Australian Financial Services (AFS) has appointed Mark Ryan as head of national development.
Ryan, who started on 10 May, will be working closely with the company's regional managers and executive team to grow the number of practices.
"We have a great vision for taking AFS to the next level," Ryan said.
Although AFS recently received a takeover bid from an unnamed party, Ryan did not expect this would impact on his role.
"This is a long-term role," he said. "We need to grow the book."
His appointment means a return to AFS. Until 2008, Ryan was head of distribution for the company.
In 2008, Ryan was appointed as chief executive of Financial Planning Services Australia (FPSA), but he left in February this year after a disagreement with FPSA chairman Michael Heine over the dealer group's performance.
FPSA decided to scrap the role of chief executive altogether and recently appointed Danny Maher as the firm's advice general manager.
