Here at Christian Savings, it feels like the end of an era as James Palmer steps down as our Chief Executive, a post that he has held since 2015. In that time, he has ably led us through a series of massive transitions; as we have
· successfully entered a new and extraordinarily complex regulatory regime in which we are thriving;
· gone from being an incorporated society established by the Baptist Union to being a charitable company with fourteen shareholders representing eight denominations – creating an ecumenical financial entity that is a unique partnership in the world; and
· achieved previously unimagined growth in our capital, deposits and loans, to now being the fourth largest Non-Bank Deposit Taker in the country.
James’ visionary leadership has been first rate and we thank God for him and his efforts to advance God’s Kingdom in Aotearoa New Zealand through Christian Savings. James is following his passion to use both debt and equity finance to address our national affordable housing shortage. We wish him every success in that calling and feel confident that we have not heard the last of him or from him.
James is succeeded by Dan Mazengarb, who has been one of our lenders since 2017 and our Senior Lender since 2018. Lending has grown considerably in that time, in no small part due to his great charm and prodigious work ethic. Prior to 2017, Dan was a commercial lawyer. Dan’s passions are in descending order his wife Mel, his very photogenic young family, surfing and dreaming of surfing. He also has a passion for God’s kingdom coming, and the ways that finance can unlock the ministry dreams of God’s people. This role at Christian Savings is a dream come true for Dan and a real calling. Dan will work closely with our Chief Financial Officer Bruce Anderson, who will continue in the role. Bruce has been in that role since 2017 and previously held senior positions at ANZ Bank, UDC Finance and Esanda. We look forward to, under Dan’s leadership, continuing down the positive path that we have been on.
“I’m really excited to be taking on this new role. I have worked closely with James over the last four and a half years and am so proud of the work we’ve accomplished together. Helping churches and Christian charities get the finance they need has been my greatest satisfaction in my role as Lending Manager. To be continuing this work as CEO is a privilege and I look forward to building upon the strong foundation James has laid“
- Dan Mazengarb, CEO, Christian Savings
