and financial attorney services to Australian individuals and their families.

Kirstin has more than 20 years of experience in law and over 6 years at Australian Unity. 

Prior to her current role at Australian Unity, Kirstin was Senior Corporate Lawyer and Legal Counsel with Wesfarmers and IAG.

Kirstin has a Bachelor of Laws with Monash University and a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor Letters (Hons) with the University of Melbourne.

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Ryan joined Australian Unity in June 2011 as Head of Portfolio Management for the Group’s Real Estate Investment business, leading the financial analysis, treasury, and economic research functions for Australian Unity’s then $2.5 billion property and mortgage funds business. 

As the Executive General Manager, Social Infrastructure Ryan is responsible for the growth and management of Australian Unity’s investments across social infrastructure sectors that include Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), Childcare, Seniors Living (Retirement and Aged Care), and long-stay accommodation options such as Build-to-Rent (BTR), Social, Affordable, and Key Worker Housing. Core to this activity is an integrated approach to asset management, with a concerted effort to implement leading efficient building initiatives across the portfolio of assets managed by Australian Unity. 

Ryan is also responsible for the delivery of the $1.1 billion Herston Quarter Precinct redevelopment, having led Australian Unity’s successful bid for the project in 2017. The project has delivered a new public hospital under PPP framework, ~700beds of student accommodation, commercial and office space, as well as reinvigorated public spaces. Future development activity will include additional health facilities, long stay accommodation, and education facilities. 

Prior to joining Australian Unity, Ryan worked as an investment strategist in NAB’s global markets division, and as Head of Strategy at listed telecommunications firm M2. Ryan has also held roles with CBA and Macquarie Group.

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Joe has spent over 20 years in senior leadership roles, spanning global investment, superannuation and platform management.

He was formerly a member of Colonial First State Global Asset Management’s executive leadership team, and Managing Director for First State Investments in Asia, where he was responsible for strengthening and growing the firm’s extensive business located throughout the Asia region.

Prior to that, Joe was Head of Global Investment Solutions Group at CFSGAM, with responsibility for the strategic development of the firm’s portfolio of investment offers globally, contributing to the significant growth of the business over many years. He has extensive experience in building, developing and leading successful investment businesses that serve customers well, with a focus on responsible investment and stewardship.

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