Building Australia's most trusted business bank

Tim Alexander
Chief Operating Officer

Tim has 24 years of commercial banking experience at NAB, beginning in retail and growing to span a broad range of Senior Leadership roles across SME banking. These roles included being a state head of SME banking, national head of Small and Emerging business responsible for 40,000+ customers and developing greenfield call centre servicing 400 bankers. Tim was the CEO of Medfin, a NAB subsidiary and full end to end specialist banking offering to healthcare professionals, covering 25,000+ customers. Tim has been a Risk Manager of SME Credit, and General Manager & Program Manager of ‘Bank of the Future for Business’ responsible for a once in a 20-year transformation of NABs Business Banking Division. This included a full recasting of the operating model, building new support technology, re-segmenting 300,000 customers, establishing a 600 person centralised credit writing, documentation and settlement capability, and redesigning the roles of 3000+ bankers. Tim has most recently been consulting to the Business Banking Division of two regional banks on their SME offering.

Tim holds a Graduate Diploma in Management from Latrobe University and more recently has completed Leadership Journey with the Australian Graduate School of Management and the Competitive & Political Advantage, Formulation & Implementing Strategic Change Program with Harvard University.

Tim is an avid sports fan and a keen Essendon supporter. Playing team sports and staying fit is something he values greatly, especially when this can help bond a team.

Glen Appleby
Chief Information Security Officer

Glen is a veteran banking information security professional having held multiple senior roles within Australian banks for the past 20 years. His speciality lies in identity management with a focus on core banking services and corporate IT security services. Now at Judo, Glen is responsible for IT security to maintain customer privacy.

In his spare time Glen is an avid home automater! Whether it is lights, music, heating or security, if it can be remote controlled it will be in the Appleby household!

Chris Bayliss
Chief Financial Officer

Chris is a career international banker with 32 years’ experience. His career has spanned many global banks and markets, including Barclays, HBOS, Clydesdale / Yorkshire Bank, Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), National Australia Bank (NAB) and most recently Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. A truly rounded banking executive, Chris has experience in Business Credit Risk Management, Operational Risk Management, Back Office Operations, Technology, SME Business Banking and Personal Banking Sales and Service. As Executive General Manager of NAB Retail Banking (2010-2012), Chris led a team of 7,500 bankers across circa 800 branches throughout Australia, covering Personal and Small Business Banking. As the Global Head of Personal Banking (including Small Business Banking) at Standard Chartered Bank, responsible for a portfolio covering 60,000 staff across over 40 countries, banking over 12 million customers. In this role Chris was responsible for consolidating 40+ individual country strategies into one global bank strategy (supported by a unified CVP, global products, systems and channels). In SME banking, Chris draws on his direct experience as a SME credit analyst (Barclays Bank / HBOS 1990-1995), SME Relationship Manager (Yorkshire Bank 1995-1999), Head of SME Credit (Clydesdale Bank 1999), Chief Risk Officer, including SME credit (BNZ 2002-2004), Head of SME Banking (as part of COO portfolio – Yorkshire Bank 2004). As the leader of the Retail Bank of BNZ, NAB and Standard Chartered (2007-2016) Chris’s portfolio has included Small Business customers.

Chris has developed a strong personal brand as a developer, motivator and leader of people. His leadership style has been profiled by Gary Hamel in the Wall Street Journal, Gary Hamel’s 2012 book “What Matters Now” and also by the London Business School. Chris is an Associate of the British Bankers Association (ACIB) and has a specialized Financial Service MBA from Sheffield Hallam University, UK.

On a personal level Chris enjoys an active life. His favourites sports include tennis and skiing. A fan of the great outdoors, Chris finds time in New Zealand a real treat especially when he can enjoy this with likeminded friends.

Angelina Bernal
Director, Broker Relationships

Angelina has over 21 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Her last role was as a Senior Partnership Manager within the Westpac Commercial Introducers team managing a portfolio of 160 commercial brokers. Previous to that she was with NAB as a Senior Relationship Manager working in the commercial banking segment managing a diverse client base with lending requirements of up to $40M.

Outside of work Angelina enjoys spending time with her family. She also loves to travel and explore new destinations.

Niko Bielovich
General Manager
Technology Operations

Originally from Johannesburg, Niko has worked for over 20 years in program management across multiple industry verticals. As such, he has built up extensive experience in establishing and delivering transformational programs in Origin Energy, NAB and Telstra. More recently Niko helped establish and led key parts of Telstra’s digital transformation over the last 5 years. He is focused on delivering value to help improve customer engagement and business value.

Aside from enjoying a good family time, Niko is an avid cyclist and loves good food as well as time in his shed!

Hannah Borash
Business Information Analyst

Born in the UK, Hannah moved to Australia when she was four years old. It was whilst she was studying for her Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance and Economics, that she discovered an interest in data analysis and information modelling. She is currently undertaking a Master’s degree in Analytics and uses her experience in customer contact centres to bring a more human lense to data.

