Online SME lender OnDeck has announced the appointment of a new BDM to “captain” the NSW and ACT broker development team.
Former Australian Sevens Captain, Nick Reily, has spent the last four years in the SME lending space developing a “thorough understanding” of the sector’s needs.
While Reily may be most famous for skippering the Australian Sevens Rugby team to a semi-final against New Zealand at the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong, OnDeck has no doubt his skills will bolster its broker-facing team to an outstanding outcome of its own.
“The majority of small business owners that I speak with through our broker partners are people who have taken a real gamble to open their business, and then taken steps to grow it,” said Reily.
“With my sporting background, I understand what it means to see an opportunity and then go for it, so I’m looking forward to supporting brokers help their clients reach that next phase of business growth.
“I believe that if people genuinely know that you're there to help them, there's a much better chance of establishing and maintaining a future relationship.”
Reily has attributed his decision to join OnDeck to the lender’s “impressive moral compass” which prioritises long term, sustainable relationships between brokers and their SME clients over growing individual transactions.
“Nick brings extensive knowledge of SME lending, having worked in the field for almost four years. His experience spans multiple facets of the business including the broker channel,” said Robbie Fidler, national broker channel manager at OnDeck Australia.
“Importantly, Nick is very comfortable in group settings, and he is fantastic at networking through the broker community. One of the biggest strengths Nick brings to our team is his face-to-face presence, where he can play a lead role in the market.
“Nick is an extremely personable guy, and people will very quickly warm to him and want to work with him. And it’s always an opportunity to re-live the glory days of Rugby Sevens with someone who was at the frontline,” he added.
Recently, OnDeck reported 70% year-on-year volume growth across the broker channel, partially driven by the tripling of its broker-facing Business Development team in 2019.
