Effi announces tech council, appointments

With the council, the fintech is aiming to build a product with brokers’ interests in mind.

The formation of the council, which has followed the launch of Effi’s new email marketing automation tool in September, would allow Effi to receive regular feedback from the council to assist with product development prior to new functions and features being launched.

The council has aimed to meet every quarter to provide continuous feedback and advice on potential areas of improvement.

Commenting on the move, Mr Sodhi said: “We have formed this council with the aim of improving our CRM software and look forward to receiving feedback and working closely with its members to ensure that Effi is offering our clients the best service possible.”

“The regular engagement from the council will allow Effi to continually monitor our performance and assess the needs of mortgage brokers. We hope to receive feedback from a different professional perspective that allows us to consider the needs of mortgage brokers first and foremost.

“Effi’s product roadmap will also be available for the Mortgage Broker Tech Council to provide feedback before it is released to the public and brokers. Brokers will also be able to offer insights into their needs and requirements, so we can create solutions accordingly.”

The council comprises of six members, including:

• Paul Crawford - executive adviser, coach and entrepreneur at Square Logic. He has over 30 years of banking experience and has previously held roles at AMP.
• Collins Mayaki - founder and CEO of Wealthy You. He has previously held roles at Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisors, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).
• Nathaniel Truong - director at the Loan Lounge. He is a finance specialist with past experience with ANZ and CBA.
• Darren Liu - managing partner at My Home Loan for over seven years. He has previously held roles at Award Mortgage Solutions and DBS Bank.
• Ben Taylor - general manager at Harmoney.

Mr Sodhi said Mr Crawford’s 30 years of experience, Mr Taylor’s career in innovation and management, and Mr Mayaki, Mr Liu’s and Mr Truong’s experience in home loans would be valuable for Effi’s evolution.

Two executive appointments 

In addition to the formation of the tech council, Effi has appointed two new executives, including Vy Huynh to the role of broker relationship manager.

Ms Huynh, who has previously held sales roles at Macquarie Group, will drive the onboarding and growth of brokers to the platform.

Dilkushan Karunaratne, who has held various roles at ING Australia, including tech infra platforms lead, has been appointed as Effi’s head of technology.

Mr Karunaratne will apply his experience in IT and banking at Effi, while Ms Huynh will drive the onboarding and growth of brokers to the platform.

“With the expansion of our executive team we are confident the Effi platform will continue to grow and expand its offerings to create the best possible mortgage broker platform in Australia,” Mr Sodhi said.

Effi (short for “efficiency”) – was launched in July with the aim of disrupting the broker customer relationship management (CRM) space and make the customer experience more tech-driven.

It is a software-as-a-service solution that provides lead management, customer engagement and automation to the mortgage broking process – while also enabling brokers to generate revenue through the platform’s referral offering.

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