In her spare time Hannah enjoys poorly playing the guitar!

Megan Bradby
Head of Third Party
Relationships

Megan’s career has been in Banking and Finance across a number of disciplines. These include Senior Leadership roles in Sales, Operations, Project Management and Credit. Along the way she established new operating models, including Direct Teams from concept, design through to execution. Megan’s career includes key roles, such as Head of Financial Markets NSW and Director of Financial Markets Direct as well as Head of Sales & Operations at NAB.

In her spare time Megan enjoys her Pilates class and shoe shopping! She is working on reducing the latter!

Brett Buccilli
Director Relationships

Highly skilled Banking professional, Brett comes to Judo passionate about ensuring clients receive their money in the easiest possible way!  Having spent over 16 years’ within both Corporate & Commercial Banking, Brett has significant experience in business development, credit analysis, debt structuring & portfolio management across diverse industries.  Most recently he managed a Portfolio of highly valued clients within CBAs Corporate Financial Services division with turnovers up to $500m.

Out of the office, Brett is a keen sports nut and follows the NBA, AFL and Cricket.  On his perfect day you will catch him going for a run and enjoying a nice glass of red wine with family and friends!

Jacqui Colwell
Chief Risk Officer

Jacqui is a career banker with 33 years’ experience in Risk, Distribution and Operations. Jacqui has diverse experience across a range of disciplines including Operational Risk, Credit Risk (both Business and Consumer), Retail Credit Portfolio management, Call Centre Operations, SME, Institutional and Retail Banking sales. As CRO Personal Bank from 2013 Jacqui was responsible for the risk profile for Personal Bank. This division of NAB comprised Retail Banking, Micro and Small Business, Broker Channels, and Digital and Direct Business which included ATM network, Internet Banking and Call Centre Operations and comprised over 9000 employees and generated circa $2.5B in revenue. Jacqui was a member of NAB’s Risk Leadership team and a lead member of Personal Bank Divisional Risk Committees and a member of Group Credit and Market Risk Committee and Group Regulatory, Operational Risk and Compliance committee. Jacqui has deep experience in credit risk both in business banking and consumer banking drawing on her experience as a relationship Banker and as a credit executive where she held lending authorities more than $150M. Jacqui was also the State Head of Risk in Queensland during the GFC where her strategic risk direction and portfolio management ensured that NAB’s losses on its property portfolio were less than competitors despite being the largest Business Bank. Jacqui has also held senior roles leading sales and distribution teams within Business Banking, including General Manager of Victoria and Tasmania for SME. Jacqui was also Stage General Manager for South Australia and Northern Territory where during her tenure Business Banking significantly increased its share of the Business Banking Market.

Jacqui has an Economics degree and until November 2016 was a Board Director for the Australian Retail Credit Association. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors having recently completed the company directors course, a member of the Risk Management Association and Australian Institute of Banking and Finance.

In her spare time, Jacqui loves to catch up with friends and family down at the beach where she can relax over delicious food and wine before working it all off over surfing and beach walking.

Karen Davis
Executive Assistant to CEOs

Karen comes to Judo with over 20 years of Administrative, Sales, Graphic Design and Marketing experience. She has worked across a broad range of industries within mid-sized organisations through to global corporations. On the weekends Karen enjoys playing golf, socialising and experimenting with photography and art.

Graham Dickens
Chief Technology Officer

Over the last 25 years Graham has accumulated experience across the Technology domain as well as seen him live and work across the globe. His professional experience ranges across the Finance, Insurance, Health, Automotive, Education and Federal/State/Local Government Industries, giving him insight into different approaches and solutions that brings an innovative perspective to the team.

When he is not busy working he is busy living in Australia without owning a car, writing books and enjoying the wonders of the country.

Joanne Dominelli
Director Relationships

Joanne holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics & Finance) degree and has been working in the banking and finance industry for the past 14 years. During the last eight years, she has held roles at ANZ Bank all focused on helping Corporate & Commercial clients with their working capital and core funding requirements. Joanne’s key responsibilities included customer relationship management, credit assessment, business development and transaction banking. Most recently at ANZ, Joanne managed portfolio of business clients across a variety of industries with lending between $1m – $10m.

Outside of work, Joanne likes spending time with family and friends, being active whilst enjoying Sydney’s weather and travelling whenever she has the opportunity.

Elvis Gaboyo
Risk Reporting Analyst

is originally from Botswana with an engineering and analytics background. He launched his career as a civil and structural engineer before slowly making a transition into banking, where he has spent the past few years working as a credit risk analyst within Independent validation Unit and Model Monitoring team in one of Australia’s big four banks. With transferable skills such as logical thinking and quantitative analysis, he developed a love for data analytics and credit risk modelling.
During his spare time, Elvis enjoys spending time with family, friends, volunteering for courses close to his heart and travelling. He is very passionate about his sports such as NBA, Soccer, Cycling and Rugby just to name a few.

