A trip down memory lane with Tammy Kestle

Tammy Kestle was not expecting BankVic to become the backdrop of so much of her life. She came in as a Telepay Consultant in 2000, and somewhere between the daily lunch runs and the last-minute Christmas preparations, it became clear she was not going anywhere.

"What I really like about working at BankVic is the strong sense of purpose and the focus on supporting our members, especially those in police, emergency services, and healthcare," she says. "It feels good being part of a member-owned organisation where the focus is on people rather than profit."

That focus on purpose is something Tammy comes back to more than once. But so do the people.

"I also really love my co-workers. Everyone is supportive and easy to work with, which makes a big difference day to day."

Over the years, Tammy has worked across more areas of the business than most. She started on Telepay, moved through Member Response, membership opening, credit control, and cards, before stepping into leadership as a Contact Centre Team Leader and then into Operations Specialist roles. "Best of all, every day in my role is just so different," she says.

When Tammy is asked about work she is most proud of, two things stand out. 

"Being involved in the big projects, like new system implementations. I know they make a real difference for the teams I work with and for our members, and it's been rewarding to be part of that."

The other is the time she spent in leadership.

"I got the chance to help shape people's career paths and support their development, which was really meaningful for me."

Tammy carries that instinct into her current work, too, where she focuses on improving systems and day-to-day processes for frontline team members. The goal is the same as it has always been: make things easier for the people helping members.

When Tammy talks about colleagues, a few names come up quickly. Belinda Kostas, who started at BankVic the same week Tammy did in 2000, became one of her closest friends over more than two decades of daily lunches. Close enough, in fact, to be one of Tammy's bridesmaids.

Fiona Goldsmith is another name with a long story attached. The two of them helped run the social club together and organised the annual Co-op shopping tours, which raised funds for what became a beloved tradition.

"We used to organise the annual shopping tours to raise funds for our yearly Chicken and Champagne Christmas Eve breakfasts, which were always a mix of great planning and last-minute rushing. Somehow though, David Lawler, Mark Ayres, Fiona Goldsmith and I always managed to get it all sorted in the end."

Then there is Jarrod Gibson, who started joining Tammy and Belinda for lunch one day and, almost three years later, became something more.

"Completely unexpectedly, we started dating. Nineteen months later, we were engaged and married. Seventeen years later, we're still married with twin boys, so I guess you could say work has definitely been good to me in more ways than one."

It is hard to argue with that. During her time with BankVic, Tammy bought investment properties, built homes, got married, navigated a not-so-great builder, welcomed premature twin boys, completed a 7.5-week trip through the US and Canada, and is now planning four weeks in Japan and South Korea. 

"It's been a pretty full-on but incredible journey," she says. 
"Lots of big milestones, a fair bit of change, and somehow all of it happening alongside my time at BankVic."

For anyone weighing up BankVic against another employer, Tammy's answer draws on advice she received aged 20 from a mentor named Heather. The advice was personal, but she has applied it to everything since.

"She said to me, 'Start as you intend to finish. If you don't want to be ironing his shirts in 20 years, don't start that way.' It has stayed with me ever since and shaped the way I approach both my personal life and my business decisions. It's a reminder to be intentional from the beginning, to be clear about who I am, what I want, and to ensure my actions align with those values and goals."

Intentional is a fair description of how Tammy has approached BankVic too. She has moved through the organisation with curiosity, built relationships that became friendships, and kept showing up to work on what matters.

"For someone who values purpose, teamwork, variety, flexibility, and growth, it's a really rewarding place to build a career."

With the career she’s had over the past two-and-a-half decades, Tammy is proof of that.