Top Victorian/Tasmanian brokers hailed at Better Business Awards grand finale

After being held in four states over April and May, the 2022 Better Business Awards – run in partnership with principal partner NAB – concluded in style in Melbourne on Thursday night (2 June).

Following the successful Better Business Summit earlier in the day, the Better Business Awards saw over 700 members of the broking industry join to celebrate the achievements of 164 brokers, business development managers (BDM), loan administrators, brokerages, and other finalists from across Victoria and Tasmania.

There was no shortage of laughter and merriment during the evening, as stand-up comedian, actor, television, and radio presenter, and emcee Joel Creasey provided entertainment throughout the event, while finalists battled it out for 21 individual and group awards, including the prestigious Broker of the Year award.

Individual award winners

Mortgage Advice Bureau Melbourne managing director Josh Bartlett picked up two trophies this year, including the Broker of the Year and Best Residential Broker awards, with the judges deeming that his stellar results and submission spoke for themselves.

Derwent Finance director and mortgage broker Emmanuel Marios was named Best Finance Broker and was highly commended for his strong results and relationships with his clients and lenders, and demonstrated commitment to mentoring his colleagues.

Representing regional Australia, Loan Market (Geelong) finance broker Liz McRae emerged as Best Regional Broker after impressing judges with her strong focus on financial literacy and education.

A double-award winner this year was mentor and business coach, Jason Back – founder and director of Broker Essentials – who won the Mentor of the Year award (repeating his victory from 2021) and Thought Leader of the Year award.

Mr Back – who has presented sessions at The Adviser’s Business Accelerator Program among many other events and training courses – drew praise for his long-term commitment to the broking industry and being a true mentor with significant impact and influence.

Providing exceptional customer service is the hallmark of a top-performing broker, and this year, it was Hobart-based One Stone Finance managing director Jonathon Coleman who impressed the judges enough to win the Best Customer Service (Individual) award.

He was commended for producing significant business growth and advocacy from both clients and lenders through his dedicated skills and understanding of lenders’ requirements, as well as helping first home buyers (FHB).

Rounding out the individual broker award winners was Vision Finance Australia founder and director Katrina Lagos, who was selected as this year’s Editor’s Choice award winner for not only growing her business, but also constantly improving process and investing in her team to ensure the brokerage can provide excellent and consistent customer service.

Awards acknowledge BDMs, loan administrators

BDMs were celebrated for consistently providing ongoing support to brokers with Australian Finance Group (AFG) commercial BDM Richele Janjatovic named Best Aggregator BDM for the third year in a row.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) senior relationship manager Gerard Rolfs was named Best Lender BDM (Bank) for his attention to integrity, ethical conduct and innovation, while the Best Lender BDM (Non-Bank) award went to Liberty Financial BDM, residential mortgages, Matt Hall for his exceptional service.

This year’s Best Loan Administrator award recipient was Elephant Advisory’s head of finance credit, Gavin Hepponstall, who was celebrated for his notable initiatives, with judges remarking on his push to get the most out of the brokerage’s CRM.

Ajay Kathpal, founder and director at A4 Finance Group, also made his mark in the industry, winning the Best Newcomer award for his outstanding results in a tough market. Judges declared that he has a bright future ahead of him.

Property Before Prada managing director and founder Katherine Persoglia was conferred the Wellness Advocate of the Year prize for delivering effective initiatives like the financial wellness program for women and having a clear target audience for her initiatives.

Group awards

Along with individual recipients, there were plenty of groups and companies that added trophies on their mantel at this year’s Better Business Awards.

Mortgage Choice Williamstown (headed by owner, finance broker, and portfolio strategist Jonathan Lee) was named Best Branded Office for demonstrating substantial growth and a clear value proposition.

Scott McDonald’s Aussiewide Financial Services was named Best Independent Office (more than five brokers), while Entourage Finance (steered by managing director Damien Roylance) won the Best Independent Office (five brokers or less) award.

Along with nabbing an individual award this year, Loan Market Geelong (led by managing director and finance broker Sarah Thomson) also won Best Regional Office for its quality end-to-end business model, while Marquee Group (helmed by director Seuj Barua) picked up the Best New Office award.

Own Home Loans, run by managing director and mortgage broker Rory Sercombe, was applauded for its exceptional results and initiatives with the Best Customer Service (Office) award.

The Best Community Engagement Program award was taken home by MTA Mortgage Brokers, with founder and chief executive Kerry Kalendra particularly commended for making a substantial difference to the business community through his initiatives.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!

The Adviser looks forward to celebrating in style and providing new insights for the broking industry again when it returns with the 2023 Better Business Awards and Summit.

To view the full list of Victoria/Tasmania Better Business Awards 2022 winners, click here – and check out the July edition of The Adviser magazine to see all the winners from the roadshow event!

To find out more about the Better Business Summit and Better Business Awards, click here.