Steven Flinn
Director Customer Credit

Steve joined Judo in September 2018 after a 19-year career across various roles at CBA, ANZ and Westpac including Credit Analyst, Assistant Manager, Relationship Manager (both SME & Corporate) and Commercial Credit Manager.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Economics and Marketing) as well as a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment.

Outside of Judo, Steve is married with two very active boys and enjoys spending time with the family as well as travelling overseas, sports, going to restaurants, concerts and if there is any spare time, learning to play the guitar.

Daniel Fornarino
Operations Analyst

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Business degree from Monash University and is currently studying a Master of Data Science at Monash University. Daniel joins Judo after 12 months with NAB where he worked in Financial Crime Services.

Outside of work, Daniel is an avid football lover (soccer) and spends his time playing club football as a goalkeeper and indoor futsal.

Mark Glenny
Manager Third Party

Born and bred Melbourne boy, Mark has come to Judo Capital further to accumulating over 11 years’ experience across Business / Corporate Banking at ANZ. At ANZ Mark also managed outbound Sales teams for servicing third party distribution and transformation projects for process improvement, regulatory change and IT upgrades. Additionally, Mark has consulted on several business development roles to drive referral business.

A major sport fan, if time permitted Mark would spend a year following the Boston Red Sox driving across the US and visiting different Baseball ballparks, trying the food and soaking in the sights and sounds along the way!

Alice Gao
Graduate Accountant

Alice Gao is from Beijing, China. Recently She completed a Bachelor of Business At RMIT University. Alice is thrilled to have the opportunity to start her new career with Judo Capital. In addition to travelling, Alice enjoys catching up with friends, yoga and trying new restaurants.

Simon Hardiman
Director Relationships

Simon holds a Bachelor of Business degree from Victoria University. After working in the not for profit industry in Melbourne, he worked in the UK for eight years for The Royal Bank of Scotland mostly within their Corporate Banking Division before returning to Australia in 2011. Simon then went on to worked at ANZ as an Assistant Manager and then Relationship Manager for six years. Most recently at ANZ, Simon managed a portfolio of 40 business clients from various industries with lending between $1m – $20m.

Outside of work, Simon plays bass guitar in a band, loves running & kayaking and spending time with family and friends.

Milton Harris
General Manager Risk

Milton joined NAB as a graduate and has since accumulated 30+ years of Banking experience across Business Bank and Financial Planning. His accolades include; Head of Transformation and Deployment (Business Bank), State Manger of NAB Financial Planning and Managing Partner – Albury, Wodonga and Wangarratta Business Bank.

On a personal note Milton is a keen sport fan particularly if it involves his family!

Joseph Healy
Co-CEO

Joseph is a career international banker. He has held executive positions at NAB, ANZ, CIBC World Markets, Citibank and Lloyds Bank. As Group Executive/Divisional CEO, NAB Business Banking from 2008-14, Joseph was responsible for leading Australia’s largest and most profitable Business Bank and SME franchise with market share growth from 19.6% to 22.5% between 2008-14. A member of the Group Executive Committee, the Group Risk Committee and Group Asset and Liability Committee (ALCO), Joseph also chaired the Business Bank Divisional Risk Committee overseeing a loan portfolio of $220bn.

At ANZ from 2000-4, Joseph developed a ‘Wall St. to Main St.’ strategy bringing advisory and private equity capabilities to the SME market. From 2004-7, Joseph was ANZ’s Managing Director, Global Client Relationships. Joseph spent 12 years at Citi, where he had extensive credit and market risk training and held senior risk management roles. Joseph has deep customer, risk and business management experience, together with success in starting new businesses.

Joseph holds a MSc (Finance), MBA, MSc International Management (China), MA in Contemporary Chinese Studies and MBA (Banking) degrees from University of London, London Business School and University of Nottingham in China. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland and authored a textbook ‘Corporate Governance & Shareholder Wealth Creation’ (2003). A third book, ‘The Demise of Banking’ is scheduled for publication in early 2019. Joseph is an Adjunct Professor at University of Queensland Business School, and – and was a member of the expert panel advising the Deans of Australian Universities on finance course content at Bachelor and Master Degree levels.

Michael Heath
Treasurer

Born in Adelaide, raised in Brisbane, Michael now lives in Melbourne where he has accumulated 16+ years’ experience in the financial services industry across Queensland and Victoria. His experience also includes providing advisory services on complex and cash flow debt funding, as well as mid-market mergers & acquisitions. Michael also has extensive experience in supporting businesses across a range of industries including construction, manufacturing, retail, aviation, tourism and mining services sectors. Prior to joining the Judo team Michael was involved, at a senior level, in strategic transformation initiatives and sales enablement functions deploying sales effectiveness tools.

