John Pollaers has been appointed the next independent chairman of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), replacing Helen Coonan as she completes her term as the inaugural chair.

Professor Pollaers is chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology, Chairman of the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council and Chairman and founder of Leef Independent Living Solutions.

He was formerly CEO of Pacific Brands and Fosters, president of Diageo, a member of the Industry 4.0 Taskforce and held the role of chairman at both the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce and the Australian Industry and Skills Committee.

Professor Pollaers was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the manufacturing sector, education and business.

“John is an experienced chair and leader whose career is characterised by a commitment to strong governance and visionary strategic leadership,” Ms Coonan said.

“He always created strong, effective relationships between industry, government and consumer bodies in all sectors he has been involved in. John’s independence and experience will be instrumental in driving AFCA’s vision to be a world-class ombudsman service into the future.”

Three years ago, AFCA took over from multiple predecessor bodies to provide a single dispute resolution service with expanded jurisdiction and the capacity to award significantly increased levels of financial compensation to consumers and small business.

During Ms Coonan’s tenure, AFCA received more than 188,000 disputes and paid more than $522 million in compensation.