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I have known Marianne Perkovic for close to 15 years, and we actually have a lot in common. We’re the same age, we’re both mums, and we both share the same Eastern European heritage through our parents. She is easy to like, and even easier to admire.
Marianne has made it in the world of big business. You don’t get much bigger than the banks, and she is now running private bank for one of the big four banks in Australia.
She is the epitome of professional, yet there is a softer, more down-to-earth side of her that sees her run miles for charity, always ask about your family (and remember the details), and go out of her way to support a good cause.
The first time I worked with Marianne was for the very first No More Practice show we produced. I went to her with the concept of reality TV for financial advisers, to show them first-hand how to grow and add value to their practices by following advisers who were on the same journey, and to see if it was something she wanted to get involved with.
Her answer, after some tough questions, was yes.
Was it risky to say yes? Sure, nobody really likes to be first at any new project, and for all she knew, it could have been an embarrassing failure. However, she took a leap of faith, because she believed in the project, and believed that the advice industry needed new tools and resources to move forward.
I have always appreciated Marianne for doing so. Without people like her supporting us, we would never have gotten No More Practice off the ground.
Fast forward to today and Marianne has been in more than one No More Practice series, and was instrumental in Commonwealth Bank’s advice channels supporting our CPD education initiative for their wealth networks, for the same reason of believing advisers deserve the best tools possible to succeed.
In addition to her impressive track record at work, Marianne has been groundbreaking in her willingness to talk about the pressures of working mothers, and her husband being a stay-at-home dad.
In an article with the Australian Financial Review Marianne talked about her husband being better suited to staying home that she was, and how at times she knew this must be lonely, and still a bit of a social taboo to talk about. Unless women like Marianne are willing to have these discussions publicly, nothing is going to change for working women or their partners.
I deeply admire her sense of openness and pride in the way her family operates and the role of women in the workplace.
As you will see from watching our conversation with Marianne, Mark Rantall also is admiring of the way Marianne operates both professionally and privately. Quite frankly, it’s hard not to be.
And the good news is – she is just getting started.
To watch Marianne discuss how accessing financial advice helped her to become a better leader click here, and to find out why she always calls out bad behaviour click here.
The opinions expressed in this content are those of the author shown, and do not necessarily represent those of No More Practice or its related entities. All content is intended for a professional financial adviser audience only and does not constitute financial advice. To view our full terms and conditions, click here.
