HEATHER Zampatti was exposed to the heady world of big business from an early age thanks to her father, brewing business legend Lloyd Zampatti.
Ms Zampatti has led wealth management at Bell Potter since 2005 and been in the industry for 27 years; yet she obviously still loves her job, which requires long days and 6am starts to align with the eastern states markets.
While Ms Zampatti believes some of her business acumen was influenced by her father, a former Swan Brewery and Castlemaine Tooheys boss, she credits her work ethic to the on-the-job learning in her first foray into the finance sector.
“I was a graduate employee for Macquarie Bank, it was then Hill Samuel. I went to Sydney and worked for them and helped set up the first cash management trust in Australia,” Ms Zampatti said.
“It was a fantastic learning experience. Interest rates were 20 per cent, and people were literally queuing down Pitt Street to deposit money. I worked 17 hours a day and we worked so hard at establishing it.
“It is great to have your first job working really hard; it instils a really good work ethic within you.”
With her background founded in bigger firms – given her start at Macquarie and subsequent roles with Bain & Co, Hartley Poynton and now Bell Potter – Ms Zampatti has developed a focus on large financial institutions.
“The way I operate, I am a full-service adviser so I deal in shares, but I also deal in fixed interest, super structures and those sorts of things. The big firms are the ones that are able to supply all the services and research,” she said.
Ms Zampatti describes herself as an avid devourer of research and said big research teams come with big firms.
“That is what helps us to give better advice, it is about information,” she said.
The recent tough economic conditions have not perturbed Ms Zampatti from the financial world; she is clearly motivated by the ebbs and flows of the industry and the constant learning required for best practice.
She believes the most successful people never stop striving, yet despite her proven abilities she’s hesitant to evaluate her achievements and whether she’s good at what she does.
“I don’t know if that is a question that can be answered, the answer would be something that is the opposite of self-effacing. I think you can always do better,” Ms Zampatti told WA Business News.
“It is around what your criteria for that might be. It comes back to whether you enjoy what you do … and the answer is yes; do you keep wanting to learn … and the answer is yes; are you as challenged every day as the time when you first started … and the answer is absolutely.”
Outside of her involvement in the financial industry – Ms Zampatti sits on the board of the state council of FINSIA and the government takeovers panel of the federal Treasury – she has committed to supporting the arts and several charitable causes.
“It is about assisting using your skills set. I was never going to be a doctor, but health is obviously absolutely crucial to the whole community. The way I can help is being on the board and helping them (Osteoporosis Australia),” she said.
“Arts is important so I sit on the board of the West Australian Ballet. And The Hunger Project is helping world poverty. Using your skills within different contexts is so important, that is what drives me there.”
Ms Zampatti is currently involved in the Australian Institute of Company Directors mentor program and is working with a chairman of a large ASX-listed company to pursue further directorships.
