Revealed: The winners of the Better Business Awards NSW/ACT

Alex Veljancevski from Eventus Financial was named as NSW/ACT’s Best Residential Broker and Broker of the Year at the Better Business Awards 2020, which were held at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney last night (27 February).

It’s the second year Mr Veljancevski has taken home the Broker of the Year award, after having won the title in 2018, too.

Kevin Wheatley from Bayside Residential and Commercial Mortgages was saluted for his work in servicing commercial and business borrowers, being named the Best Finance Broker for NSW/ACT.

For her work in guiding the next generation of brokers, Nancy Youssef from Classic Mentoring & Coaching won the title of Mentor of the Year for NSW/ACT for the second year in a row.

In the Editor’s Choice award, Kathy Dundas, No Fuss Home Loans’ principal, was honoured for her determination, resilience and dedication to her work and her clients, having turned the challenge of the past year into an opportunity to re-evaluate her processes and systems, resulting in an uptick in business growth.

Kris Menon from Origin Finance was recognised for his outstanding customer service, taking home the Best Customer Service (Individual) award last night, while the whole team at Graeme Holm and Rebecca Walker’s brokerage, Infinity Group, was celebrated for having the Best Customer Service (Office).

When it came to winning service from an office, Pymble-based brokerage Simplicity Loans & Advisory, run by Matthew Johnson and Jean-Pierre Gortan, won Best Independent Office (5 brokers or less), while Otto Dargan’s brokerage, Home Loan Experts, was named Best Independent Office (more than 5 brokers).

In celebration of his work up in the south coast region of Nowra, NSW, Mortgage Choice franchisee Paddy O’Sullivan was named Best Regional Broker at the Better Business Awards. The Bangalow-based brokerage of Crunch Finance, located near Byron Bay and founded by Martie Irwin, was also honoured for its work of providing home finance in the regions, receiving the award of Best Regional Office.

Several relatively new entrants were also singled out as ones to watch, with Brad East of Wisebuy Investment Group taking home the award for Rising Star for the second year in a row, while former CBA Aussie Cabramatta’s broker Borey Yim was tipped as the Best Newcomer.

An Aussie office was also recognised in the category of Best Community Engagement Program, which celebrates the work that brokers undertake in giving back to the community at large. Aussie Tuggeranong won this award this year, in recognition of its work improving the financial literacy of schoolchildren and the wider community, as well as its charitable work.

When it came to new brokerages, the North Strathfield-based office of Mortgage Pros, run by Hank (Hoa) Hong and Russell Manfaredi took home the award for Best New Office.     

Non-brokers were also applauded for their work at last night’s awards in Sydney, as business development managers (BDMs) from Prospa and ING took to the stage in recognition of their support to their broker partners. Ben Howell from Prospa was named as the Best Lender BDM (Non-Bank), while Stuart Moore from ING won the award for Best Lender BDM (Bank).

Meanwhile, Vow Financial’s BDM Peter Bryant was named as the Best Aggregator BDM in NSW/ACT this year.

Loan writer and credit specialist Jenny Lam, who supports principal broker Alycia Inglis at Stoneturn, was named the Best Loan Administrator in NSW/ACT for 2020.

The full list of NSW/ACT’s Better Business Awards winners is available now. 

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists! 

Now in its seventh consecutive year, the Better Business Awards 2020 follows the award-winning Better Business Summit.

The Better Business Summit was first held in 2014 as a state-based event to provide brokers with straight-talking, practical advice to help them grow and improve their businesses. 

It was the first state-based awards program to recognise and celebrate the best in the industry in their local markets. 

The Better Business Summit has won multiple awards and has grown exponentially over the years to become the industry’s leading event, and now welcomes more than 4,500 attendees every year. 

The roadshow will continue to Brisbane (5 March), before concluding in Melbourne (12 March).

[Related: Brokers honoured at Better Business Awards WA]