Headquarters:

41/123 Eagle St, Brisbane, Qld 4000

Year founded:

1979

Number of employees:

568

Phone:

1800 635 228

Email:

marketing@firstmac.com.au

Website:

firstmac.com.au

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/firstmaclimited

“We prioritise embracing cutting-edge technologies, creative problem solving and continuous improvement to enhance our premium funding solutions and provide exceptional value to our clients”

Brett Bastow, IQumulate Premium FundinG

Kim Cannon

Managing Director

Marie Mortimer

Chief Commercial Officer

James Austin

Chief Financial Officer

Leadership

Kim Cannon, the founder and managing director of Firstmac, brings over 40 years of experience in the Australian finance industry. A pioneer in non-bank lending, Cannon challenged the banking industry by making home loans more competitive for everyday consumers. He is renowned for creating innovative products to help individuals meet their financial goals.

Managing Director

Kim Cannon

As a family business operator, Marie Mortimer’s role covers many responsibilities across the Firstmac Group of companies, including retail sales, third-party sales, strategic partnerships, customer care, marketing, human resources and family office management. She is also responsible for launching the firm’s Women, Children and Community Program in 2021, which has since been awarded for its contribution to causes that impact our community. Mortimer aims to continue growing Firstmac for many years to come to have a positive impact on its customers, employees and community.

Chief Commercial Officer

Marie Mortimer

James Austin is the CFO of Firstmac, a role he has held since 2005. He has a wealth of knowledge in treasury and capital markets and expertise in debt, equity and derivative markets. He managed the acquisition and integration of HSBC’s $2.2 billion residential mortgage portfolio in 2006, oversaw the issuance of more than $42 billion of RMBS and managed Firstmac through volatile global funding markets. Austin started his career at KPMG in Brisbane, where he attained his ACA qualifications with the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He has since worked for CSFB, Abbey National and HSBC.

Chief Financial Officer

James Austin

BRETT BASTOW, IQUMULATE PREMIUM FUNDINGs

Leadership

Jake Sanders

Head, Third-Party Sales

Jake Sanders joined Firstmac in January 2007 and has been head of third-party sales since 2017. Over the past 25 years, he has worked in various roles in banking and finance, including loan approvals, credit control, documentation, settlements and sales. Prior to joining Firstmac, Sanders spent five years with NAB, followed by roles with a finance and conveyancing firm where he obtained his Advanced Diploma of Conveyancing. He then held the role of national business development manager for Gadens, followed by a senior sales manager role at Capital First Financial Services. Sanders has a holistic understanding and excellent knowledge of third-party distribution.

Head, Third-Party Sales

Jake Sanders

David Gow

Head of Claims

David Gow has over 30 years’ experience in handling property, public liability, employers’ liability and motor third party or personal injury claims. Along with his extensive experience, he is a senior associate of ANZIIF and a chartered loss adjuster for AICLA. Gow’s previous role was head of property claims at QBE Insurance.

Head of Claims

David Gow

Stevens & Associates Lawyers is a leading and trusted employment law firm based in Sydney known for delivering high-quality legal expertise in the area of employment law and industrial relations across Australia, alongside a proven track record of effectively and swiftly resolving a variety of workplace law issues. In the past year, the firm’s growth has been notable. It has: • experienced a 213% growth in the number of client matters, increasing from 149 client matters in the 2022 financial year to 390 client matters in the 2023 financial year • improved its online visibility, leading to over 50 online enquiries each month and a conversion rate of client leads of up to 40% • significantly expanded the breadth and type of matters that it advises on day to day, which has increased the firm’s skillsets, diversity and resilience • expanded its community outreach by collaborating with local Sydney venues for client seminars and continuing active participation in a Sydney small/family business group Stevens & Associates Lawyers has adapted to digital trends by implementing an effective strategy with SEO and web design, resulting in a structural shift that has seen increased representation of employees where the firm previously mainly advised employers. The firm’s recognition as a “Fast Firm” attests to its momentum in the employment law space.

“IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started”

Wayne Tower, IQumulate Premium Funding

Steve Tchepak

National Underwriting Manager

Michael Prokopis

Manager – Southern Region

Jeffrey Valdivia

Manager – Commercial Strata

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Steve Tchepak became the national underwriting manager at CHU in June 2019. He has over 13 years of experience in strata management and strata insurance. He has held various positions, including commercial underwriter, team leader and NSW and ACT branch manager.

