Headquarters:
Sydney
Year founded:
2017
Number of employees:
120
Phone:
13 14 88
Email:
info@brighten.com.au
Website:
brighten.com.au
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/brightenaustralia
“We target wealth managers and RIAs that are looking for ways to differentiate in their offering and cater to a growing number of high-net-worth individuals looking for alternative investment vehicles such as private equity investment”
Kevin Collins
CEO and Founder
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BRIGHTEN
Jason Azzopardi
Chief Executive Officer
Adam Moore
Head of Funding and Securitisation
Chris Meaker
Head of Distribution
Leadership
Jason Azzopardi has over 25 years of experience in finance, working for financial institutions in Australia and London. Prior to joining Brighten, he was the CFO at ASX listed non-bank Resimac. Previously, he held key roles at Uno Home Loans, Macquarie Bank and Bankwest, where he successfully implemented a number of strategic initiatives, working across finance, treasury, distribution, operations, business intelligence, brand and customer experience. Jason is a fellow of CPA Australia and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Chief Executive Officer
Jason Azzopardi
Adam Moore has over 15 years of debt funding experience. Prior to joining Brighten, he was a member of the treasury and securitisation team at Resimac, responsible for funding Resimac’s residential mortgage portfolio. In this role, Moore managed various warehouse relationships along with arranging RMBS transactions to meet the ongoing funding requirements of the business. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) degree from Macquarie University, a Bachelor of European Business from the Ecole de Management de Normandie and a Master of Applied Economics from the University of Seville.
Head of Funding and Securitisation
Adam Moore
Chris Meaker has over 22 years of experience in the finance industry, with a focus on lending, business development and sales management. Prior to joining Brighten, he worked for La Trobe Financial, where he was an executive general manager and head of origination channels. Previously, he worked for Pepper Financial Services Group as a state manager and senior business development manager. Meaker holds a diploma in finance and mortgage broking.
Head of Distribution
Chris Meaker
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“We target wealth managers and RIAs that are looking for ways to differentiate in their offering and cater to a growing number of high-net-worth individuals looking for alternative investment vehicles such as private equity investment”
Kevin Collins
CEO and Founder
“[Automation] has resulted in productivity gains far greater than 80 percent and allowed our customers to grow their business by handling a greater number of clients, client portfolios, and assets under management”
Kevin Collins
CEO and Founder
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Leadership
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Bio
“[Automation] has resulted in productivity gains far greater than 80 percent and allowed our customers to grow their business by handling a greater number of clients, client portfolios, and assets under management”
Kevin Collins
CEO and Founder
“We target wealth managers and RIAs that are looking for ways to differentiate in their offering and cater to a growing number of high-net-worth individuals looking for alternative investment vehicles such as private equity investment”
Kevin Collins
CEO and Founder
Read on
Award Winner
Leadership
SPECIAL REPORT
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Ben Mckell
Head of Commercial Lending
Ben Mckell has 20 years of experience in the finance industry with a focus on commercial lending, business development and sales management. Prior to joining Brighten, he worked for Pepper Money, where he was the national sales manager of commercial, leading their commercial and SMSF channel. Mckell has held prior roles in both banks and non-banks in business development and business banking.
Head of Commercial Lending
Ben Mckell
Mike Zegers
Vice President, Strategy and Business Development
Mike Zegers leads business development efforts at Infinite and is responsible for identifying new partners for the firm. With a background in sales, marketing, product strategy and investment services, he leverages his experience in driving forward solutions for firms as part of a collaborative approach. Having more than a decade of experience with a large financial institution, coupled with more than 10 years at Infinite, Mike focuses on what clients need based on his knowledge of the product and the industry. He is passionate about exceeding client expectations from day one.
Vice President, Strategy and Business Development
Mike Zegers
Brighten is an Australian-owned, based and regulated non-bank lender with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Manila. As a full-service lender, it manages the end-to-end mortgage process, including origination, underwriting, servicing and funding.
The company maintains strong warehouse funding arrangements with multiple top-tier banks, operates two public RMBS programs and manages a wholesale credit fund, ensuring a robust and diversified funding platform.
Brighten offers a competitive range of residential and commercial lending solutions, including Full Doc, Alt Doc, Expat, Non-Resident, Bridging, Construction and Commercial loans. These products are tailored to meet the needs of a diverse borrower base, both locally and internationally.
Driven by a mission to reshape non-bank lending in Australia, Brighten focuses on innovation, technology and customer-centric service. The company aims to challenge traditional banking models by providing smarter, more accessible lending options.
Brighten is equally committed to making a positive social and environmental impact. Its core values include sustainability, diversity and inclusion, equality, social responsibility and ethical governance, ensuring its operations benefit not only customers and partners but also the broader community and the planet.
“[Automation] has resulted in productivity gains far greater than 80 percent and allowed our customers to grow their business by handling a greater number of clients, client portfolios, and assets under management”
Kevin Collins
CEO and Founder
Alex Ventura
Head of Marketing
Dave Longbottom
Chief Technology Officer
Karen Bannister, CM
Vice President, Marketing
Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Alex Ventura has a wealth of experience and passion for martech across the financial services sector – including B2B and B2C – with a focus on delivering exemplary omnichannel experiences. Alex is responsible for driving brands in the digital age with strategies that evoke a brand’s personality and corresponding values. Mapping customer journeys encompassing systematic and programmatic technologies has been key to his successful strategies.
