Because a great company is made up of great people

Richard started in the financial world early, buying his first property while still at high school. He was working part time and pulled together all his savings to buy a small investment property with his mother. Many years, properties, and lessons later Richard decided to start Become. He believes that opportunities are everywhere. That with the right mind-set and actions you can seize the greatest opportunities, and create a legacy. This is true for both our customers and the team at Become and together we aim to help people be more confident with their finances, to meet and exceed their financial goals, and uncover new opportunities along the way.

Away from work Richard loves going to the gym and spending time in Queenstown with his family. He has a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University with a Major in Finance and Minor in Valuation and Property Management. 

After finishing a five-year stint in the United Kingdom as a professional dancer, Nadia returned to Christchurch and settled in to an Insurance Broking Support role for one of the largest Insurance Broking Companies in New Zealand. Seeking more opportunity, and wanting to work more closely with her customers, Nadia joined Become to manage our property insurance business. She believes in exceptional customer service and is committed to finding the best outcome for her clients.

Away from work, she enjoys travelling, hiking and going to the gym.

While building her first home in Halswell, April discovered first hand the pressures and complications when it comes to getting finance and building. After experiencing the excitement of being a home owner she decided to leave the broadcasting industry and head into banking to help make it easier for others to get into their own home. Having cut her lending teeth with ANZ, April has the skills, knowledge and experience to help you get the most out of your next property purchase.

When she’s not helping people with their lending, you’ll find April baking treats that definitely don’t get the health tick, riding her motorbike, or on the ski fields. She has a Bachelor of Broadcasting and Communication from the NZ Broadcasting School.

Lisa came to New Zealand from England in 2009 to work with horses, however she fell in love with Canterbury and decided to settle here. She found her niche in the finance industry and came to Become to work with a team that truly cares about clients and about each other. Her expertise lies behind the scenes, where she supports the team by managing our operations and helping to drive the business forward.

Outside of work Lisa can be found in the gym or exploring the hills around Canterbury on foot or on horseback. She is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Applied Management.

Kate’s career initially started in banking and then moved to insurance, where she worked for a leading life and health insurer and the largest NZ-owned brokerage.  She transitioned into Recruitment and Human Resources, specialising in Recruitment across the insurance industry, and in 2016 joined Become to broaden her skills across the HR spectrum.  Kate is passionate about helping people maximise opportunities by building resilience, increasing focus and decisiveness.  She enjoys creating an environment where people look forward to coming to work each day.  Kate also assists the Director with the financial management of the business. 

James has extensive experience across wealth management as not only a Financial Adviser, but also as an Investment Analyst. As well as being an Authorised Financial Adviser (AFA), James has achieved level 1 of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification and aims to achieve the final two levels in the coming years, putting him in a unique position of being one of only a few advisers in New Zealand having both achieved AFA and CFA status.

When not working with his clients’ finances or studying, James and his wife have three children who happily take up most of their time. Together, they can be found camping and tramping around remote parts of the South Island.

Sarah has over 5 years’ experience in financial services and over 20 years in various customer facing roles, including hospitality. Having worked for the last few years for a large corporate bank, she has joined the team and is eager to be able to offer clients a wider range of solutions and a more personalised experience.

In her spare time, Sarah enjoys being active in the great Kiwi outdoors, along with live music, good food and good company.

Ruth has over 25 years’ experience in the insurance industry with knowledge of domestic, rural and commercial insurances. The Fire & General Insurance industry has seen major changes following the Canterbury earthquakes and Ruth feels it is important for clients to get the right insurance cover for their assets and to have an advocate in the event of a claim. Ruth relishes the challenge of arranging a comprehensive package of insurance suited to an individuals needs and she enjoys being there for her clients should they have any queries or a claim. 

In her spare time, Ruth likes to spend time with her family and catching up with friends.

Jon is MedCapital’s primary New Zealand Private Wealth Manager, based in Auckland.

Jon has extensive experience across Wealth Management as not only a financial adviser, but management consultant to the financial advice industry. Jon provides best practice advice to his clients from assessing their needs through to implementing sound financial management solutions.

 As a Private Wealth Manager, Jon has a keen appreciation of how good financial advice can significantly improve the quality of lives and takes great satisfaction from making positive differences to those of his clients.

Jon and his wife have two young daughters who happily take up most of their time. Together, they can be found travelling around New Zealand and beyond as time permits. When not following New Zealand across major sporting codes, Jon enjoys playing football and socialising over good food and wine.