If he had the chance to take a sabbatical, Michael would spend a year in Italy to learn the language whilst enjoying good food, wine, landscapes and history!

Mal Hiscock
Chief Capital Management Officer

Malcolm is a career Investment Banker with more than 27 years of experience having led M&A teams in Australia and Singapore (for Merrill Lynch), the global M&A practice of ANZ Investment Bank with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore, Beijing and London and, for 10 years prior to joining Judo, was Managing Director and Co-Founder of Orion Corporate Advisory Services (a specialist M&A and Strategic Advisory firm based in Melbourne). Malcolm has wide ranging experience encompassing business strategy and planning, investor communications, dealing with regulatory bodies, equity and debt funding, capital markets (including IPO’s and strategic private placements), trade sales, public markets takeovers, strategic alliances and complex structured transactions. Malcolm has led or been a senior team member on the following selected transactions: United Overseas Bank on its successful contested takeover of Overseas Union Bank, IPO of Singapore Stock Exchange, global offering of Senior Convertible Notes for Chartered Semiconductor, IPO of ICI Australia (renamed Orica), IPO of TABCORP, IPO of Acacia Resources, acquisition of Leighton Telecommunications Division by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, acquisition of WA Gas Networks by ATCO Group. Whilst Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions for ANZ Investment Bank, Malcolm also acted as Interim Acting Head of ANZ Investment Bank (early 2005) and attended ANZ’s Credit Committee as sponsoring representative for ANZ Investment Bank involving complex structured finance lending proposals.

Malcolm holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, qualified as a Chartered Accountant, is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and has held investment representative and dealer licenses in Singapore and Australia and relevant NASDAQ accreditations.

Mal enjoys movies, the theatre, gardening. He also loves to travel; favourite cities include Paris and NYC.

David Hornery
Co-CEO

David Hornery is a highly credentialed international business banker with 29 years’ experience across some of Australia’s leading business banks including NAB, ANZ and Macquarie Bank. Most recently (2009-2015), David was Executive General Manager of NAB’s Corporate, Property, Agribusiness, Health, Government and Education divisions, covering 90,000 SME customers. David also chaired NAB Group’s Asia Management Board. Prior to NAB, David was the CEO of ANZ Asia. In this role, David built a completely new vision for ANZ in the region, had it approved by the Board and led its implementation between 2004 and 2007. David had accountability for 750 staff across 13 countries. Before the CEO Asia role, David was ANZs Global Head of Capital Markets. At Macquarie Bank, David’s roles included Global Head of Capital Markets and Director of the Proprietary trading division.

David holds a Bachelor of Economics Degree from Sydney University. He has been a Board Member of the Australian Financial Markets Association and Chair of its Dealer accreditation taskforce, a board member of both the Asian Bankers Association, and the European Australian Business Council.

Outside his banking career, David chairs The Hornery Institute a Not for Profit established 15 years ago, it is now a world leading thinker and consultancy on Community formation and Place making. David is also a keen guitar player.

Jayne Rennie
Director Relationships

Jayne comes to us with over 13 years’ experience in banking. She started her career at ANZ where she worked in Retail, Small Business, Business and Asset Finance. Jayne then joined Bankwest where she worked within the commercial broker team as an analyst. Just before joining Judo Capital Jayne was working at CBA as an analyst on a non-for-profit portfolio.

In her spare time you will most likely find Jayne indulging her love for design and rearranging the space at home! She also loves to travel and Dachshunds!

Julian Saheed
Director Relationships

Holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Honours in Management & Marketing) and has been working in the banking and finance industry for the past 8 years. He has held various roles at Westpac and Bankwest assisting Corporate & Commercial clients with their funding requirements. Most recently at Bankwest, Julian worked together with a portfolio of Corporate clients across a variety of industries with lending between $5m – $100m. He is determined to make banking easy for his customers so that they can get on with managing what is important to them.

Outside of work, Julian enjoys reading as many books as he can, spending time with family and friends, and watching European football.

Karen Thieu
Director Relationships

holds a Bachelor of Business (Economics & Finance) degree from RMIT. She’s passionate about delivering an exceptional customer experience in the SME space. Having spent over 16 years within both Corporate & Commercial Banking, Karen has significant experience in business development, credit analysis, debt structuring & portfolio management across diverse industries. Most recently, she managed a Portfolio of highly valued clients within the nab Business Banking division with an overall lending limit of $250M.
Karen loves to travel, read and is a keen foodie.

