Pepper Money appoints new head of mortgages

Pepper Money has hired Barry Saoud as its incoming general manager, mortgages and commercial lending, effective from next Tuesday (20 July 2021). 

He replaces Aaron Milburn, who will step down from his role at the company to take a career break in order to spend more time with his wife and three young children once Mr Saoud commences. 

Mr Saoud is currently the head of Aussie products and company secretary at Aussie. He has previously also been general counsel of Aussie, where he has worked for the past 11 years, and has held responsibility for sales, product, operations, finance and risk, as well as managing a $10 billion home loan portfolio and various insurance and consumer product portfolios. 

Prior to joining Aussie, the finance executive held corporate counsel and company secretary roles with GE Capital,  HSBC and Norton Rose Fulbright. 

Pepper Money CEO Mario Rehayem said he was delighted to welcome Mr Saoud to the business, stating: “Barry is the right person to lead our mortgages and lending division and has extensive executive  and senior management experience within the financial services industry.  

“He has a stellar reputation in the industry – and is well known to many within Pepper Money as a  key partner in the establishment of the Pepper/Aussie white label program. 

“Barry brings a wealth of experience across a number of key areas that will assist with our growth aspirations, particularly in the areas of product innovation strategy and distribution. I very much look forward to working alongside him.” 

The Pepper CEO added: “As we welcome Barry, we would also like to acknowledge Aaron Milburn’s significant contribution in leading the mortgage and commercial lending business over the past four and half years, and we wish him well as he enjoys this next chapter with his family.” 

Commenting on his appointment to the role, Mr Saoud said he was keen to get to work alongside the Pepper Money team and deliver on the company’s organic growth strategy.

He said: “Pepper Money is a fantastic business with a rich history of helping underserved customers. I look  forward to working alongside Mario and the whole Pepper team to further grow Pepper and  leverage its unique customer offerings.” 

[Related: Pepper Money officially lists on ASX]