Headquarters:
Suite 3201, Level 32, Australia Square, 264 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Year founded:
2017
Number of employees:
100+
Phone:
13 14 88
Email:
info@brighten.com.au
Website:
brighten.com.au
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/brighten-home-loans
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Scott Wehl
Chairman
Scott Kelly
Managing Director
Craig Thompson
Chief Technology Officer
Leadership
Scott Wehl has over 26 years of experience in global wealth management and corporate banking, working for top-tier global banks in Australia, London and Hong Kong.
Prior to founding Real Asset Management Group and Brighten, Wehl was a managing director and head of banking products – international for UBS Wealth Management (UBS WM), leading a team of finance professionals in 17 countries. Over a 13-year career with UBS WM, Wehl held various roles, including head of banking products in the United Kingdom and head of banking products in Asia-Pacific.
Chairman
Scott Wehl
Scott Kelly has over 29 years of experience in global wealth management and asset management, working for top-tier financial institutions in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Prior to joining Brighten, Kelly was a managing director and head of investment products and services for UBS Wealth Management Australia. There, he oversaw the entire product offering for Australia’s premier wealth manager, with A$24bn of assets under management.
Kelly has also been the national sales director for Macquarie Private Wealth Australia, and prior to this, he was the co-founder and managing director of Corazon Capital.
Managing Director
Scott Kelly
Craig Thompson has spent over 21 years building and implementing technology solutions across the financial services, legal and hospitality sectors to unlock new business capabilities, drive efficiency and solve business problems.
Prior to joining Brighten, he worked for MA Financial Group as head of technology across its asset management, corporate advisory and lending divisions. Thompson was responsible for the development and delivery of MA’s IT strategy, transformation program and technology roadmap.
Chief Technology Officer
Craig Thompson
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Leadership
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Leadership
Adam Moore
Director, Head of Securitisation and Funding
Adam Moore has over 11 years of debt funding experience.
Prior to joining Brighten, he was a member of the treasury and securitisation team at Resimac, responsible for funding its 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.
Director, Head of Securitisation and Funding
Adam Moore
Stuart Murray
Director, Head of Credit
Stuart Murray has over 23 years of experience in the Australian financial services industry, where he has specialised in credit assessment and mortgage underwriting.
Prior to joining Brighten, he was the head of lending for Australia at Homeloans and a manager at Resimac, where he was responsible for the management of all aspects of the company’s underwriting team.
Director, Head of Credit
Stuart Murray
Brighten Home Loans’ mission is to reshape non-bank lending in Australia. It strives to provide effective and innovative lending solutions to help more customers achieve their goal of home ownership within the country.
Brighten distinguishes itself in the marketplace with a comprehensive product offering; fast turnaround times; diverse and resilient funding; a better service proposition; and a focus on environment, social, and governance.
“Brighten’s unwavering commitment to delivering effective lending solutions, exceptional services, ethical business practices, and constant improvement sets us apart as a lender that clients and brokers can rely on,” says Managing Director Scott Kelly. “We pride ourselves on our ability to promptly respond to market trends and broker feedback, demonstrating our commitment to truly listening and addressing the needs of our partners and clients. Whether it is launching new products, streamlining processes, or enhancing customer support, we continuously strive to improve our offerings and meet the constantly changing demands of the market.
“Brighten is built with a focus on what it wants to be in the years ahead – that is, a significant player in the non-bank lending space. With this goal in mind, the team at Brighten has been actively investing in building out capabilities behind the scenes, further improving distribution, and increasing the size of the credit and operations teams. The funding team has also been actively engaging different funders and RMBS investors to develop new funding lines, which enabled us to effectively scale our growth and enter new product segments,” Kelly adds.
For example, in 2022, Brighten launched its new home loan product, Brighten Elevate, in response to growing demand from expat Australians for properties. The product was designed to meet the specific needs of expat customers who may face challenges in securing a home loan due to their complex financial profiles, which typically involve both Australian and overseas-sourced income and debts.
The Brighten team also believes that it is vital for lenders to offer tech-first solutions to broker problems in the mortgage space. That is why they continue to invest in its end-to-end digital mortgage solution platform, which drives innovation to achieve efficiencies.
In 2022, Brighten welcomed tech veteran Craig Thompson as Chief Technology Officer. Known for being a highly adaptive, results-driven and innovative technology leader with expertise in developing and implementing IT strategies, Thompson applies a strategic approach to support Brighten in offering its brokers and customers a superior service proposition assisted by its innovative technology capabilities.
“Brighten’s proprietary end-to-end mortgage technology platform delivers fast turnaround times and an efficient loan application process, supported by our professional team who are passionate about delivering exceptional customer service,” says Thompson.
As a result of the leadership and management team, Brighten’s origination volume surpassed 87% year over year and its total headcount increased by 42% to over 100 members in 2022.
Brighten is committed to advocating for diversity and equality. In recognition of its efforts, it was named an Inclusive Employer for 2021-22 by the Diversity Council Australia. Furthermore, over half of its employees are multilingual, more than 60% of the team and over 50% of the leadership identify as female, which compares well to industry averages.
Brighten is also a member of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, a Plant-a-Tree Program partner for Carbon Neutral and a member of the Pride in Diversity Inclusion Program.
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Stephen Murphy
Director, Head of Lending Operations
Jennifer Xu
Director, Head of Marketing
Chris Meaker
Associate Director, National Sales Manager
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Stephen Murphy has over 25 years of experience in the Australian financial services industry, where he has held specialised roles in mortgage underwriting, customer experience and banking operations.
Prior to joining Brighten, he was the senior customer service operations manager at Pepper Money, where he was responsible for the management of all aspects of customer service and mortgage servicing.
Director, Head of Lending Operations
Stephen Murphy
Jennifer Xu has 10 years of experience in marketing and public relations, working for institutions in Australia and Hong Kong.
She has been a part of the Brighten team since its inception in 2017 and is currently the Head of Marketing at Real Asset Management Group and Brighten. Prior to that, she has held previous roles at Classic Magazine, Strategic Public Relations Group, Television Broadcasts, and Konami Digital Entertainment.
Director, Head of Marketing
Jennifer Xu
Chris Meaker has over 21 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. He also worked for Pepper Financial Services Group as a state manager and senior business development manager.
Associate Director, National Sales Manager
Chris Meaker
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
“Despite the challenging claims environment, QBE’s coverage and risk appetite have remained consistent. Brokers and customers know and understand our risk appetite and the cover we offer, providing them with certainty for the future,” says Erica Kofie, head of cyber proposition. “We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions.”
Kofie adds, “Through 2022, QBE successfully delivered significant growth in the cyber sector, reflecting the depth and strength of our team. We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations.”
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