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Karen Pienaar was appointed CEO of LLL in 2025, having served the company for seven years as a Board Director. After her first six months in the role, Karen shares her insights in this expansive interview.
Q: Broadly speaking, how have you found the first six months as CEO of LLL?
A: I have loved it! Bringing LLL closer to the Church again, getting to know the LLL team and recognising the depth of expertise we have, discovering the passion we have for delivering missional outcomes for the Lutheran community through our financial strength, and the encouragement from the Bishop(s) and LLL Board has given me great joy.
Q: Has any aspect of the job particularly resonated with you?
A: The most rewarding aspect of the role has been being out in the community meeting our brothers and sisters in Christ. I've been surprised at how much energy this gives me. For example, today I'm writing from a hotel room in Melbourne after meeting David Pietsch and Ben Gargett from St Paul's Box Hill Lutheran Church, Stephen Mildred, District Administrator of the LCA Victoria & Tasmania District and a visit to Lakeside College, Pakenham. Visiting our fellow supporters and gathering information about how LLL might support them in their missional outcomes provides great insight to shape our future.
Q: You are just the sixth CEO in LLL's history and the first woman to be appointed to the role – is that a source of pride for you?
A: It's funny, that aspect of my appointment wasn't something I thought about early; I was just excited by the amazing opportunity in front of me. I had such great encouragement from my husband and LLL colleagues whilst I was in the interim role.
LLL celebrated its 104th birthday not long after I was appointed, so it provided an opportunity to reflect on the storied history of this truly unique organisation and the great leaders who have guided it since 1921 … to be the first female to join that esteemed group makes me immensely proud.
My installation service conducted by Bishop Paul Smith at my home congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church Flinders St Adelaide, SA, was especially precious. To be surrounded and encouraged by my husband, family, work colleagues, Pastor Fraser Pearce and Pastor Matt Bishop and my fellow congregation members meant a lot to me.
Q: LLL's transition from an Authorised Deposit-Taking Institution (ADI) to a Religious Charitable Development Fund (RCDF), while necessary to maintain our support for the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) and its entities, caused significant changes for our customers. A year after the transition was completed, what is your message to customers who decided to move their funds away from LLL?
A: The first thing I would say is, 'Thank you'. Thank you for recognising the difficult situation we were in and for your patience as we navigated the changes. The next thing I would say is 'Your LLL is still here, ready to welcome you back'. We're a financially strong and sustainable organisation, that has a missional heart to support the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand. Any surplus we generate will provide financial means to give back to the LCANZ, Lutheran schools, youth ministries, and aged care.
We recognise that the change back to an RCDF did not suit everyone as we can no longer offer at-call transaction accounts, but we do offer investment options that allow your money to work for the good of the Church. We have a suite of Term Investments and a 31 Day Notice of Withdrawal Facility that feature competitive interest rates and no fees. The 31 Day Notice of Withdrawal is a great option if you wish to keep adding funds to save for a particular purpose.
Q: How does investing with LLL support Christian communities?
A: We are a for-purpose organisation. An investment with LLL can not only grow your wealth, it enables us to loan money to Christian schools, aged care facilities and congregations. This means they can undertake projects that make a difference, whether that be building a new worship area, a playground or a multi-million-dollar classroom complex.
In addition to our support of the LCANZ, the surplus we make on these loans enables us to support a range of grassroots initiatives through our sponsorships, school bursaries, youth camping ministries, and Mission Outreach Grants.
So, the missional partnership we share with our investors and borrowers has far-reaching positive impacts, which is something we are very proud of.
Q: What is LLL's financial position?
A: We are in a strong, sustainable position with over $175m in equity built up from your support over our 104-year history.
We continue to generate surpluses which means we can provide annual distributions to the LCANZ to support their mission and ministry.
In addition, we provided over $50m in funding for new loans during the 2024/25 financial year designed to support organisations that commit to a greater purpose of community transformation. Providing more than just finance, we worked in partnership with many of these projects to plant churches, build schools and provide for future generations. We also encourage our LLL staff to participate in Mission in Action initiatives to provide hands on support to our community.
Q: What is your vision for LLL as it embarks on the next chapter under your leadership?
A: We have just held our annual strategic retreat with the Board and we're excited to share our strategic objectives in more detail in the coming months. The theme of the retreat was very much to consider how we are fulfilling our purpose under our Constitution, which is to provide aid to the Church in business and financial matters, and to receive and lend money to Christian churches. My vision is that we create a trusted organisation, with the identity of the Lutheran Church, partnering with you to create outcomes that bless our communities and people for years to come.
By law, LLL must inform investors that LLL's debenture products are only intended to attract investors whose primary purpose for making their investment is to support LLL's charitable purposes, primarily support for the Mission of the Lutheran Church in Australia; that investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects it or at all; and that an investment in LLL's debentures is not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers.
