When Louise Petschler left high school to study medicine, it quickly became evident she was unlikely to become Dr Petschler.

"It was not a spectacular success," she laughs. "I remember my biochemistry lecturer saying to me, 'This is really just a different language to you. You really need to think about doing something else."'

Petschler, now 36, took the hint and transferred to an arts degree majoring in political science but not before undertaking the tricky task of breaking the news to her folks. "It was a difficult visit home to tell Mum and Dad but thankfully they were relatively supportive," she says. "My parents have been incredibly patient with my twists and turns and also gave me a great starting point - everyone is equal."

Ultimately the switch to arts proved the right one for Petschler. Her career to date has encompassed high-profile jobs in government, financial services and advocacy, culminating in her appointment this year as chief executive of Abacus, the peak body representing mutual credit unions, building societies and friendly societies.

Her first stop after leaving university was a stint with Chemical Bank, where she was involved in deals to privatise many of Victoria's state-owned assets. It was a heady time and involved a six-month stay in New York but in the end, Petschler says, it was always a "deal with the devil" that didn't sit quite comfortably with her. "I was never going to have a long-term future in merchant banking," she says. "It was a fantastic learning opportunity ... but it was never going to be a good match for my personal values. I think you do a much better job if you do something you believe in."

It's a philosophy Petschler has carried though her career, perhaps most visibly during her 18-month "roller-coaster ride" as the head of financial services for Choice. There she took aim at the big banks and their fees and charges, fighting for customers' interests.

"At the time the banks had a very aggressive cost-cutting strategy in place," she says. "They had shut lots of branches. There were lots of juicy issues and there weren't that many [consumer] voices."

It was also about this time that so-called payday lenders burst onto the Australian scene, lending money to vulnerable people, often at astronomical rates of interest.

"People were paying the equivalent of 3000 per cent in annualised interest rates on very short-term loans," Petschler says.

Inevitably, much of the campaign to regulate the payday lenders involved lobbying behind closed doors but there were times when more visible, direct action was needed. "We even dressed up in shark suits, waving placards outside new branches," she says. Since then, regulations governing such businesses have been tightened significantly.

Petschler has worked with Abacus (formerly CUSCAL) for the past seven years. She was drawn to the mutual financial services sector, she says, by their people-before-profit ethos.

"It all comes back to member ownership and membership focus," she says. "We don't have external shareholders - our customers are our owners. We don't have that conflict between customer service ... and shareholder dividend. For us, the dividend should be in better pricing and services to members."

Petschler is confident the mutual sector is well-positioned for future growth, especially now more conservative lending practices are back in vogue.

"Commentators have criticised our industry [in the past] for not being aggressive enough in terms of pushing the limits on credit growth but as a result we can sit here with the lowest arrears in the market and the confidence our mutuals haven't overcommitted their members," she says.

She is also conscious of the need for the mutual sector to shake of its slightly daggy, or at least old-fashioned, image. Make it exciting, she says, and mutuals will begin to get the recognition they deserve. "It think it's a really exciting time for us."

The big questions

Biggest break Finding a job I love, which unfortunately doesn't happen for everyone. I get to represent institutions that put people before profit and also care about professionalism, with a great group of people behind them.

Biggest break Moving to Choice and consumer advocacy. I got a chance to influence policy. Mike Clarey at Chemical Bank gave me a great break; he taught me that optimism means opportunity.

Biggest regret I frequently regret my incredibly bad dancing.

Best investment Buying my house in Camperdown, which I'd rented for a few years. My credit union convinced me it was a good move and it's a really happy home for us and the cats. It's also a great suburb; feel free to come and buy there and increase my property value.

Worst investment I once spent a thousand dollars at a fundraising auction on a garish giant poster of a former Olympic swimmer.

Attitude to money Neil Diamond got it right: money talks but it don't sing and dance. Don't be defined by it but do take charge of financial security, always ask about the fine print and be cautious about handing your money to those whose only interest is making more for themselves.

Personal philosophy How you treat people matters.