National Underwriting Manager

Steve Tchepak

Thierry Pascal has over 13 years of experience in business and corporate banking in various financial/credit analytical and relationship management roles with the NAB and CBA. After a career break to undertake postgraduate studies, he joined GE Capital as a senior risk analyst in premium funding in 2010. Following the divestment of the premium funding business to the Macquarie Group in 2015, he joined Macquarie Premium Funding and was promoted to credit risk manager, where he led the credit underwriting team. Following the re-branding to IQumulate Premium Funding, Pascal was recently promoted to head of credit and legal, a role that sees him manage the credit underwriting team as well as oversee IQumulate’s in-house legal function. Pascal holds undergraduate and postgraduate tertiary qualifications in accounting and law.

Head of Credit and Legal

Thierry Pascal

Cemal Akgul sees the head of risk and collections role as pivotal in guiding and influencing business decisions. He has more than 15 years of experience across financial and government services, most recently with the NDIS, where he was the leading consultant driving the Risk Management process’ nationwide. Prior to that, he served various roles at BMW Finance across the United States, Hong Kong, Germany and Australia. During Akgul’s tenure at BMW Finance, he predominately worked in risk management, guiding the organisation through seismic changes between 2016 and 2018. In his time prior, he was based out of New York, leading BMW Finance’s American subsidiary's market risk and data analytics teams between 2011 and 2016. Akgul values a balanced approach to business, encourages a positive work culture and is passionate about teaching and guiding the business and individuals at IQumulate.

Head of Risk and Collections

Cemal Akgul

Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager. As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

One culmination of these efforts has been the real-world, needs-based IQEdge solution. A one-stop online quoting tool designed for both the Australian and New Zealand markets, IQEdge delivers quotes in under 60 seconds. Plus, the solution offers quote comparison and quote versioning capabilities, enabling users to review vital historical and financial data in a single page view. IQEdge can streamline and automate application processing, underwriting document verification and payment collection, cutting the need for manual labour and minimising processing errors. A digital “self-service” platform, IQEdge, reduces the need for customer and administrative support. Meanwhile, borrowers can access their accounts, make payments and manage their policies independently and through sales and support teams, which are always available for further assistance. “We’ve created a quality platform that simplifies the quoting process yet amplifies the customer experience,” says Gordon. “It’s a real game changer.” IQumulate offers an online digital quoting tool to clients. The best-in-market solution enables IQumulate to tailor funding offerings to brokers that align with their prefered distribution channel.

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Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick

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What does IQumulate have in mind for the future? “IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur. “Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, with the potential to allow IQumulate to capture a larger market share, whilst continuing to deliver service excellence to clients.” “As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead. “We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”

https://iqumulate.com/

IQumulate invests in education and people, which are vital to attracting new business and talent to the company. “We have long tenures for several of our key staff, including some in leadership positions, and this sound working knowledge of our business, practices and industry provides great insights and a wealth of experience to offer our clients,” says Bastow. “Our new head of sales, Graeme Gordon, formerly manager for New Zealand, joins us in Australia to drive our sales strategy and lead our team to successful outcomes for our clients and our business. We look forward to great things ahead with Graeme as he continues to be active and present in the New Zealand market as well as building sound working relationships and new connections in Australia.” Clients can also expect a lot from working with IQumulate. “Through active engagement with our trusted broker network, IQumulate provides relevant information, education and training content,” says Graeme Gordon, head of sales. “Our clients can expect IQumulate to support their business in several ways, providing an understanding of what premium funding solutions are available and how IQumulate can spread the cost of insurance and help borrowers get the right level of insurance cover to free up their cash flow for other expenses or business growth opportunities. Premium funding is often considered a tool for those who simply cannot afford to pay their premiums in full. While this is certainly a significant driver for many, it is also successfully used by profitable companies who use premium funding to manage their cash flows more wisely or better manage their liquidity.”

