Our 2022
Speakers

John Sgambelluri held Senior Banking roles for over 25 years and has a long family history in small business. John has a thorough working knowledge of financial statements and successful business practices, delivering keynotes and workshops to SMEs over many years on this all-important topic. John’s presentations for Mortgage Brokers and Accountants focus on quickly identifying loan approvals, getting the right credit decision and adding value in every customer interaction. John’s ability to communicate seemingly complex financial concepts with humour and in plain English is well known and highly valued by the many groups and associations he has partnered with.

National Lending Group (NLG) is a boutique aggregator committed to creating environments where clients receive optimal outcomes by fostering collaboration with accountants and brokers. That’s why NLG is recognised as a leading aggregator for brokers and the preferred finance broking partner for accountants. Steve Lake, Director of Partnerships, spearheads National Lending Groups’ broking and accounting partnerships and manages the Group’s business operations, including the Accountant/ Broker Collaboration Program implementation.

As the ‘Partnerships and Business Development Manager’ Mallissa brings with her a wealth of experience with more than 28 years’ in the Automotive and Asset Finance space. Having worked in roles from Sales, Management, Operations and Finance she has a deep understanding of the demands and needs of small businesses and what it takes to build long term success. Mallissa is passionate about delivering a professional and efficient experience in all her engagements delivered around her core values of teamwork, dedication, and the constant pursuit of excellence.
Mallissa is here to assist with your Business Lending needs, whether it be a scenario, training or supporting your business with client growth.

Brian has over 30 years experience in accounting and is the founder of FinCare Accounting Pty Ltd. He holds a CPA with a Bachelor of Commerce as well as a Graduate Diploma in Marketing and Financial Planning.
He focuses on micro to small business accounting, specialising in asset protection and business structuring to minimise tax for clients.

Brendan Andrews has over 15 years of experience within the finance services industry. For the last five years Brendan has helped build the financial services arm at REA Group and seen the business grow from 130 to over 1000 brokers. He has been integral in building mortgage broking successful franchises and is passionate about creating an inclusive learning community.

Todd has spent 30 years in banking and finance, initially working for NAB in Australia and the Industrial Bank of Japan and Accenture inLondon, UK.

In the past 13 years he has operated his own commercial finance broking business and trained hundreds of residential brokers on behalf of Mortgage Choice and the MFAA. Todd has a Masters of International Business and a Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management.

More recently, Todd has developed and implemented a unique strategy for accounting firms to monetise their databases, improve efficiencies within their practices and increase their bottom line.
Combining client engagement tools and digital business solutions, Xenium Partners helps accounting firms provide finance, property

o Paul has a 20-year track record of leading successful sales, mortgage distribution and operational teams throughout Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. He has deep experience in the financial services sector from his time in both Corporate and Institutional banking. He was previously the Managing Director of NuLend, General Manager at Lending Association and had an extensive 15-year career at ANZ in senior mortgage, operational and mortgage distribution roles.

David is a Director at AltX, leading the management of originators and investors. David started his career with FSA Group Limited and Jirsch Sutherland and has over 20 years’ experience in mortgage origination and underwriting, credit analysis, creditor management and corporate turnaround.

Cynthia De Vera currently leads the Advisory channel and strategic initiatives for Swoop Funding Australia. Cynthia has been in the Fintech industry for more than eight years, working with lenders in the consumer and commercial sectors. Cynthia's customer and solution-centric focus has contributed to her success in launching products and distribution channels and building partnerships that disrupt markets. Cynthia aims to continue changing how consumers interact and manage their finances. Swoop Funding Australia is about helping accountants better service their clients' financial needs by using Swoops proprietary technology

More than 30 years of executive leadership, banking and consulting experience helping businesses, executives and teams achieve both “Safe Navigation & Ambitious Destinations”.

With a focus on creating strategic and risk advantage, Christopher Maclean is an inspirational, pragmatic and vastly experienced executive and mentor, innovative transformation leader, insightful strategist, and customer-centric and results-driven chief risk officer.

He has worked with a range of leading Australian and Middle East banks (Al Rajhi Bank, Westpac, ANZ, Bankwest, CBA), as well as Price Waterhouse and his own consulting firms.

Since returning to Australia earlier this year, Chris provides strategy and risk advisory support to several SME businesses and start-up fintech’s and acts as chief risk officer at Nano – a new innovative non-bank home loan lender and financial services technology firm.

David Bower is currently the Chairman of FSA Group Limited, a small publicly listed Financial Services company.
David enjoyed a 35 year banking career with Westpac, ANZ and St George Bank. During that time, he led teams in Commercial Lending, working with SMEs,
Business Banking and Small Corporates. Many of the best lessons that he learned came from interacting with customers in their businesses.

Craig’s experience stretches across business, government and academia in both Australia and New Zealand. He has specialist expertise in commercial and tax law, regulatory reform, and private sector/government collaboration. He has a passion to improve the commercial environment so that small and family businesses flourish, and has a particular focus on speedy and low-cost dispute resolution for business disputes.

Craig holds undergraduate degrees in economics and law, is a Master of Law and a Doctor of Philosophy, focused on disruptive technology and regulatory systems. He ensures that he still has some time for long-distance trail running with his wolfhound.

Karla Poulton is General Manager, Operations for flexicommercial (part of humm group), a commercial asset finance company. Karla's teams are responsible for managing finance broker-originated transactions from application through to settlement. Over the last two years, Karla has been instrumental in turning flexicommercial from a relatively small leasing company to one of the leading second-tier asset financiers in the Australian market. Karla's key focus is on continuous process improvement to support the business in maintaining excellent broker relationships and customer service standards. Throughout her 20+ year career in financial services, Karla has spent the majority of that time in credit and risk roles, including senior roles at GE Capital and flexicommercial. She has also led teams in systems architecture and account management. Karla is a chartered accountant with a bachelor of arts (organisational communication and accounting).