Major brokerage appoints new head of recruitment

Mr Smith was most recently the senior network development manager and senior auctioneer at LJ Hooker Corp.

Before that, he held the roles of business growth and development manager and group auctioneer at Ray White.

The new role builds and expands upon the position previously fulfilled by the national franchise recruitment manager. The former national franchise recruitment manager, Tzuri Avila, vacated the role in April to start his own Mortgage Choice franchise.

Mr Smith will now take on the responsibility for the continued growth of the Mortgage Choice franchise network.

He began his new role this month, reporting to the group's new general manager of distribution, David Zammit.

Commenting on his appointment at Mortgage Choice, Mr Zammit said he was “thrilled” to welcome Mr Smith to the brokerage.

“For 28 years, we have been helping Mortgage Choice franchise owners create strong sustainable businesses,” Mr Zammit said.

“We believe Jerome’s extensive experience in sales and a deep understanding of the property industry and franchising will help us find the new generation of talent to grow our iconic brand.”

In his roles in the real estate industry, Mr Smith helped expand the brands into new Australian markets, hired 150 new salespeople and established 29 new offices, according to Mr Zammit.

“Jerome’s high-energy personality, ability to build and maintain strong business relationships and his growth-driven mindset will be invaluable to helping Mortgage Choice deliver its growth strategy,” he said.

Speaking about his appointment, Mr Smith said he was excited to begin a new chapter in his career, adding Mortgage Choice “is synonymous with mortgage broking”.

“The role of mortgage brokers is more important than ever. And in challenging economic times, Australians turn to professionals and brands they know and trust,” he said.

“It is this consideration I hope to leverage to help ambitious entrepreneurs start their own Mortgage Choice business.”

[Related: Major brokerage appoints new GM of distribution]