Kate Keenan
Chief Marketing Officer

Kate is a strategy, business development and marketing executive with 20 years’ experience across Australia, the UK and Europe. Kate has held positions of influence at global Financial Institutions and Services Firms including NAB, ANZ, Deutsche Bank and Bloomberg. As lead Relationship Manager for Tier 1 Banks in London, Kate was instrumental in the launch of EBS Trader on Bloomberg, throughout Europe. Kate has been responsible for the development and execution of major transformation and business development programs across the majority of the businesses she has worked in throughout her career. As Head of Business Performance in the Corporate and Institutional banks of both ANZ and NAB, Kate led multi-skilled transformation teams across diverse subjects and business lines. Kate held responsibility for the effective marketing and communication strategies that aligned with many of these key initiatives. As Head of Asian Banking, Kate developed a strategic capability, enterprise-wide whilst building the core marketing and communications plans for both internal and external stakeholders of this new offering for the Business Bank.

Kate holds a Bachelor Degree in Science, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne and has completed Finsia’s FSA Program in Corporate Finance: Valuation and Financial Markets. Kate has also completed an executive education program in Capital Markets whilst in the UK, accredited by London FS.

Kate is president of John Mackenzie Kindergarten, a volunteer role for a community run organisation. Kate has lived and breathed entrepreneurialship from an early age, winning the Shell Young Business Idea of the Year award when only 20.

Elena Khatountseva
Operations and Assurance Manager

Born in Russia, Elena moved to Australia age 11. Her career has seen her spend 18 months at Commonwealth Private and 11 years with NAB working across Business Bank, Corporate and Private platforms. This lead her to develop her passion for risk and compliance. Elena always strives to gain a strong understanding of her clients’ goals and giving the best advice to ensure ongoing success. Now at Judo Elena works on tuning and building processes with the aim of making things simple.

If time and money were no object you would find Elena dedicating her time to perfect her Salsa dancing skills!

Sam Kozaris
Operations Analyst

Born in Germany and growing up in Ballarat, Sam has lived in Melbourne for the past 4 years while studying. Completing a Bachelor of Business degree with Majors in Economics and Finance from RMIT. Sam joins Judo’s operations team with a passion for logic and problem solving.

In his spare time Sam enjoys trying to continually improve his golf game.

Le Tran
Director Third Party
Relationships

After graduating from Melbourne University Le started her career at NAB. She then moved to GE as an Associate Director specialising in Balance Sheet lending and Cash Flow lending. Le’s career then took her to Bank of Melbourne where as a Senior Business Banking Manager she managed a diversified portfolio of about 40 clients with borrowings ranging from $1M – $30M. Previously to Judo Le was at CBA. There, as a Business Development Executive she managed a portfolio circa 80 commercially accredited brokers, assisting them with onboarding, deal structuring, training/coaching and finding the right banker/ right home for every opportunity.

Out of working hours Le likes to spend quality time with her son, family and friends and if she can indulge in some gastronomic delights and read the odd Vietnamese novel at the same time, all the better!

Jason Maletic
Head of Compliance and
Regulatory Affairs

Jason has over 14 years’ experience in corporate and commercial advisory, banking and financial services. He began his career with ANZ Business Banking before moving to Macquarie Bank where he led Macquarie Business Bank’s Commercial Real Estate industry specialisation team. After 6 years at Macquarie, Jason joined Westpac where he took on the role State Industry Leader, leading the commercial bank’s Real Estate specialisation in Victoria. After 9 years in the banking industry, Jason transferred his skillset to the legal services industry, completing post-graduate studies in law and re-qualifying as an Australian lawyer. He joined Mills Oakley’s Corporate Advisory practice in 2012.

In his capacity as a corporate lawyer, Jason acted and advised a range of different sized organisations, from public multi-national corporations to SME businesses (both privately held and corporate clients). His functional expertise included due diligence, debt advisory and capital structuring, drafting of legal documentation and general corporate and commercial advice. Now at Judo Capital, Jason’s focus is corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and strategic M&A.

Jason holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Master of Applied Commerce from the University of Melbourne, and a Juris Doctor (Law) from Monash University. In his personal time Jason enjoys middle-distance running and keeping fit. He also enjoys quiet time with his family, reading and enjoying good food and wine with friends.

Con Maligeorges
Operations Associate

Con has spent the last 5 years working with consumer lending at NAB, most recently performing process design and optimisation for several fulfilment areas. His skill set lies in process mapping, instruction writing, project management and facilitating continuous improvement activities for operations predominantly using the Kaizen methodology, with a focus on standardisation and the elimination of waste,

At home, Con is an avid video and board gamer, and enjoys cooking, brewing and pickling in his spare time.

