OFX

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #180, 4th October 2026

Weekly roundup reporting Australian startup funding rounds and government grants, a venture fund close, agreed acquisitions, an IPO pricing, a collapse, plus executive hires and AI policy developments.

OFX Appoints Former PayPal Australia Marketing Chief Liz Lord as CMO

OFX has hired ex-PayPal Australia marketing head Liz Lord as chief marketing officer as the payments firm broadens its offering for business customers into finance operations tools.

Investment notes: Athena AU$25m Series B

Square Peg explains its rationale for leading Athena's Series B, joined by Hostplus and Airtree, with analysis of the Australian mortgage market, the challenger lender's model, and its founding and senior team.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Crunchbase News

Chairman Leona Murphy announces retirement from Stone & Chalk Group

Leona Murphy retires as Stone & Chalk Group chair after six years, succeeded by board member Richard Kimber. Michael Bromley serves as the newly appointed CEO.

Volt Bank's Maria Loyez joins SendGold as Chief Customer Experience Advisor

SendGold has appointed Maria Loyez, formerly a marketing executive at Volt Bank, SocietyOne and OFX, as Chief Customer Experience Advisor ahead of its global launch.

Fintech veteran backs the young guns

CryptoSpend announces Andrew Porter's minority investment and advisory board seat, profiling his payments career at World First and OFX, his Synthetix backing, and his upcoming FlashFX CEO role.