Gregory Kevin O'Neill OAM is an Australian businessman and the current President, CEO and 20% owner of La Trobe Financial, one of Australia's leading diversified wealth managers. In 2011, O'Neill was nominated by Rainmaker Group as the 2011 Wealth Management Executive of the year. In 2016, O'Neill was the winner of the Financial Services CEO of the Year from CEO Magazine Australia. O'Neill has worked at La Trobe Financial since 1985 and assumed the position of CEO after a twelve-year apprenticeship in May 1997, succeeding his father Mr Ray O'Neill who founded the company in 1952.
Early life, education and personal life
Greg O'Neill OAM, born the youngest of five children, grew up in the Gippsland, Victoria. Siblings include Dr D'arne O'Neill, Carolyn Margaret Fickler B.Nursing, Prof Phillip Raymond O'Neill BA Hons, M.A., PhD and Margot Therese O'NeillBA Hons, Fellowship , retired Investigative Journalist: Lateline ABC, dual Walkley Award Winner, UN Media Peace Award, published author of . O’Neill completed a Bachelor of Economics & Econometrics at Monash University, and in 2000 completed Securities Institute of Australia Certificate of "Financial Planning – Principles & Practice". O’Neill married Catherine Allen BBus. in 1992; they have five children: Grace BA., Gina BEd., Brigitte BSc., Robert and Lucy.
Professional career
Following graduation in 1983 O'Neill joined the US based IT Company NCR Limited as an Account Manager. Thereafter he was recruited by Security Permanent Building Society in Melbourne then owned by Advance Bank of Australia Limited, before joining La Trobe Financial in 1985 as company secretary. In 1990 he was appointed, by the then Attorney General Jan Wade, to a government Advisory Committee on housing policy. During the period 1992 – 2002 O’Neill was a member of the International Committee of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. 1998 saw O’Neill placed on the Finance experts Register at the Australian Institute of Banking and Finance. Chairman of the Melbourne TigersBasketball Club Limited when the club appeared in all four finals of the Australian National Basketball League winning two National Championships. And in 2011 he was nominated as the 2011 Wealth Management Executive of the Year by Rainmaker. 2012 Nominated by Ernst & Young as Australian Entrepreneur of the Year, and contributor to Deloitte Access Economics Paper Domestic Fixed Income Assets in Australia. 2013, 2014 & 2015 recognised by Financial Standard as one of the 50 most influential social media users in finance #gregceo in the FSPOWER50 rankings. 2015 & 2016 London Award recipient for Best Investment Management Company. 2016 CEO of the Year by CEO Magazine Australia. 2017 Inaugural and current Chairman of the Australian Basketballers' Association. 2019 The Medal of Order of Australia for services to business and services to basketball.
Present
Since joining La Trobe Financial, Greg has overseen a modernisation and corporatisation of the business into one of Australia's most respected independent wealth management brands. O'Neill was appointed CEO on 31 May 1997. O'Neill is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Senior Fellow of Financial Services Institute of Australia. La Trobe Financial, established 1952, is a diversified wealth manager having managed over $22.76 billion of investment mandates, and expanding into the International market after opening offices in Shanghai in 2008 and Hong Kong in 2017. The company is recognised as a leading innovator in both product and service offerings in the wealth and credit markets in Australia. For the last ten consecutive years, La Trobe Financial has been voted Australia's Best Mortgage Fund by Money magazine, and recently Awarded two international Funds Management Awards from IAIR in Hong Kong, and picked up the international award in London for Best Investment Management Company Australia for the past five years.