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PEOPLE LEADERSHIP ON THE FIELD AND OFF
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Finance broker Suresh Dewan makes dreams come true in the office and on the pitch AS AN AUSTRALIAN property finance specialist, Suresh Dewan covers north of Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, and lives in the beachside suburb of Yaroomba. However, the Fijian-born Dewan has a special place in many hearts for a reason other than securing property finance. He makes dreams come true on the playing field. Dewan coaches the Special Olympics Australia Sunshine Coast Club Soccer team, a group now playing in its third season with Special Olympics Australia, which aims to transform the lives of people with an intellectual disability through regular sport, competition and personal development, helping them reach their personal best, regardless of their skills. They play the winter season, from April to September, meeting every Wednesday and competing each month in a regional tournament somewhere in southeast Queensland. Members are as young as eight and age is no barrier. The regular group has grown from less than six to as many as 16 players, though Dewan would welcome more. Special Olympics Australia Sunshine Coast Club coordinator Shirley Hastings says the time and effort that volunteer Dewan willingly gives is not only about coaching but about mentoring and setting an example. “Suresh is a very modest person,” she said, “but he is the driving force behind this group.” Dewan has brought in friends Peter and Smithy to help out as coaches, and some youngsters as
trainee coaches, which is good because if numbers increase a 1:10 coach-to-player ratio is still required. All team equipment is donated and funds are raised by local community, business and sporting groups. Dewan, who grew up in New Zealand and moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2008, says soccer is in his blood. He has played competitively throughout most of his life, and still does.
New Zealand, and had eventually set me on a career path. “I appreciate the way we, the finance specialists and the real estate sales agents, have a business culture where we work together with the same standards of performance which align with the purpose, vision and mission of the overall business. And this is a client-driven culture, not agent or finance specialist focused,” he said.
“I think the time I spend with the Special Olympics Australia Sunshine Coast Club Soccer team is proving the most rewarding” Even in his younger days in New Zealand he reached out to the community, forming a local neighbourhood team out of concern at the obesity and lack of motivation he was seeing in children and teens. Originally working in the automotive industry, he gravitated from sales to finance, and this focus on finance eventually led him to gain a qualification and a position at Aussie Home Loans, which he says was a great grounding. “It let me develop the professional skills and experience I needed to win my position with Australian Property Finance, which I wanted because of the sales agent-broker relationship. “It reminded me of what I’d identified in the relationship between car sales and car financing at the start of my working life in
In 2013, Dewan took the Under 12 Buderim soccer team to Rome after winning the Volkswagen Junior Masters Tournament in Sydney. This was the first Under 12 Queensland team to be invited to the World Masters Tournament. He has just returned to coaching some of the same boys as under-14s. Dewan says coaching soccer has provided many highlights, including the Rome trip and seeing his team win at the Sunshine Coast Sporting Awards. “I have many great experiences and constantly meet wonderful people, but I think the time I spend with the Special Olympics Australia Sunshine Coast Club Soccer team is proving the most rewarding … and we have awards and chocolates at the end of each season,” said Dewan.
AFM APPOINTS NEW BROKER SALES MANAGER Following its recent merger with the National Mortgage Company, non-bank lender Australian First Mortgage (AFM) has boosted its broker sales team with the appointment of a new regional manager for Victoria, NSW and Queensland. Natasha Sultan joins the AFM team from her role as a business development manager at non-major bank Citibank. Prior to that, she held a national relationship manager role at Connective Home Loans and various management positions at other non-bank lenders. AFM’s general manager for distribution, David White, said the recent merger and Sultan’s appointment would provide the nonbank with an opportunity to build scale and drive increases in new business volumes. “Driving new business volume by looking after our broker channel and extensive aggregator relationships is our priority,” he said. “With Natasha’s experience, proven track record and passion for the industry, we are confident she will significantly strengthen our reach across the Eastern Region.”