Mandy Jiang
Managing Director Asia

Mandy commenced her professional banking career 22 years ago as a graduate with China Merchants Bank. Through her outstanding achievements she was promoted to Deputy General Manager of the International Department of CMB Shanghai Branch in her third year. She was then promoted to General Manager of The Bund Branch of CMB Shanghai. In 2004, Mandy was nominated as the CFO of Shanghai World Expo Bureau where she led the first municipal bond ever issued in China. Mandy then went on become the General Manager of Deutsche Bank Shanghai before moving to Australia with her family in 2009 when she joined the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Sydney branch and then National Australia Bank as Head of the Asia Desk in 2013. Prior to Judo, Mandy held executive positions at NAB Asia across multiple areas.

In her rare but treasured downtime Mandy enjoys time with her family, classical music, reading, tennis, yoga and Tai Chi.

Matt Hocking
Digital Marketing Manager

Matt Hocking grew up in country Victoria. Since returning from a round-the-world trip in 2010, Matt has worked in both Australia and the U.K. for award-winning marketing and business development agencies. He has spent the past several years supporting local businesses by fostering long-lasting relationships and driving results through digital marketing tools. Previous to Judo, he was Senior Digital Strategist at Melbourne Media Consulting. He moved to Judo to collaborate with innovative individuals at a forward-thinking company and is determined to implement and manage digital marketing campaigns that will promote Judo Capital as a leader in small and medium business lending.

In his free time, Matt is a big sports fan (and MFC supporter), who likes to keep fit, travel the world with his wife and beat his friends at table tennis.
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Sophie McDonald
Finance Manager

Sophie is a Charted Accountant with 10 years’ experience in the SME sector. Starting her Career at Deloitte in audit which was followed by audit at Pitcher Partners. During this time Sophie worked on clients ranging from $20m family businesses to $100m+ listed corporates providing her with a breadth of business knowledge and diversity in systems and business processes. Sophie gained broader experience by working in consulting where she helped business develop strategic plans for new business ventures and improved reporting/ dashboarding for existing monthly clients.

At the weekend Sophie loves to spend time on the family farm.

Emily McKellar
Finance Operations Manager

Originally from Perth, Emily is a Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor of Commerce from Murdoch University. She started her career at Pitcher Partners, where she worked in Accounting and Taxation for high net wealth private groups.

In her spare time, Emily loves to read, socialise and Skype with her sisters and nephews on the other side of the country.

David McNabb
Head of Risk Projects and Change

David joins the Judo team with 26 years banking experience in a diverse mix of roles and functions. David brings a rich blend of experiences gathered working throughout Australia and offshore with roles including distribution and sales leadership, strategic projects, transformational change and HR specialist functions.

More recently, David held the role of chief executive in the not-for-profit sector. In this role he lead a significant change program, and the government relations and advocacy program that’s essential for effective representation of a national membership operating in a complex legislative environment.

Outside work, David enjoys spending time with his family, travel, and winters waiting for the moment his daughter leaves him behind on the ski fields.

Sarah Medica
Director Relationships

Sarah started her banking career on the ANZ Graduate program after completing a double degree in Arts and Commerce at the University of Melbourne. Sarah has over eight years of banking experience across corporate and commercial banking and was working as a Relationship Manager at ANZ Business Bank prior to joining Judo.

Outside work, Sarah is usually busy trying to keep up with her toddler. She also loves to travel whenever she has the opportunity.

Michael Borlase
Director Relationships

Joined Judo after a successful ten-year banking career with the Bank of New Zealand and ASB Bank where he specialised in cash flow and leverage finance. Michael is passionate about understanding complex transactions and providing tailored solutions for his clients.
Michael has banked businesses across numerous industries and understands that every company is unique in its own way and should be treated accordingly.
Before his banking career, Michael spent six years as an Officer in the Royal New Zealand Navy where he learned the importance of trust, communication and working together to achieve a common goal – all of which are key to a strong banking relationship.

Outside of work, Michael is an avid traveller and sports fan following Rugby and Horse Racing and more recently AFL where he describes himself as a die-hard Collingwood fan.

Brenton Moroney
Director Relationships

Brenton joined NAB after graduating from Macquarie University (B. Com). He has 10 years commercial banking experience with both NAB and CBA predominately in the SME segment. His most recent role was with NAB as a Senior Business Banking Manager (Commercial Broker).

Outside of work Brenton enjoys travelling, water skiing, watching sport and spending time with family.

Jeff Nel
Head of Platforms

Jeff comes to us originally from South Africa. Before joining Judo Capital, Jeff accumulated over 20 years’ experience in financial services across South Africa and Australia. His focus has always been on launching new products, building lasting relationships and enabling customers with easy access to products and services. Jeff’s professional experience includes National Customer Operations and Distribution Lead for NedTel Cellular and Client Support, Senior Manager for Global Trade & Payment Operations – at Nedbank, Technology & Operations Division (SA). Jeff was also an inaugural team member of the initial UBank launch team, where he led both the front and back office operations. Jeff was also the Small Business Relationship Manager (Westpac) & Manager of Broker Relationships for QLD/NT (NAB Broker). Now at Judo Capital Jeff is building an industry changing broker and customer application portal.

When he has some spare time, Jeff is keen to resume his scuba diving experiences.

George Obeid
Managing Director
Third Party

George has lived in Melbourne his whole life. Previously to Judo George held numerous senior roles ANZ Banking Group over a 16-year career and was on the banks talent program. George has diverse banking experience including operational, relationship & sales leadership roles. In 2010 George moved to the commercial broker division & drove a strong growth agenda through a holistic transformation and diversification strategy in the third party market. He also managed the strategic relationship with national aggregator groups/major brokers with annual sales circa $10b, ensuring synergies across the business were maximised & aligned with the bank’s overall direction.

George enjoys time with friends & family, normally over a meal or a few drinks. He is a sport nut and enjoys playing/watching nearly every sport known to man, yes even Rugby league!

Chris Oliver
Head of Asset Finance

Originally from Sydney, Chris comes to Judo Capital with over 10+ years’ experience in banking and finance across Retail, Commercial Banking and Asset Finance. Prior to joining Judo, Chris was the State Manager Asset Finance VIC/TAS for NAB Commercial Broker, where he developed a passion for Customer, Broker and Equipment.

Outside of Judo, Chris is passionate about horses, bees, good food and sport – he dreams of owning a farm one day where he could combine all these themes!

Andreas Piefke
Chief Data & Analytics Officer

Andreas designs and selects the technology that runs Judo. He comes to Judo with over 20 years’ experience in web-based IT Solutions. He was Tech Lead and Application Architect at MYOB, which involved Service Architecture for Bank Integration, Agile Transformation and AccountRight Cloud Migration. Andreas was also a Solution Architect at carsales.com.au.

Growing up near Hannover in Northern Germany, Andreas discovered his interest in information technology in year 11 at high school, he went on studying Informatik at the small Technical University Clausthal in the Harz Mountains, which offered ideal terrain for mountain biking and cycling, another passion he was happy to discover and still enjoys today!

Tracey Plowman
Head of Product Operations

Tracey joined the Judo team to design and deliver the product solutions of Judo. She has over 18 years’ experience in banking, primarily working in business banking divisions. Tracey has held senior roles leading business banking centre and sales operations teams as well as working in key finance partnering roles. She has led streams of work within strategic transformation projects aimed at improving the experience for business customers within NAB.

Tracey would love the opportunity to one day travel to space to witness the vastness of the universe and the beauty of earth.

Cecile Scott
Head of HR

Cecile is Judo’s French connection! She has a Master in Psychology and HR as well as over 10 years’ experience in General HR, spanning different countries and various industry: Banking, Non-for profit, pharmaceutical, Car equipment.

Cecile loves coaching, culture and getting the best performance with high engagement of people, talent management. She also loves chocolate and good running shoes!

Sharon Sims
Head of Risk Appetite
Reporting and Model Management

Career banker Sharon comes to Judo with 30 years of experience across retail and business banking, Credit Policy, Credit Strategy, Operations, Data Management and Enterprise Risk. Previous roles include Head of Model Monitoring and Governance at NAB, Trustee Director and Board member of National Group Superannuation Fund with 34,000 members and net assets of $3.4 billion. Sharon has also been involved as a Jawun Secondee in the West Kimberley assisting indigenous communities on the ground improve the lives of indigenous people.

In her spare time she enjoys Outback Camping, genealogical research, travelling and spending time with her family. She is also very passionate about the preservation of Australia’s three wombat species.

Stephen Mifsud
Managing Director Relationships

Steve started his career in Chartered Accounting Firms as a graduate working in Business Services and Insolvency for 5 years. Previously to Judo Steve held numerous roles across CBA, NAB and WBC Banking Group over a 16-year banking career across Corporate, Commercial and SME segments. His career has included being a Business Banking Executive at NAB and Head of Professional Services and Healthcare in St.George Bank where he was responsible for the origination, refinement of credit policy, go to market and strategy for the Professional Services and Healthcare industries.

Steve has lived in Sydney his whole life, he likes the outdoors and enjoys time with family and friends.

Heloise Syme
Business Associate

Heloise moved from London to Melbourne 2015 with over 15 years in public relations in art and luxury goods: London, Paris, New York. In 2010, she developed and ran Syme PR consultancy. Previously to that she was director at Camron PR and Head of PR at Kelly Hoppen Interiors. It was whilst at University at Leeds that she discovered her love for the arts and design which channelled her career path.

Out of work, Heloise enjoyed travelling/time with family and friends, especially it involves skiing!

Terrence Medford
Director Relationships

Over an 18-year banking career, Terrence has held various positions within the retail and commercial divisions of St George Bank, HSBC Bank Australia and most recently with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia as an acquisition banker in the Commercial Broker channel. During this time Terrence has also completed a Bachelor of Business and Masters of Finance from the University of Technology Sydney.

Outside of work Terrence enjoys time with family and friends, travelling and fitness.

Darrel Thomas
General Manager Service
Quality Operations and Assurance

Darrel joined the Judo team to focus on streamlining our offerings for customers and staff as well as implementing world class operational risk practices. Prior to Judo Darrel accumulated over 20 years’ experience in Retail & Small Business Banking across New Zealand and Australia. He was Head of Secured & Unsecured Lending at NAB where he led a team of 350 people onshore and offshore to implement NAB’s Nextgen lending platform. As Head of Operations & Risk (for NAB Retail Bank) he was responsible for the development and implementation of operational and risk strategies across NAB’s 850 strong branch network.

In his spare time Darrel enjoys Sport, reading, relaxing, spending time with his children, travelling, music, anything challenging, he loves doing stuff he has no idea how to do!

Nick Thorpe
General Manager Risk

Nick joined the Judo team in April 2018 after a 10 year career at a major Australian Bank spanning Capital Management, managing the day to day APRA relationship and oversighting Risk in the Broker and Direct business units. Prior to that Nick worked for GE Capital overseas and in Australia in a variety of Treasury and Finance roles and prior to that was a Chartered Accountant. Nick is passionate about offering choice to small businesses and a return to the craft of banking where relationships are a critical part of doing business. This is what attracts him to Judo where the customer is at the centre of what we do.

Outside of work, Nick is a busy father to three children and although he feels like a Uber driver on the weekend, he would not have it any other way. He enjoys keeping fit through regular exercise and being involved in the local community. He is a compulsive list maker and loves the sense of completion that comes from ticking things off!

Vu Tran
Director Relationships

Vu joined NAB after graduating from RMIT. He has over 15 years banking experience spanning across NAB & ANZ predominantly in the SME Segment specialising in Commercial Lending. His most recent role with ANZ was in the Premium Broker Segment dealing with Blue Chip Commercial Brokers and assisting them tailor the most appropriate financial solutions for their clients.

Outside of work, Vu enjoys spending time with family, travelling and watching sports.

Ben Tuszynski
Director Relationships

Melbourne born Ben joined Judo Capital to help customers navigate through the world of banking by understanding their story and providing the right solution. He has over 10 years’ banking experience across major banks both in the UK and Australia. With extensive experience in Financial Structuring, Credit Assessment and Relationship Management Ben has built a compelling reputation for supporting customers achieve their strategic and financial goals across a range of industries. Most recently Ben specialised in funding to the Health Industry, primarily pharmacy, large medical centres, dentists and vets.

In his spare time, Ben enjoys spending time with his family trying new restaurants and travelling to exciting (and warm) countries.

Alex Twigg
Chief Information Officer

Alex is a global pioneer of digital banking, with over 20 years’ experience and an international reputation for his contribution to the establishment of two of the largest start up banks in the world. An unusual combination of career banker, technologist and entrepreneur, he has used that combination of skills to build teams and businesses fixated on employee culture and frictionless customer experience through technology, product and process innovation. Firstly, with egg.com in the UK, the world’s first purely online bank attracting five million customers in five years and then as CEO of UBank the world’s first purely digital bank, shepherding it from power point to ~$25 billion in footings in just 6 years.

In between these roles he has built and sold his own private software company specialising in FX trading platforms and consulted to the largest global banks in the US and Japan on digital strategy. Alex is a Fellow of Finsia, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds post graduate qualifications in Management Studies, Technology Management & Software Engineering.

Alex is a frustrated builder and artist. He gets an immense amount pleasure from the process of creation and the unseen design, which takes something from good to perfect. He has a real love of things that look simple and effortless but you know, incredible levels of thought, science and precision have gone into making it appear so beautifully simple.

Frank Versace
Managing Director Relationships

Frank started his career as a graduate within ANZ’s business bank. Since then he has accumulated over 15 years Banking experience across commercial & Retail Banking. His career has included being National Sales Manager for ANZ Mobile Lending and District Executive for ANZ Commercial as well as being part of the Business & Financial Services division at Macquarie Bank, responsible for the development of credit policy, origination and distribution of banking product.

When he’s not being a banker, husband or father Frank loves all things related to food and sport, though rarely together!

Xavier Chapman
Corporate finance manager

Is part of the corporate finance team at Judo, having come from a leading financial modelling consultancy where he created business planning and transaction models for clients in financial services, property development and aged care. He holds a Master of Finance and Bachelor of Engineering, and was previously an engineer in the oil/gas industry- this involved spending a number of years working on offshore oil rigs in Australia and the Middle East, so he considers himself fortunate to be back living in the best city in the world for two of his great loves- horse racing and AFL footbal