Anne-Marie Syme was born and bred in Perth, and completed her schooling at Cannington Senior High School.

She began her career with BankWest (then R&I Bank) before becoming involved in the initial rollout of Aussie Home Loans in Western Australia. In 1998 Anne-Marie started The Loans Café, pioneering the first retail/shopfront mortgage broking company in Australia. She has extensive corporate management and business development experience within the financial services sector, and currently works in director and executive capacities with several companies and organisations.

She was the first woman elected to the WA Executive Council of the Mortgage Industry Association of Australia (MIAA) in 1998, and was elected as president in October 2001. During this tenure, she worked closely with the Finance Brokers Supervisory Board, in the department of consumer protection and employment, and was instrumental in implementing the current licensing of finance brokers in Western Australia. While president of the MIAA (WA chapter), Anne-Marie also served as a member of the Western Australian Regional Liaison Committee of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for three years.

In 2004, Anne-Marie was appointed executive director of Finance and Systems Technology (F.A.S.T.), a dominant player in the mortgage broking industry with representation in all states and territories. She is also chairman of Australian Consolidated Insurance Limited (ACI), a company that concentrates on key market segments in the insurance industry, such as resources (oil/gas and mining), construction, professional risks, and corporate and specialty schemes.

Anne-Marie is married with one child and lives in South Perth, enjoying gardening, entertaining, reading and playing piano in her spare time.