Financial Planning Standards Board Names Lelané Bezuidenhout Chairperson of Chief Executives Committee
Bezuidenhout of South Africa will serve as CEC chairperson, Barak Atzili of Israel to become at-large member for 2022-23
NEW YORK – 10 November 2021 – Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB), the standards-setting body for the global financial planning profession and owner of the international CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification program outside the United States, has announced that Lelané Bezuidenhout, CFP, CEO of Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI), will serve as the next chairperson of FPSB’s Chief Executives Committee (CEC). In addition, Barak Atzili, CFP, chairman of Financial Planners Association in Israel (FPAI), will serve as an at-large member of the CEC. Both Bezuidenhout and Atzili will serve two-year terms in these leadership roles, effective 1 January 2022.
FPSB’s Chief Executives Committee, which is accountable to the FPSB Board of Directors, leads execution of FPSB Network priorities to establish and promote the global financial planning profession with CFP certification as its symbol of excellence. With Bezuidenhout at the helm, the Chief Executives Committee will coordinate efforts among the chief executives of FPSB’s network of organizations in the coming years to: grow the number of CFP professionals around the world, including supporting career and learning paths for new entrants to the financial planning profession; future-proof global standards for financial planning and CFP certification requirements, relying on data from FPSB’s recent global job analysis and future of practice research; enhance and promote the value proposition of financial planning and CFP certification; support increased access to financial planning; and align CFP certification program delivery across FPSB territories to support enhanced cross-border practice by CFP certification holders.
Bezuidenhout has more than 20 years of experience in financial planning. Since joining FPI in 2014, Bezuidenhout has served in a number of roles including head of certification and standards and as chief executive officer of FPI since June 2019. Bezuidenhout is a CFP professional and has a post-graduate diploma in financial planning.
“I look forward to leading FPSB’s Chief Executives Committee next year as we focus on several important initiatives to future-proof the financial planning profession and strengthen recognition for CFP certification globally,” said Bezuidenhout. “I thank my peers for their vote of confidence, and truly value the collaboration among those of us leading CFP certification programs around the world. I look forward to sharing the South African experience and bringing global best practices and know-how home to our program and community of CFP professionals.”
Atzili is an independent financial planner with a leading wealth management firm in Israel. He currently serves as the chairperson and CEO of the Financial Planning Association in Israel and has held positions in the healthcare and insurance sectors. Atzili is a CFP professional and holds a Master of Arts degree in economics and a Master of Business Administration degree from Tel-Aviv University.
“As the newest member to be added to FPSB’s Chief Executives Committee and chairperson of the newest FPSB affiliate organization, I look forward to bringing the voice and knowledge of innovation that is the heart of our startup nation for financial planning and CFP certification to FPSB’s global strategy discussions,” said Atzili. “I’m pleased that FPSB values a diversity of voices and opinions as it executes global financial planning programs and standards for the benefit of people all over the world.”
“I’m pleased to welcome Lelané and Barak in their roles as chairperson and at-large member of FPSB’s Chief Executives Committee,” said Garry Muriwai, FPSB Board chairperson. “The FPSB Board works closely with, and relies on, our global network of chief executives to execute our strategic priorities and accomplish our vision. The Board values the years of leadership, experience and diversity of thought that Lelané and Barak bring to help us achieve our objectives in emerging, developing and mature markets.”
FPSB’s Chief Executives Committee establishes leadership, efficiency and accountability in the execution of the FPSB Network’s annual priorities, and creates a direct link between FPSB’s global network of chief executives and the FPSB Board. In 2022, the Committee will consist of 10 members, including the two newly-elected members and FPSB Ltd.’s CEO Noel Maye.
About FPSB Ltd.
FPSB manages, develops and operates certification, education and related programs to benefit the global community by establishing, upholding and promoting worldwide professional standards in financial planning. FPSB demonstrates its commitment to excellence with the marks of professional distinction – CFP, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and CFP Logo Mark – which it owns outside the United States. FPSB and the FPSB global network administer CFP and other certification programs in the following 27 territories: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, People’s Republic of China, Peru, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. At the end of 2020, there were 192,762 CFP professionals worldwide. For more, visit fpsb.org.
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