Commercial broking fintech appoints new head of broker sales

Mr Kolyvas has more than 30 years of experience in the finance space – including as a former Aussie franchisee – and was most recently the national sales manager, commercial for ING Australia.

Following eight years of service at ING, Mr Kolyvas took up the role as head of broker sales at CitoPlus earlier this month.

In his new role, his key priority will be to help brokers grow their businesses and increase their commercial lending activities by using the CitoPlus platform.

According to CitoPlus, the new appointment brings “a wealth of knowledge” in sales, commercial credit, and loan processing to the CitoPlus team and enables the existing head of sales & growth Maurice Corsi the “opportunity to dedicate more time and focus on aggregator and lender partnerships as we continue to evolve into an end-to-end digital solution for brokers,” according to Graham Strain, chief executive and co-founder of CitoPlus.

Mr Strain commented that the new head of broker sales was “a deeply respected figure in the commercial/SME lending and broking industry”, adding: “He’s passionate about helping brokers master all aspects of commercial lending and streamlining how commercial loans are processed across the industry.”

Speaking to The Adviser about the new appointment, the CEO said: “Ever since I first met John in his role at ING, we quickly realised we had shared a vision for how CitoPlus can help SME borrowers, brokers, aggregators and lenders; the approach needed to help brokers continue to professionalise and grow by leveraging the power of a digital and data-driven technology solution; and the mindset and cultural factors important when growing/scaling a new business from the ground up.

“John has a real passion for working with brokers and a broad network from his past roles. He understands the day-to-day challenges they face and his presence in NSW builds further on our existing team in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

“We have a great team in place to deliver our plans to create a judgement/human-led SME loan experience through brokers, that is digital enabled. And do it in a way that helps SME borrowers gain faster and safer access to tailored funding solutions.

“John’s focus on these key initiatives is poised to drive positive change within the industry.”

Mr Kolyvas said he aimed to “address the significant gap between the share of commercial loans written by brokers when compared to residential mortgages” and envisioned more SMEs leveraging “the expertise of brokers for their commercial financing needs”.

He said he sought to “empower brokers by harnessing customer insights from the CitoPlus platform”.

For experienced commercial brokers, the technology and support could enable them to establish a “fast and scalable process that ensures a deep understanding of the customer”, he said.

“This approach empowers brokers to allocate more time to the high-value tasks, such as collaborating with the customers and lenders to identify the right solution,” Mr Kolyvas said

“For less experienced brokers in commercial lending, we will help them with a structured approach to creating high-quality submissions and provide guidance and advice backed by collaborative efforts with lenders that give them [the] confidence to increase their commercial lending activities.

“This data-driven approach will enable brokers to foster deeper customer relationships and bolster their reputation and credibility among referral partners.”

[Related: Former FAST CEO joins CitoPlus board]