Leading SA/NT brokers celebrated at the Better Business Awards 2020

Peiran Hu from Keylend was named as SA/NT’s Best Residential Broker and Broker of the Year at The Adviser’s Better Business Awards in Adelaide on Thursday (13 February).

While Keylend’s Mr Hu took home two awards, his colleague - Gene Ge - was named Best Newcomer.

Keylend also celebrated on the night with the win for Best Independent Office (more than 5 brokers), in recognition of the work that takes place at the brokerage’s Norwood office.

Another multi-award-winning brokerage on the night was Rise High Financial Solutions. 

Rise High’s director, Marissa Schulze, was named SA/NT’s Mentor of the Year 2020, while broker Richard O’Grady won the coveted Best Customer Service (Individual) award for his dedication to his clients.

In fact, customer service at Rise High Financial Solutions was so strong that the office took home the group award for Best Customer Service (Office), too, with the judges particularly noting the office’s commitments to speed of response and the glowing testimonials of clients.

Directional Finance also celebrated multiple wins on Thursday night, with the Loxton-based office taking home Best Regional Office as well as Best Independent Office (5 brokers or less).

In honour of her commitment to going above and beyond to find finance solutions for her clients, Monica Wandel from SA Finance Hub was named SA/NT’s Best Finance Broker this year.

Meanwhile, Alexandra Robins from Toucan Finance was named as the broker to watch, taking home the Rising Star award for 2020.

This year’s Editor’s Choice award went to Michael Karp from Smartline, who was especially praised for his positive attitude and dedication to his clients and customer service.

Outside of the individual broker awards, leading business development managers (BDMs) were given a share of the limelight for all they do behind the scenes to help their broker partners.

Bankwest’s Maria-Ceres Parreno was named the Best Lender BDM (Bank) while Scott Hills from HomeStart Finance won the same award in the non-bank category.

In the Best Aggregator BDM award, Connective’s Justine Hockley was named as the state’s best, while Mario Catalano from Loan Market Daw Park took home the trophy for Best Loan Administrator this year.

Two Aussie offices were winners on the night too; Aussie Prospect won the award for Best Branded Office, while Aussie Torrensville won Best New Office.

For her outstanding work in the community and improving financial literacy, Sofie Chapman from Sofie Chapman - Mortgage & Finance was named the broker with the Best Community Engagement Program.

The full list of South Australia/Northern Territory’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 first launched in 2013 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 Perth (20 February), Sydney (27 February), Brisbane (5 March), and Melbourne (12 March).

[Related: Salesforce to keynote Better Business Summit 2020]