Lender appoints national broker manager

Mr Fidler holds 12 years of experience in the commercial lending space, and most recently served as chief procurement officer and head of fleet at a vehicle subscription business for on-demand ride share drivers.

The new appointee has also previously held roles at Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and Ferrari Maserati Sydney, and currently serves as a non-executive director of cloud-based motor dealer fleet pricing aggregator portal, FleetCloud.

The new broker head will report to OnDeck’s head of sales, Michael Burke, who welcomed his appointment.

“Robbie is a very talented individual. He brings to OnDeck an in-depth knowledge of both SME lending and the needs of brokers,” Mr Burke said.

“Robbie understands the importance of building mutually beneficial relationships with brokers, which is well-aligned to OnDeck’s focus on the longevity of broker relationships.

“As a small business owner himself, Robbie is able to bring value to the conversations he has with brokers around SME lending.”

Mr Burke added that the appointment would help further develop OnDeck’s relationship with the third-party distribution channel.

“OnDeck recognises the value of the broker channel, and Robbie’s appointment is part of our strategy of investing in quality people who can support brokers’ plans to grow their business by expanding into SME lending,” Mr Burke said.

Reflecting on his appointment, Mr Fidler said he looks forward to commencing his new role, which he said would also involve broker education and training. 

“I am really excited about joining the OnDeck team and working with our growing team of brokers," he said. 

“I understand that cash flow lending is an area many brokers are unfamiliar with, especially coming from a mortgage broking background.

“This is why I see a large part of my role involving broker education, acting as a coach or mentor to help brokers find opportunities within their existing databases.”

Mr Fidler said he believes his personal experience as a small business owner would provide him with unique insights into the financing needs of Australia’s small businesses.

“Understanding the best product for a business, and the return on investment of a particular loan is critical – and it involves taking a transactional view of the business rather than just focusing on the interest rate,” he said.

“A toy shop, for example, may need an extra $25,000 worth of stock coming into Christmas but they may not have the cash flow to support that purchase upfront. Yet having this stock could deliver an additional $15,000 of gross profit to the business.”

He concluded: “I understand best practice within the operating model of a cash flow lender, and I have had direct involvement in high growth businesses, either in an owner capacity, or an employee capacity.

“I am eager to be part of OnDeck’s next phase of growth and to help Australian brokers expand their business into SME lending.”

[Related: Non-major appoints interim CFO]