Meet six industry professionals who have moved to new positions in a range of companies across the mortgage and finance sector.
MyState Bank has promoted its former head of broker, Huw Bough, to general manager banking.
Bough had been away from the company for two years, working as chief operating o cer at Kooyong Avant, a joint venture that deals in specialist lending to medical professionals.
Prior to that role, Bough oversaw the leadership, operation, customer services and sales performance of MyState Bank’s broking and banking divisions as general manager retail banking, business banking and broker. He also served in leadership positions at RAMS and Westpac.
Now he brings his broker channel knowledge to the general manager role at MyState, in particular the emphasis on turnaround times that has put the bank in the top 25% of lenders recognised by AFG for their speed of loan approvals.
“Huw has an exceptional understanding of our business and our service proposition, and he appreciates the important role that MyState Bank plays in the lives of our customers and the broker community,” says MyState Bank managing director and CEO Melos Sulicich.
“There is a big opportunity before us with Huw on board to build on the strong momentum of our retail and broker operations. Despite the impact of COVID-19, we have maintained and improved our service proposition over the past 12 months, and Huw’s appointment will only serve to strengthen our eff orts in this area.”Bough says he’s looking forward to working alongside a hugely talented group of people at MyState, which presents the opportunity for rapid growth.“We understand that brokers and their clients need a faster service proposition from lenders, which is why MyState Bank remains committed to supporting brokers by delivering consistently fast conditional and unconditional turnaround times.”
Sylvia Economou recently joined Mortgage Choice as franchise business manager. She will focus on assisting Mortgage Choice franchise owners in driving sales performance and efficiencies and promoting best practice, as well as on the overall business performance of the franchise network in Victoria and Tasmania.
Economou says she’s honoured to be working at Mortgage Choice, an established and respected brand in the broking and franchising industry.
“For almost 30 years, Mortgage Choice has been helping Australians with their financial needs by delivering a range of financial choices teamed with trusted expert advice,” she says.
After completing her business degree at RMIT, Economou started her 20-year career at ANZ, where she held numerous roles across sales, relationship management and capability development. She spent five years working at ANZ Mobile Lending and, more recently, worked at Liberty Network Services to support its broker network.
“There has never been a better time to be a part of this industry, with brokers settling more than 60% of all residential home loans. I look forward to creating strong working relationships and supporting our franchisees to achieve business success,” Economou says.
Leading fintech NextGen.Net has appointed Renee Blethyn to the newly created role of national head of broker partnerships to oversee its interactions with the broker channel.
Blethyn joins the company from Suncorp, where she was national partnerships manager – bank intermediaries, and boasts two decades of experience in the sector, having previously worked in the mortgage, business development, specialist lending and retail banking segments. She also worked in several states at Pepper Money, BankSA and aggregator Connective.
Blethyn’s arrival follows the appointment of Brett Stanford as the new CEO of NextGen.Net.
“I am very pleased to have joined NextGen.Net and am excited to help drive broker priorities into strategy and solutions,” says Blethyn. “It’s a great opportunity to work for a leading technology provider to the industry as theylook to strengthen their partnerships with aggregators. I look forward to engaging broker groups and working strategically with them to support the broker community.”
NextGen.Net chief customer o fficer Tony Carn says Blethyn is an outstanding choice for the new role, bringing along a wealth of experience, a deep understanding of the needs of the third party channel, and a strong focus on optimising innovation and opportunity.
Pallas Capital has appointed Alexis Holloway as senior credit manager, off the back of rapid growth of the specialist non-bank lender.
In his role, Holloway will be instrumental in the structuring and approval process for all commercial real estate loans. He will also be responsible for establishing credit policy and will sit on the investment committee at Pallas Capital.
Established in 2016, Pallas Capital is one of the fastest-growing structured property investment arrangers in Australia, having underwritten $850m worth of transactions. This number is expected to increase over the next six months, with Pallas Capital doubling its staff since the start of 2021 to accommodate its strong growth.
Prior to joining Pallas Capital, Holloway spent 13 years in the real estate and structured finance sector, most recently as a senior credit manager at Balmain Group. He also worked at CVS Lane Capital Partners and Deloitte.
“I have admired from afar the business Dan and the leadership team have created at Pallas Capital. The company has experienced tremendous growth over the past five years and amassed a team of talented and experienced real estate financiers. I hope to contribute to its continued growth,” says Holloway.
Pallas Capital chief investment o ficer Dan Gallen says Holloway brings a wealth of experience that he has acquired over the years through his work in corporate advisory, non-bank credit and funding roles.
Rapidly growing Australian non-bank lender Brighten Home Loans has appointed experienced credit professional Terry Masri as credit o ficer. Masri joined Brighten from Pepper Money last month and has more than 25 years’ experience working in credit assessment in the financial services sector.
At Pepper Money he specialised in assessing alt-doc and non-conforming loans. Prior to this, he worked as a credit analyst at ING Direct and had a 15-year stint at QBE Insurance, rising to underwriting team leader. Brighten’s head of credit, Stuart Murray, says the team is delighted to have Masri on board.
“Terry brought a wealth of experience, especially in alt-doc lending within a non-bank environment,” Murray says. “Terry’s expertise in all facets of the credit assessment process will help ensure we provide our customers with quality decision-making and rapid turnaround times.”
Over the next 12 months, Brighten is looking to continue its growth by ramping up its focus on prime and near prime lending and maintaining its trajectory in the market.
“I am thrilled to be part of the growth journey of Brighten. I am excited about the opportunity to work with a growing organisation that is ambitious for success,” says Masri.
Kristie Oldfield has joined RedZed’s business development team in Sydney, where she will bring her youthful energy and experience to the group.
Oldfield has worked in finance for over six years, both as a broker and as a lender BDM at Resimac and Bluestone. She has a deep understanding of self-employed lending, is acutely aware of the needs of a broker, and is heavily focused on the importance of customer service.
“We’re very excited to have secured the services of Kristie, who’ll provide valuable insights into the needs of a broker, and who also has some great broker relationships,” says national sales manager Adrian Fisher.
