Media
Milestones
2000
2007
2009
2011
2014
2022
Completes mechanical engineer placement at Ansell Healthcare in Malaysia
2000
Appointed chief operating officer at Stargate Technologies, overseeing technology-driven solutions for the Australian mortgage industry
2007
Co-founds shmotter.com, a social shopping platform
2009
Joins 1300HomeLoan as state business manager, building and supporting a network of Australia’s top mortgage brokers
2011
Appointed general manager at Finsure Group
2014
Becomes CEO of Finsure Group
2022
Unlocking the art of the possible
Simon Bednar has always been a problem-solver.
“I started off as a mechanical engineer, and that was really only because I was good at two things, which were math and science,” says the now group chief executive at aggregator Finsure.
But he is also a problem-seeker. Throughout his career, he has sought out new challenges partly to push the boundaries of what he is capable of, and to grow. Early on, he realised that, given enough time and patience, not only was he able to solve most problems he encountered, but other people also had this ability – even when they didn’t necessarily realise it at first.
It’s a crucial insight that Bednar gained as a young man when deliberately stepping outside of his comfort zone in order to put his skills to the test.
“I flew to another country – Malaysia – and worked as a mechanical engineer in the jungle to try and get experience in an environment that [I was] not comfortable with,” he says.
Responsible for designing components related to the latex-dipping machines at a rubber glove factory, he found the working conditions less than ideal. But successfully solving problems in tough situations with limited resources was an important lesson for Bednar and one that’s echoed in his management style a quarter century later.
“That gave me a really good appreciation that most things are possible. You just have to persevere.”
Moving into the finance sector a few years later reinforced this view. “Not having a real understanding of finance at the time, [my experience] gave me an appreciation that things can be learned,” he says.
And so a career-defining leadership philosophy was born in the future CEO. “My ethos in business is that people just need time to become accustomed and learn a particular topic,” Bednar says. “If they’ve got the tenacity, then they’ll get there.”
Spotlight
Established in 2011, Finsure has evolved into one of Australia’s largest mortgage broking groups. The core of our business ethos is a desire to provide the strongest value proposition to all our broker partners. This underpins who we are as an organisation and why we are able to provide the maximum value to those who align with us. We currently have a network of nearly 3,750 brokers, while our loan book is $139 billion. With an international presence, Finsure is a dynamic, scalable, technology-enabled aggregator that is ahead of the pack and driving broker recruitment through our innovative solutions and breadth of service.
Company Profile
2011
YEAR ESTABLISHED
~3,750
Number of brokers in network
17%
broker market share in australia
$139bn
value of loan book
85+
Number of lenders on lending panel
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
tenure IN current position
3 years
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
Being made CEO at Finsure
Simon Bednar
Chief executive at Finsure
Finsure’s unusual CEO, an engineer at heart and problem-solver in practice, redefines leadership by enabling his team to persevere and break through traditional limitations
Read on
SIMON BEDNAR,
FINSURE
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Milestones
2011
2012
2015
2016
2019
2021
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2011
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2012
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2015
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2016
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2019
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2021
Years of experience
25
Tenure IN current position
3 years
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
Karen Adams
President and CEO at Fundserv
Before becoming CEO of Fundserv, Karen Adams held a variety of leadership roles around the world – and she learned that listening and understanding are key to both providing service and developing talent
Read on
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Of course, giving employees leeway to solve problems on their own requires management to operate with a degree of give and take. In child-rearing manuals, this is sometimes referred to as free-range parenting – trusting children to engage in tasks in their own way teaches accountability and resilience. In time, the trait becomes self-reinforcing, where children explore their environment proactively, take risks and develop critical-thinking skills.
In business management parlance, this practice is called empowering leadership. Academic studies have shown that this type of leadership can enhance job autonomy and recognition, in turn boosting work engagement and productivity. Other studies have found that empowering leadership reduces employee cynicism, leading to higher productivity and better time management.
Bednar believes that not giving up on a problem is the key to eventual success. “My leadership style is more around empowering the people around me … the most important lesson is nothing’s impossible,” he says.
It’s a typical engineer’s viewpoint. Engineers are so often brought in to find solutions to problems that have never been found before – they are both thought innovators and real-world solution pioneers. Think the Eiffel Tower or the Apollo program.
But Bednar knows that for even the most talented, a little negativity from management can do a lot of damage to both the project and the attitudes of the people struggling with the challenge at hand.
