Darren is results driven and passionate about the difference that professional advice and improved financial literacy can make to people’s lives, businesses and community. He is a published author in this area and is currently an Iress Advisely Platform Adviser Board contributor.

It was a natural fit for Darren to join Slipstream Group following the trade sale he engineered in 2023 for Financial Advice Matters Group, the successful Queensland financial planning firm he built and led for many years. The business was recognised for Excellence as an Advice Practice of the year within its licensee and also a regular finalist in IFA Excellence Awards for the work undertaken in improving financial literacy.

Darren has chosen Slipstream as the vehicle to share the benefit of his extensive experience to other practitioners and business owners.

Having devoted considerable attention to this throughout his career, Darren is a terrific exponent of personal growth and development, to which he attributes the success he achieved in leading and growing businesses. He is a natural business developer, a deep thinker and enjoys exploring the underlying rationale for business objectives and strategy.

Consistent with his experience in leading Financial Advice Matters, Darren relishes the complexity associated with achieving rapid business growth in an environment where there are lots of moving parts. Factors contributing to his success whilst in this environment come from focusing on what's important, setting clear targets, and engaging and communicating these to team members.

Because he is able to draw upon his own experience, Darren is definitely someone to consult with about issues such as corporatising and scaling the business, business succession, building effective referral relationships, creating effective teams and orchestrating one’s exit from a professional practice.

Darren has extensive experience as a senior executive supporting financial planning licensees. This enables Darren to appreciate the roles that such organisations play in the Australian financial planning landscape. It also means that he can accommodate their objectives in the coaching assignments and speaking engagements.

Darren is also a highly experienced presenter and facilitator, having naturally gravitated to such roles throughout his career. He is able to draw upon past roles and extensive industry connections to support and partner with advisers and the licensee community to deliver effective coaching solutions to practices of all shapes and sizes.

Darren’s pragmatic approach shines through when he is called upon to make a keynote presentation. He is very comfortable in front of a large group, demonstrating a happy knack of engaging the audience with anecdotes from his experience and travels.

Personally…

Away from work, Darren enjoys spending time with his family and exploring new destinations and cultures with his partner Sandra. He is always keen to drop a line fishing and get closer to nature and is a passionate follower of AFL team Hawthorn. Darren is an active mentor and a natural collaborator and connector.