Solid strategy and hard work – winners reflect on how they made it to the top
It was a night of glitz, glamour, and well-deserved recognition as the New Zealand Mortgage Awards lit up the Auckland War Memorial Museum last week. Advisers from all over the country, from Auckland locals to those flying in from Christchurch and Dunedin, gathered under one roof to celebrate the industry’s finest.
The sense of community was unmistakable as advisers, sponsors, lenders and industry groups reflected on the year gone by, and shared insights on what drove their success.
Dean Rushby of Mike Pero Mortgages, winner of Loan Administrator of the Year, credited the win to his team.
“Winning feels great,” Rushby told NZ Adviser. “Success for us has been all about the team from the top down, and I’m really proud of that.”
Mark Nolan, business development manager at event sponsor Avanti Finance noted that advisers are often dealing with unique and challenging situations, and so rewarding the best of the best gives the industry a much-needed boost.
“Advisers have a tough job, and they’re often working with customers that have challenging circumstances and situations,” Nolan said. “Events like this showcase the best operators and the top people in the industry, and we’re really pleased to be able to take part.”
Warwick Slow, national sales manager at Kiwi Adviser Network and winner of the Bizcap Best Aggregator BDM Award, noted that most adviser businesses are small – which makes opportunities for individual recognition even more important.
“It was a surprise to win, but a pleasure,” Slow said. “Most businesses in this industry are small, something like 80% of us have one to five advisers. Having these types of awards are important for us to get recognition and showcase the talent that we have, and I’m really proud of the work that advisers do every day.”
Blueprint Finance won Finsure New Zealand Brokerage of the Year. CEO and mortgage adviser David Chamberlain said that the business is still in its early stages, and it was great to see the hard work of the team paying off.
“I’m really chuffed, it’s been a big year for us and this is a great recognition of that,” Chamberlain said. “We’re a new business, but we got to see a lot of other businesses in operation over the years - things they did well, things that didn’t go so well. We pick all the best bits to put into practice, and I feel like having that insight really drove our success.”
Finsure New Zealand’s country manager Jenny Campbell reflected on the importance of uplifting the adviser community.
“I love to see all the talent coming through,” Campbell said. “It’s such a vibrant and wonderful industry, and these guys are all at the top of their game. We want to uplift everybody, and we want to show New Zealand the importance of working with a good adviser.”
Basecorp Finance sponsored the Best Customer Service of an Individual Office Award, and director and head of lending Craig Rolls noted that the awards act as a great recognition – and motivator.
“We appreciate everything that advisers do for us, and supporting awards like this is our way of giving back and recognising those efforts,” Rolls said. “They also offer something to strive towards, and that keeps people working hard.”
Eugene Bartsaikin, director and mortgage adviser at Twine Financial Advisers, noted that he took a different approach this year, and tried to reflect on the things that the business was not doing as well and could improve on. Clearly, it worked, as he took home Pepper Money Adviser of the Year – Residential.
iConsult director and chief adviser Satyan Mehra took home the most awards of the night, claiming Commercial Mortgage Adviser, Avanti Finance Adviser of the Year – Specialist Lending, and Liberty Adviser of the Year. He put his success down to hard work, dedication, and always putting clients first.
Leigh Hodgetts, country manager at event sponsor FAMNZ, also reflected on the importance of the customer, and of giving advisers the chance to get together and let loose.
“Advisers are a really important part of the whole process in creating good customer outcome,” Hodgetts said. “It’s a unique role, and we’re really proud to support that. Events like this bring a lot of people together who may not be able to do so that often.”
To see the full list of winners and sponsors, check out the 2025 New Zealand Mortgage Awards recap.
