VBP names inaugural chief growth officer

Financial planning outsourcing specialist Vital Business Partners (VBP) has created a new executive role focused on expanding advice relationships, winning new clients and strengthening its offering to advice businesses and licensees.

Craig Kouimanis has been appointed to the newly created chief growth officer position, joining VBP from licensee services company Paragem and reporting to chief executive Mark Fisher.

Kouimanis has previously held senior roles at Securitor, Commonwealth Financial Planning and Colonial First State, binging experience across advice, licensee services and financial services.

Fisher said Kouimanis understood the operational challenges facing advice businesses and would play a key role in shaping VBP's growth strategy.

"Craig is a highly respected leader with decades of experience supporting advisers to run successful businesses," Fisher said.

"He intimately understands the challenges and opportunities facing advice businesses and the services and support they need to achieve their goals and grow."

The new chief growth officer will be responsible for building and maintaining client and stakeholder relationships, responding to client needs and strengthening VBP's position as an outsourcing partner to the advice profession.

Kouimanis will also support product and service innovation, including the expansion of VBP's agentic AI and automation capabilities.

He said VBP's focus on combining people and technology aligned with what small and medium-sized advice businesses need to operate in an increasingly complex regulatory and commercial environment.

"In advice and professional services, people are critical to success, but technology is also extremely important, and they lie at the heart of what VBP does," Kouimanis said.

"I believe that systems run businesses and people run systems, and VBP has the right combination of people and tech to drive efficiencies, productivity and performance."

Kouimanis will join VBP on 14 October 2026.