Bailey grew up with a family of financial planners, working part time in the family business all through University after a gap year in Europe. While completing her Bachelor of Commerce, she decided to put a boundary between her work and family life and joined the exciting Become team. 

Outside of work Bailey can be found travelling with friends, relaxing with family, and reading good books. The highlight of her Europe trip was spending time in Switzerland, working as a Nanny, and exploring the charms of diverse Swiss culture.  

Bonard is a Private Wealth Manager based in Auckland. Bonard is experienced in the Wealth Management industry having serviced a wide variety of clients through his work at large financial organisations and boutique financial planning firms.

Bonard is passionate about making a positive difference to his clients, always placing their best interest first, and helping them achieve their financial and lifestyle goals.

Away from work Bonard enjoys going to the gym, keeping fit and healthy and spending time with his friends and family. In addition to his Financial Planning qualifications, he also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration and an Honour’s Degree in Philosophy. He speaks three languages and enjoys interacting with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

David is a Private Wealth Manager based in Tauranga. He is an Authorised Financial Adviser with extensive experience in Financial Services working for large corporates and a boutique franchise operation in New Zealand.

David is passionate about providing long term solutions for clients financial goals and protecting their financial future.

Outside of work David enjoys time with his wife and two children, engaging in his Rotary Club’s activities, and the occasional game of soccer.

Ollie has called Christchurch home for 17 years after moving with his family from Riga in Latvia. Fluent in both Russian and English, Ollie has been enjoying helping people into their first homes, next homes and everything in between for 7 years with ANZ bank. He left the bank after working his way from teller, to finally specialising in business banking, so is familiar with financials, asset finance and all sorts of lending scenarios.

Outside of work, Ollie can be found on the football field, in the gym, or stealing friends dogs to take for runs.

Ollie has a BCom in Management and Marketing.

Rebecca has worked within the Fire & General industry for over 8 years and has most recently returned to insurance broking, after a 3 year stint in Finance and Lending.

She loves the fast paced environment of insurance and the variety it provides day to day. Rebecca enjoys helping her clients and providing advice to ensure they have the best cover available to them, for the best and most competitive premium.

When not working, Rebecca is most happiest when in her garden or spending time with her husband Mark and stepdaughter Brooke.  

Matthew has a background in finance and customer care in New Zealand and Australia. He introduces our business to prospective clients and arranges meetings in the early stages of membership.

When Matthew isn’t in the office, he’ll likely be looking for interesting photos to add to his Instagram, or in the park with a good book.

Julian has been involved in the financial services industry since 2001, initially in commercial finance, and he became an adviser in 2010. Julian has provided client focused advice for Insurance, Investments and Lending and has joined the Become team as a specialist Insurance consultant. 

Julian is committed to getting the best outcomes for his clients. The strength he brings is his understanding of how the different aspects of his clients’ financial products work with each other, not in isolation to each other. 

When not providing advice to his clients, Julian enjoys spending time with his wife Erica and their 4 children.

Margaret arrived in New Zealand from the United Kingdom in 1999 and had a baptism of fire entering the Insurance industry just after the February 2011 earthquake, as an Earthquake Claims Consultant. After three years, she moved into the world of risk insurance as an Adviser Support, for five years, latterly combining that role with Quality & Assurance for the last two years; a perfect fit for her proofreading qualification and perfectionist tendencies.

In her spare time, Margaret enjoys reading and walking (but not at the same time!), socialising with friends and has a blended family; two grown-up children of her own and her partner's three children which makes for a busy household.  

Annalyese has worked in general insurance for the past 6 years specialising in claims and portfolio management where customer service and efficiency was key. Prior to this she spent 10 years in small business management dabbling in the ice cream and petrol industries. She is now making the transition into financial services and evolving her previous skills and experience into finance.

In her spare time, Annalyese enjoys spending time with friends and family and when she can she also jets away on mini holiday escapes.

Lynda is a Private Wealth Manager based in Christchurch.  She has over 20 years’ experience in financial services, primarily investments and superannuation.  Lynda has  a Bachelor of Commerce & Management degree plus a Diploma in Financial Planning.  As an Authorised Financial Adviser Lynda gets great satisfaction from the challenges and rewards presented in helping people achieve their financial goals. 

Away from work Lynda enjoys working out at the gym, tramping, skiing, gardening and travel.