At Metro, as a leading provider of asset finance, consumer car loans and novated leases, we take pride in being a reliable, resourceful and innovative alternative to traditional bank lenders. We lend $1.5-2 billion per year through an Australia-wide network of specialist brokers and salary packagers. Our team drives this success and upholds the values that make Metro a great place to work and do business. We foster trust, open communication, collaboration and cross-training opportunities.
But don’t take our word for it. We would like to introduce four valued team members, who o explain why they came to Metro and stayed. From a career-driven credit analyst to innovative, people-centred Business Development Managers, and our ever-evolving social committee chair, these are some of the people who make Metro unique.
Julia Thorn, Credit Analyst, Metro employee since January 2021. Moving sideways, then upwards: Julia Thorn doesn’t wait for opportunities to find her, she goes looking and takes control.
“Before coming to Metro, I worked with another financer for more than four years. It was extremely difficult to change departments or obtain credit training while I was there. I spent my time being the best employee I could possibly be, then, as a last resort, decided to change employers to gain the experience I was after.
“I moved sideways into a similar role at Metro and after 12 months, I was promoted to a Credit Analyst role, then recently to the ‘big ticket’ credit team . This new role increased my exposure to complex deals and requires more in-depth analysis. A typical day includes decisioning deals, taking calls from brokers, and workshopping potential deals that don’t fit within our standard policy requirements which require additional risk mitigation, structuring and information. I also review variations to existing loan contracts such as changes to asset details or guarantee removals.
“Throughout my time at Metro, my managers supported me to develop my knowledge and skills. I’ve had opportunities to work on projects with other departments and attend Metro and industry events, sometimes interstate. Senior staff take the time to train you and generously share their knowledge. Managers want to see you succeed. “I want to keep learning and expand my lending knowledge to other market segments. My experience showed me that you need to seek out and take advantage of learning opportunities as they are not always made available to you.”
Bethany Jolley, Project Coordinator and Social Committee Chair, Metro employee since 2019: From fitness goals and short courses to moving country, home and office, Bethany Jolley is always looking forward.
“I enjoy learning and I am doing it constantly. Before coming to Metro, I was an apprentice for a mortgage brokerage in England, then an advisor at a bank. When I moved to Australia, I got a temporary job with Metro before a permanent opportunity became available. I started as a Customer Service Associate and dedicated that time to learning the business and its systems. I took on extra tasks, showing my dedication and willingness to learn, and was promptly promoted to team leader. “As a team leader, I built on my stakeholder management skills and was exposed to servicing projects, which lead me to my current Project Coordinator role. Project management was not something I had thought about before coming to Metro. I’m dealing
with stakeholders of higher seniority than me and I have had to learn stakeholder management from a different perspective. I get to know stakeholders’ interests, and their influence and impact for every project.
“I have since completed a short course in project management, which motivated me to strive for a Diploma of Project Management. I completed and passed my diploma in May, my next goal is to obtain a university degree and begin to lead my own projects at work.”
“Working at Metro has opened my eyes to a different career path. It motivated me to do further study, and as a side hustle I am the Social Committee Chair. I’ve moved offices and home at the same time, kept fit and ran my first 10km. Metro has a great culture. Management is supportive and there is opportunity for career progression.”
Brent Potts, Business Development Manager, Metro employee since June 2019: Innovate and accommodate: from building consumer products to providing voiceovers for instructional videos, no job is too big or small for Brent Potts. “My family worked in stock broking and finance, so I was exposed to the industry growing up and always knew it was where I wanted to work. I love helping businesses grow and seeing the transformation from a small operation to a large company. Being a business development manager means I am on the frontline, finding funding solutions so that businesses can gain income-producing assets.
“I started out in Metro’s Customer Service team and, with the support of my managers, have worked my way up to Credit Analyst, then Consumer Sales Specialist and now BDM for Queensland. The industry is constantly changing and being in the sales team means you need to think ahead to develop products and stay at the forefront of innovation.
“Innovation is one of the greatest challenges of the industry, with every finance company trying to outperform each other. Metro’s management team listens to key stakeholders and makes changes quickly in an evolving market. Being involved in building our consumer car loan product would have to be my greatest career achievement so far. It was a big and difficult task, but seeing the transformation from having no consumer product to having consistent consumer deals coming in each week has been rewarding. I get to be involved in so many great projects, some of which I could never have foreseen. I helped put together instructional videos for our brokers about the electronic document process and part of that was doing the voice overs and putting together marketing materials. “Every day is different. That’s what I love most about my role.”
Jessica Clarke, Business Development Manager, Metro employee since 2018. People first: Strong relationships inside and outside of work are key to Jessica Clarke’s career satisfaction and success.
“Strong relationships are key to a successful career in this industry. I enjoy forming relationships not only within the company but outside of it through our broker network. It’s nice to be able to see things from a different perspective. You get closer to the action, so to speak. In my role as a BDM, I meet brokers in person at their office, a cafe or a local watering hole to discuss what is working, what is not working and anything that we can do to help. “I would say making connections has been one of my greatest career achievements. Outside of that, one of my proudest moments was being maid-of-honour at my best friend’s wedding.
“I’ve been fortunate to have been promoted twice at Metro by showing initiative and expressing interest in products and pathways that Metro was considering introducing or expanding on. I proved that I was ready and willing to dive into an area that was unknown to me. Metro has unwavering confidence in its people. They are open to ideas and opinions, regardless of your title or seniority. It’s a very cohesive working environment.
“Finance and lending will always experience challenges because they are heavily aligned with economic conditions, but all you can do is all you can do. You need to be prepared to navigate the uncertain times and support your brokers and clients with consistent, competitive offerings.”