Head of Marketing
Alex Ventura
With a superior understanding of web design and architecture, Dave Longbottom has been pivotal in orchestrating the development of new technologies, which are aligned with business objectives, and pioneering industry-leading solutions. Dave’s tenacity to push the status quo has led to the development of innovative solutions encompassing the latest emerging technological trends and cyber security frameworks.
Chief Technology Officer
Dave Longbottom
Karen Bannister has over 20 years of marketing expertise and has a Chartered Marketer designation from the Canadian Marketing Association. She is a strategic marketing leader with a career record of success in developing and executing effective marketing strategies, growing revenue, and overseeing multi-talented teams. She also holds five certifications for marketing and brand management.
Karen has successfully completed the Mini-MBA, Essentials of Management program at Schulich School of Business, and most recently completed the Communications and Leadership Program at The Ivey Academy.
Vice President, Marketing
Karen Bannister, CM
Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation of the company’s internal customer service department.
Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Sarah M Stewart
Alex Ventura has a wealth of experience and passion for martech across the financial services sector – including B2B and B2C – with a focus on delivering exemplary omnichannel experiences. Alex is responsible for driving brands in the digital age with strategies that evoke a brand’s personality and corresponding values. Mapping customer journeys encompassing systematic and programmatic technologies has been key to his successful strategies.
Head of Marketing
Alex Ventura
With a superior understanding of web design and architecture, Dave Longbottom has been pivotal in orchestrating the development of new technologies, which are aligned with business objectives, and pioneering industry-leading solutions. Dave’s tenacity to push the status quo has led to the development of innovative solutions encompassing the latest emerging technological trends and cyber security frameworks.
Chief Technology Officer
Dave Longbottom
Karen Bannister has over 20 years of marketing expertise and has a Chartered Marketer designation from the Canadian Marketing Association. She is a strategic marketing leader with a career record of success in developing and executing effective marketing strategies, growing revenue, and overseeing multi-talented teams. She also holds five certifications for marketing and brand management.
Karen has successfully completed the Mini-MBA, Essentials of Management program at Schulich
School of Business, and most recently completed the Communications and Leadership Program at
The Ivey Academy.
Vice President, Marketing
Karen Bannister, CM
Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation of the company’s internal customer service department.
Associate Vice President, Leasing and
Call Centre Operations
Sarah M Stewart
Sonia Ahuja
Chief Operating Officer
Sanjay Mehta
EVP and Chief Market Officer
John Laurie
Chief Partnership Officer
Anthony Dippolito
Chief Wellness Officer
Alex Ventura has a wealth of experience and passion for martech across the financial services sector – including B2B and B2C – with a focus on delivering exemplary omnichannel experiences. Alex is responsible for driving brands in the digital age with strategies that evoke a brand’s personality and corresponding values. Mapping customer journeys encompassing systematic and programmatic technologies has been key to his successful strategies.
Head of Marketing
Alex Ventura
With a superior understanding of web design and architecture, Dave Longbottom has been pivotal in orchestrating the development of new technologies, which are aligned with business objectives, and pioneering industry-leading solutions. Dave’s tenacity to push the status quo has led to the development of innovative solutions encompassing the latest emerging technological trends and cyber security frameworks.
Chief Technology Officer
Dave Longbottom
Karen Bannister has over 20 years of marketing expertise and has a Chartered Marketer designation from the Canadian Marketing Association. She is a strategic marketing leader with a career record of success in developing and executing effective marketing strategies, growing revenue, and overseeing multi-talented teams. She also holds five certifications for marketing and brand management.
Karen has successfully completed the
Mini-MBA, Essentials of Management program at Schulich School of Business, and most recently completed the Communications and Leadership Program at The Ivey Academy.
Vice President, Marketing
Karen Bannister, CM
Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years
of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation
of the company’s internal customer
service department.
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Sarah M Stewart
Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Karen Bannister, CM
Vice President, Marketing
Dave Longbottom
Chief Technology Officer
Alex Ventura
Head of Marketing
Damian Palovick
Senior Vice President of Underwriting
AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America
Dr. Mary Lavoie
Head of Risk Management and Senior Vice President
AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America
Mark Bernacki
Chief Underwriting Officer
Ryan Armijo
Chief Operating Officer, Underwriting Division
Bob Petrilli
President, Underwriting Division
“There has also been a determined approach to leverage automation as much as possible to significantly reduce overhead and eliminate ‘burnout’ for our customers and their employees,” explains Collins. “This has resulted in productivity gains far greater than 80 percent and allowed our customers to grow their business by handling a greater number of clients, client portfolios, and assets under management.”
Naturally for a dynamic firm, Charli Capital is focused on the future. There are plans to launch a next generation AI platform that can facilitate the intelligent matchmaking of private investors and promising private companies.
Collins adds, “The team moves fast – extraordinarily fast – and is disciplined to ensure that it doesn’t drop the ball, is prepared for future advancements, and embraces an eyes-wide-open fail-fast mentality for learning.”
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Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Karen Bannister, CM
Vice President, Marketing
Dave Longbottom
Chief Technology Officer
Alex Ventura
Head of Marketing
Mike Zegers
Vice President, Strategy and Business Development
Ben Mckell
Head of Commercial Lending
Chris Meaker
Head of Distribution
Adam Moore
Head of Funding and Securitisation
Jason Azzopardi
Chief Executive Officer