What does IQumulate have in mind for the future? “IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur. “Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, creating a competitive advantage with the potential to allow IQumulate to command premium pricing or capture a larger market share. “As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead. “We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”

Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Similarly, brokers can expect:

top-in-class service fast response times competitive financing options annual re-marketing of policies to get the best deal hassle-free claims experience dynamic brokers eager to impress who do not take the business for granted

“We believe that you can free the knowledge workers in an organisation to transcend the mundane, creating time and energy to make a difference in work and our communities”

Neil Araujo, iManage

“Our unique artificial intelligence and governance approaches provide the confidence needed to leverage new technologies to deliver better results ”

Neil Araujo, iManage

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Founded in 1980, Firstmac is a privately owned company that has evolved from a small family business to emerge as Australia’s leading non-bank lender. Throughout this period, the firm’s founder, Kim Cannon, has played a central role in bringing competition to the Australian lending market for the benefit of Australian homebuyers. Headquartered in Brisbane, Firstmac distributes home loans through mortgage brokers, currently boasting nearly 600 employees and offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Manila. Facilitating over 140,000 loans for homebuyers and investors, Firstmac manages $300 million in cash investments for retail investors and oversees more than $14 billion in loans, ranking as the 15th largest lender in Australia. Firstmac independently funds its operations through the issuance of highly rated residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and has successfully released over $42 billion in RMBS bonds since 2003. Throughout its tenure in the mortgage industry, Firstmac has remained steadfastly committed to third-party distribution, having established its foundation by exclusively collaborating with mortgage brokers rather than engaging in direct product sales through branches (which it doesn’t have). Presently, more than 15,000 brokers are accredited with Firstmac, with this number continually experiencing robust growth.

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the best mentorship and support for whatever stage of their business or clientele one of Australia’s most attractive commission rates

Ms Yap’s own experience drove her to devise a viable broker model and commission structure that can support many startup brokers with a fast-growing clientele. This allows for a greater number of authorised representatives who are incentivised to target particular industries to maximise economies of scale, while a robust IT and support system ensures that brokers can offer the best possible service 24/7. “Our clients never have to wait longer than two hours for a response, and our brokers are contactable over the weekends for urgent claims,” says Ms Yap. “Our brokers understand their clients’ business needs and pair them with the right product and appropriate level of cover for any foreseeable risk or contingency.” The firm has made extensive efforts to refine its offering, and in 2019, it commissioned a comprehensive competitor review of the broker network market and found several gaps in the support for smaller independent brokers. This resulted in a significant investment in IT infrastructure to onboard brokers from anywhere in Australia. The tiers in the commission structure were simplified to make it more attractive for the smaller independent brokers to join while providing them Steadfast member benefits.

What this all means for iManage’s law firm customers is that their knowledge workers can work more efficiently and happily by leveraging AI and powerful document and email management to connect data, systems, and people for deep insights, informed business decisions, and collaboration. Working for the legal community is what we have historically done: the small firm needs are needs that we will meet. Innovation and products know no size boundary. As its market momentum continues to evolve, particularly in its cloud business, iManage’s workforce has also blossomed in just a few short years. It has invested in its people, which now number nearly 1,000, including software developers, cloud architects, and business solution experts.

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a 12-month branding and marketing campaign investment in digital assets and content that can support the marketing efforts of brokers strengthening their stable specialised insurance schemes to offer even better value for money for clients

As one of Australasian Lawyer’s Service Provider award winners of 2023, iManage is at the forefront of helping leading organisations leverage knowledge to operate more efficiently, protect information assets, and deliver their best work for clients. IManage and its partners are ready to help customers move forward in their journey towards making knowledge work for the every-day technology user. For example, the release of Tracker has changed the way many professionals work by allowing users to organise tasks and content, improve visibility, and reduce risk, essential functions for a small firm. Another product, Insight+, is already doing just that by building good data sets that can feed Gen AI. Further, an organisation’s iManage AI will be able to scale to auto-classify documents and improve the findability and automation of DMS content. Ask iManage, with its integration with Gen AI, uses natural language to query collections of documents for answers yet to come.

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Ivan Verescuk

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Shaun O’Brien

Head of Underwriting

Emily Walker

Head of Strata and Development

Rex Oakman

Head of Operations and Risk

Sandy Newton

Head of Underwriting

Andrew Mitchell

Manager – NSW

Michael Prokopis

Manager – Southern Region

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Jeffrey Valdivia

Manager – Commercial Strata

Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims