About Us
Brighten is an Australian owned full service non-bank lender with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Manila.
Brighten originates, underwrites and services residential and commercial loans. Brighten’s lending is supported by a diversified global funding and capital markets program including multiple warehouse-funding arrangements with domestic and global top-tier banks, three public RMBS programmes, a listed ASX funding vehicle (ASX:RAMHA), and a wholesale credit fund.
Through our extensive network of brokers across Australia and partnerships with leading aggregators and brokerages, Brighten offers borrowers a wide range of competitive loan products, including full doc, alt doc, expat, non-resident, bridging, construction, vacant land, SMSF, commercial and reverse mortgages.
At Brighten we believe in creating effective and innovative lending solutions to help more borrowers achieve their property goals within Australia. We are leading the way in challenging the status quo to establish a real alternative to the major banks, providing our customers and partners with intuitive, tailored and easy-to-use lending solutions.
We’re reshaping non-bank lending
Our mission is to reshape non-bank lending in Australia.
At Brighten we believe in creating effective and innovative lending solutions – helping more customers achieve their goal of home ownership within Australia.
We are leading the way in challenging the status quo to establish a real alternative to the major banks by focusing on new ideas and technologies to provide our customers and partners with intuitive, tailored and easy to use lending solutions.
Our Values
At Brighten, we strive to be a lender that makes a positive impact on our customers, our partners, our broader communities, and our planet.
We believe we share a responsibility to lead the way advocating for positive changes in the financial services industry.
Our values consist of Sustainability, Diversity and Inclusion, Equality, Social Responsibility, Ethical, and Good Governance.
Our Executive Team
Brighten is led by an experienced and dynamic executive team, each bringing a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success. Among our department’s leaders are former executives from major non-bank lenders in Australia.
Jason Azzopardi
Chief Executive Officer
Jason Azzopardi
Jason has over 25 years of experience in finance in both Australia and London.
Prior to joining Brighten, Jason was the CFO at ASX listed non-bank lender Resimac, concurrently holding additional roles which included leading Resimac’s Manila operations and managing Resimac NZ as CEO.
Prior to Resimac he held key senior roles at Bankwest, Macquarie Bank and within private equity in the UK, namely with Fortress and 3i.
Jason is a respected financial services leader who has successfully implemented strategic initiatives across multiple disciplines including Finance, Treasury, Distribution, Operations, Data and Business Intelligence, Brand, and Customer Experience.
Jason is a Fellow of CPA Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Craig Thompson
Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer
Craig Thompson
Craig has over 20 years of experience building and implementing technology solutions across financial services, legal and hospitality sectors to unlock new business capabilities, drive efficiency and solve business problems.
Prior to joining Brighten, he worked for MA Financial Group as Head of Technology across its Asset Management, Corporate Advisory and Lending divisions. He was responsible for the development and delivery of MA’s IT strategy, transformation program and technology roadmap.
Craig holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Business Management from the University of South Africa.
Adam Moore
Director, Group Treasurer
Adam Moore
Adam has over 14 years of debt funding experience.
Prior to joining Brighten, Adam was a member of the Treasury and Securitisation team at Resimac, responsible for funding Resimac’s residential mortgage portfolio. In this role Adam managed various warehouse relationships along with arranging RMBS transactions to meet the ongoing funding requirements of the business.
Adam holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) degree from Macquarie University, a Bachelor of European Business from the Ecole de Management de Normandie and a Master of Applied Economics from the University of Seville.
Annorah Ferreira
Director, Head of Customer Experience
Annorah Ferreira
Annorah holds the position of Head of Customer Experience. Annorah and has over 16 years of experience in collections and mortgage enforcement.
Prior to joining Real Asset Management Group, she worked for both Bank and Non-Bank Lenders in Loan Servicing, Collections, Process Improvement and Customer Experience working with secured and unsecured asset classes.
Chris Meaker
Director, Head of Distribution
Chris Meaker
Chris has over 21 years of experience in the finance industry with a focus on lending, business development and sales management.
Prior to joining Brighten, he worked for La Trobe Financial, where he was an executive general manager and head of origination channels. Previously, he worked for Pepper Financial Services Group as state manager and senior business development manager.
Chris holds a diploma of finance and mortgage broking.
Chris Purves
Director, Head of Business Performance and Commercial
Chris Purves
Chris has over 17 years of experience across Banking and Financial Services in both the UK and Australia.
Prior to joining Brighten, he was Head of Finance & Data Analytics at Resimac.
Previously, he held senior positions in both the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the Royal Bank of Scotland, where he originally qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
Chris holds a Master’s in Business Studies and Accounting from Edinburgh University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland.
Jennifer Xu
Director, Chief Marketing Officer
Jennifer Xu
Jennifer has 11 years of experience in Marketing and Public Relations, working for institutions in Australia, and Hong Kong.
Jennifer joined the Real Asset Management Group in 2014 and currently holds the position of Director, Head of Marketing. Prior to that, she worked for Classic Magazine as an Editor. Previously, she worked for Strategic Public Relations Group, Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and Konami Digital Entertainment Ltd.
Jennifer holds a Master degree of Social Science in Advertising and a Bachelor of Journalism and Communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Stuart Murray
Director, Head of Credit
Stuart Murray
Stuart has over 21 years of experience in the Australian Financial Service industry where he has specialised in Credit Assessment and Mortgage Underwriting.
Prior to joining Brighten, Stuart was the Head of Lending Australia and Responsible Manager for Resimac, where he was responsible for management of all aspects of Resimac’s Australian Underwriting team. Prior to that, Stuart worked within Mortgage Credit Assessment at St George Bank and Bluestone Mortgages.
Stuart holds qualifications in Mortgage Finance and Mortgage Broking as well as Training and Assessment.
Sharon Yardley
Director, Head of Reverse Mortgages
Sharon Yardley
Sharon is a highly experienced financial services executive with over 25 years in the industry. Prior to joining Brighten, she served as Chief Compliance and Sustainability Officer at Heartland Bank Australia and as General Manager of Heartland Finance, Australia’s largest reverse mortgage provider.
Throughout her career, Sharon has held senior roles spanning Operations, Distribution, Marketing, Compliance, Risk, and Communications. She is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading experts in reverse mortgages and has successfully delivered strategic initiatives and large-scale transformation programs across multiple areas of financial services.
Sharon holds a Master of Business Administration from Swinburne University of Technology and is a member of the Golden Key Honour Society. She is a Fellow of FINSIA, a Signatory to the Banking and Financial Services Oath, and previously served as a Judge for the Australian Mortgage Awards from 2020 to 2024.
Yvonne Ching
Associate Director, Head of Client Services
Yvonne Ching
Yvonne has over 19 years of experience as an Australian tax compliance professional specialised in SMSF Superannuation Fund audits, and tax planning for SMEs and High Net Worth individuals.
Prior to joining Brighten, Yvonne worked as a Senior Accountant at Holt Baker Pty Ltd. There she was responsible for all aspects of SMSF Superannuation Fund administration, audit and tax return preparation, as well as assisting clients in retirement planning, succession planning and estate management.
Yvonne holds a Bachelor of Business Accounting from Victoria University. Yvonne is also a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA), a registered Tax Agent, a registered SMSF Superannuation Fund Auditor and a Certified Xero Advisor.
Ben Mckell
Associate Director, Head of Commercial Lending
Ben Mckell
Ben has 20 years of experience in the finance industry with a focus on commercial lending, business development and sales management.
Prior to joining Brighten, he worked for Pepper Money, where he was the National Sales Manager of Commercial, leading their commercial & SMSF channel. Ben has held prior roles in both banks and non-banks in Business Development and Business Banking.