“I think people get told you can’t do it or that’s impossible too often, and they’re [deterred] from trying. I think the key is to persevere: have people around you that can complement you and lift you, and anything’s possible.”
In this regard, Bednar is taking a page from Thomas Edison’s book – he took a very long time to invent the lightbulb because he couldn’t find material for a filament that would glow without burning out too quickly. When a reporter quipped that he had failed 5,000 times, Edison famously remarked that he had not failed but successfully discovered 5,000 ways that didn’t work.
Bednar understands that to get Edison-level results, people need to feel both inspired and secure enough to try things that can sometimes have a high risk of not succeeding over the short term.
“I think I’m only a good leader because I’ve got an amazing team around me,” Bednar says. “They do amazing things, and they’re only able to do those things because they feel that they can do that safely and be empowered.”
Bednar is aware that his style might be unusual in the mortgage and finance industry. “Mortgage brokering, by its very definition, is selling to people and helping them,” he says. “My approach has been probably coming at it from an engineering perspective and more of a problem-solving approach.”
SIMON BEDNAr,
FINSURE
The orthodox sales approach dominates the styles of many finance industry leaders, and Bednar readily admits that in a straight-up sales-pitch battle he may be at a disadvantage. But he has found a way to compete through his focus on engineering the problem rather than the potential customer.
“That’s given me a slightly different perspective on how to approach problems, how to approach people, how to sell. I sell [best] when I talk to people about fact, because of the engineering background, and that’s probably given me an opportunity to [approach work at] Finsure and the industry in a slightly different manner than others.”
This distinctive approach has clearly earned Bednar widespread admiration throughout his career. He has a string of projects and start-ups on his resume that underscore his restless search for problems that need solving and his drive to bring fresh ideas to old paradigms. It’s no surprise that he was entrusted with the leadership of Finsure in 2022, following seven successful years as general manager.
Bednar views his appointment as CEO as his proudest moment, and perhaps as a something of a vindication that his unusual background and problem-solving-first approach are no barrier to success in what can be a very conservative industry.
“Outside of that, it’s what we’ve built at Finsure in the short amount of time the business has been operating – we’ve achieved some great and lofty achievements which I’m extremely proud of, and I think it’s only the beginning of the Finsure journey.”
“My ethos in business is that people just need time to become accustomed and learn a particular topic. If they’ve got the tenacity, then they’ll get there”
“I’m only a good leader because I’ve got an amazing team around me. They do amazing things, and they’re only able to do those things because they feel that they can do that safely”
Melbourne
based in
1999
2003
2007
2015
2020
2021
Joins NAB as executive broker distribution
2021
Becomes head of private wealth north at Westpac
2020
Appointed head of asset finance at CBA
2015
Named captain of the Waratahs
2007
Named vice-captain of Australia's Rugby World Cup team
2003
Waugh debuts as a professional rugby player with the Waratahs; makes Test debut with the Wallabies
1999
Milestones
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Published 10 Mar 2025
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Copyright © 2025 KM Business Information Australia Pty Ltd
RSS
Sitemap
About us
Conditions of Use
Privacy policy
Terms & conditions
People
Firms
Advertising
Authors
E-newsletter
Contact Us
Contact Us
Australian Broker Talk
Events
White papers
Webinar
Australian Broker Talk
Resources
TV
Sector Focus
Power Panel
Independent Feature
Executive Team Profile
Exclusive Leader Profile
Business Update
Business Focus
Big Deal
Premium Content
Technology
Reverse Mortgages
Investment Loans
Specialist Lending
SME
Commercial
Specialty
Best In Mortgage
News
News
Copyright © 2025 KM Business Information Australia Pty Ltd
RSS
Sitemap
About us
Conditions of Use
Privacy policy
Terms & conditions
People
Firms
Empowering the team at Finsure
Leveraging his strengths
Mortgage and finance is an industry the former mechanical engineer intends to stay in, and its diversity gives him ample reason to get out of bed in the morning when he’s not enjoying sport or spending time with his family.
“I’m really fortunate that I’m in a position and in an industry in which no day is the same … I’m talking to lenders one day, I’m talking to brokers another day, and I’m talking to staff and others, both here and overseas, and it just gives real spice to the job and to the momentum in the day – it keeps you invigorated and excited,” he says with a smile.
Spice, excitement and no two days the same – perhaps Bednar still carries a little of that Malaysian jungle spirit with him even today.
A positive focus
Melbourne