Our People

Joel Plotnek

Managing Director

Joel Plotnek has been with Churches of Christ in a number of roles since 1997.   Joel has a long track record of commercial and finance experience, working in public accounting and not-for-profits.

He has represented CCVT (Churches of Christ Vic-Tas) on the University of Divinity Council as well as a number of other boards and committees.  Joel is married with two teenage girls to keep him busy along with a number of business interests and creative projects on the go.

We caught up with Joel to ask a few questions about his role heading up CCFS.

What are your priorities for CCFS?

I’m entrepreneurial and wired for growth and development.  My passion is to see church growth through mission and community engagement.  So the priorities for CCFS are around finding creative ways to fund and finance this and developing savvy and innovative business models that can interface with church mission.

What are the challenges you see ahead for funding church mission?

One of the critical challenges for the church has always been about contextualising mission into the surrounding community.   CCFS is has been set up to help churches discover their mission and support it by giving practical support through funding and financing of church property and development.

Frank Morabito

CRO

Frank currently holds the role of Chief Risk Officer and was previously the Properties Corporation Finance Director.

He is a member of Australian CPAs and the Governance Institute and during his career has held many roles in finance and accounting, including financial analyst, advisor for the Victorian Government, chartered accounting and has served on various not-for-profit boards. Frank has also worked as a Team Leader with the Salvation Army’s homeless mens’ shelter in the Melbourne CBD.

Frank is passionate about ethics and moral philosophy, currently completing a Masters in Applied Ethics at Melbourne University. He was a founding member of the Clinical Ethics Committee of the Royal Children’s Hospital, a role he has faithfully held for 10 years.

Frank attends Williamstown Church of Christ where he serves as Chair and is a self-confessed Bob Dylan and Beatles tragic and to unwind, he loves heading to the mountains with his favourite dirt bike.

Mara Novembre

Senior Customer Service Advisor

Mara commenced work with CCFS in August 2015 and currently holds the position Senior Customer Services Advisor. She is a leading part of customer team, assisting our churches and other investors with their daily financial needs.

Mara studied Accounting at R.M.I.T and has worked as an administrator for a nursing home and at the National Australia Bank, in their business banking and property finance departments.

Mara is happily married and has three teenage children. Mara’s weekends are consumed with ferrying her children to martial arts and netball.

For some down time, the family enjoy taking long drives through the mountains of Kinglake in their convertible ‘65 Mustang and walking their dog Shelby.

Stuart Campbell

National Relationship Manager

Stuart has been working with Prop Corp/CCFS since 2010, initially as a consultant, then more recently as part of the Executive team. He has worked in a range of management positions with NAB and as a business coach and consultant since 2001 when he left the NAB to spend more time with his young family.

As a consultant Stuart has worked with many different organisations including his most recent engagement as CFO with a well known IT company. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business (Banking & Finance), a Master of Marketing, both at Monash and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance. Additionally, Stuart is a Fellow of FinSIA (Financial Services Institute of Australasia) and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Stuart is currently a director of Flinders Christian Community College and has been a board member of several other charities and not for profits including Bayside Church, Bayside Community Care and ACS Financial.

Stuart is married with 3 wonderful adult children. He enjoys cycling, camping and is passionate about empowering people to achieve their full potential.

Kristine Gardiner

Customer Service Adviser

Kristine commenced work with CCFS in December 2022 and holds the position Customer Service Advisor. She previously worked as an administrator for Flinders Christian Community College and prior to that at the National Australia Bank, in retail banking.

Kristine has three adult children, two dogs and a cat. She loves to garden and go on long walks.

Pieter Brink

State Relationship Manager WA

Pieter was appointed to the role of State Relationship Manager – WA following his service as the CEO of BEMF, a role he held since 2015. The fund experienced significant growth during his time as CEO.

Pieter was born in South Africa and is married to Santie, a teacher at a Christian school in suburban Perth. Pieter, Santie and has three children immigrated to Australia in 2007, initially to Kalgoorlie working with the ANZ and NAB. In 2014 the family moved to Perth when Pieter commenced work with BEMF. During his career he has worked as an economist, in industrial development and commercial banking.

Pieter has a passion for motor bikes, loves going bush with his family and attends Truenorth Church.

Karen Wilson

Branch Operations Supervisor

Karen began working with Churches of Christ in 2013 and thinks it’s a great organisation to work for. Of course we’d agree!

Karen holds the position of Branch Operations Supervisor and is responsible for the smooth operations of the payments and core banking platforms and is an essential and valuable member of the team.

Karen is happily married and a mother to three adult children. Karen and her husband Rob are passionate lawn bowlers. Karen is a member of the Dandenong Club playing in two competitions. She also has a habit of winning, being the woman’s club champion in 2019.

In addition to lawn bowls Karen loves to travel. She has spent 6 months travelling to the top of Australia and around the east coast with plans for a shorter west coast trip. We’re happy that it’s shorter because we can’t afford to let her out of the office for too long!

Gillian Rowe

State Co-Ordinator - SA/NT

Gillian Rowe joined Churches of Christ in SA & NT Incorporated in July 2016 in the new role of “Finance and Resourcing Support Officer”. A committed Christian and with strong experience in the Disability Services sector. Gillian comes from a family of two sons, two dogs and a cat and lives in the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, watching her sons play sport, listening to podcasts, reading and learning snippets of history.