MFAA Champions of Diversity – Mary Nebotakis, Natloans

Adaptability, resilience and the importance of embracing change are the things that Natloans CEO and Founder Mary Nebotakis believes are integral to ensuring longevity in mortgage and finance broking.

With 20 years experience in the industry, Mary has endured significant change and disruption including the Global Financial Crisis, the Banking Royal Commission and now COVID-19.

She thrives on finding solutions for her diverse customers and cites her adaptability as the biggest enabler to building a thriving business employing eight staff and servicing clients across asset finance, personal loans and mortgages.

“It’s about having a positive attitude and not thinking this is a roadblock or this is a show-stopper – rather than fight against the change or disruption, I think about how can I work with it,” Mary said.

“Every day is different, every day is a new challenge and a changing space and that’s what I love about the industry– it’s never ever dull.”

Mary did not follow a traditional path into finance broking, establishing her business while on maternity leave from Telstra where she worked in a variety of roles including in call centres, as a technical leader and in learning and development.

She is yet another example of how women entering the mortgage and finance broking industry often come from non-banking and finance backgrounds and bring different perspectives and experiences to the industry.

Historically, Mary says she has been one of just a handful of senior female brokers in the industry, but has witnessed much progression and change around gender diversity over the past 20 years.

“Previously, it’s always been a male ex-banker that has decided to go into broking,” she said.

“I think that our industry has done quite a good job in embracing one size does not fit all.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be one of the women who were part of the change. I just did the best I could and was fortunate that people noticed me.”

Innovation is something that Mary believes greater diversity brings to the industry and something she has embraced with Natloans which became one of the first businesses to build an automation tool for lead generation.

She argues that enabling greater diversity and inclusion is essential to ensuring the industry can remain relevant to its customer base.

“It’s really important that we embrace all walks of life.

“I know in my business not everyone is middle class Australia, we service many diverse clients including tradespeople, single mothers, Indigenous Australians, Indian Australians, young professionals and immigrants.

“By embracing diversity it enables us to better understand our customer needs.”

Mary believes that boutique brokers like Natloans have the opportunity to promote greater diversity in the industry. She has been conscious of always hiring staff that reflect the diversity of her customer base.

“I’ve always had in my business a diverse variety of people working for me – different cultural backgrounds, different genders, different age groups and sexual preferences,” she said.

“I find that in the times that I have diversity it has brought a well-rounded approach to how I operate.”

And although the industry looks more diverse than when she first started, Mary believes it is critical that industry leaders and member associations continue to embrace difference and support initiatives that enable continuing diversity.

“We still have a bit of work to do – we need to continue to support the diverse landscape of our industry.

“Diversity brings forward different leaders that can bring other things to the table. It helps us better understand our customers, continue to grow the industry and it gives us a better reputation. It is important that we all embrace this – it will only benefit our industry.”