It announces a number of promotions and new hires
Mortgage aggregator Australian Finance Group (AFG) has strengthened its sales and support teams across Australia with a mix of internal promotions and new hires.
In Western Australia, Sanil Shah (pictured above far left) has been promoted to the position of partnership manager, reporting to WA state sales manager Jia Jia Wong.
Shah, who joined AFG three years ago, has served as a partnership support manager for the past 18 months. AFG is currently recruiting a replacement for his previous role.
Rob James (pictured above, second from left) has joined as a business relationship manager for AFG Home Loans, reporting to AFG home and commercial loans national sales manager James Tran.
James brings over 15 years of finance industry experience, including a tenure as a mortgage broker since 2011.
In New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Jess Van Den Heuvel (pictured above, second from right) and Edison Xie (pictured above,far right) have been appointed as partnership managers, reporting to NSW/ACT state manager Haley Bellamy. Lisa Lam also joins the NSW/ACT team as a partnership manager, transferring from her role as partnership manager in WA.
Van Den Heuvel has over a decade of financial services experience, with previous roles at Pepper Money and National Australia Bank, while Xie has nearly 10 years in financial services, including positions at inSynergy Advisory and Lendi.
Chloe Savanah has also joined the AFG Home Loans team in NSW as a business relationship manager, reporting to Tran.
Savanah has over eight years of experience in the finance industry, primarily at Pepper Money. Her appointment expands the NSW AFG Home Loans team from two to three members, totalling 12 across Australia, to meet growing demand.
In Queensland, Sonya Blair and Hine Grey have been appointed partnership managers, reporting to state manager Margie Cannizzo.
Grey brings over 20 years of experience in financial services, including roles at REA Group, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and ANZ Bank. Blair has over 25 years of industry experience, with previous positions at Mortgage Choice and Bankwest.
These new roles were created following the promotion of former partnership manager Ross McDougall to growth manager of AFG’s new Partner Connect program, a spot-and-refer platform designed to support brokers in diversifying beyond traditional business areas.
“In many cases, we needed to look no further than our own teams to find quality people who are excelling in the business and worthy of promotion,” said Them Lam, head of sales and distribution at AFG. “For some roles there was also a need to search further afield, and despite a highly competitive market, we are pleased to have also attracted several quality hires to the AFG team.
“I am confident we have an exceptionally strong team in place that ensures our members continue growing, prospering, and providing a first-class service to their customers.”
Lam highlighted the importance of maintaining a high-calibre team to serve AFG’s growing broker membership.
“The demand for services from mortgage brokers is increasing, and many brokers have never been busier,” he said. “AFG is here to support our valued members, and we feel we have the right team in place to maintain our position as the aggregator of choice for all brokers, while continuing to build the trust and confidence of our existing member base.”
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