Profile
Vanessa Lewis’s path into mortgage broking began a long way from the Gold Coast. With an undergraduate degree in banking and insurance, she took her first role at BNP Paribas in Paris before moving to Australia to complete a Master of Business Administration. Near the end of her studies, she discovered her passion for broking, drawn by the impact tailored lending could have on families building wealth through property.
The realisation led her to Asset Finance Services, a long-established broking firm on the Gold Coast, where she is now a senior mortgage broker. Long passionate about wealth creation, Lewis found in broking a way to help everyday families make informed financial decisions and move towards their property goals with confidence.
The relationships she builds are what she values most, and many of them span generations. They often begin with helping parents buy an investment property, pay down a mortgage and plan for retirement, then continue years later as she helps their children into their first home. “Being trusted across generations and playing a part in helping families achieve their financial goals is something I find incredibly special,” she says.
Lewis approaches the work as a problem waiting to be solved. “I believe there’s always a solution,” she says. “By thinking creatively and challenging the status quo, I help families secure opportunities to build wealth, even when others see obstacles.” Even at her busiest, juggling competing deadlines and requests, she is determined no client feels like just another number.
The approach earned recognition in 2025, when Lewis was named a Bankwest Broker of the Year finalist for Queensland. Up against large, high-volume firms, she took it as proof that client advocacy and strong outcomes count for as much as loan volume.
Lewis says she has been fortunate not to face significant structural barriers herself, supported by strong women in the industry and by aggregator programs built to develop and empower them. Still, she is clear about what would help others. She would like to see more flexible, transparent career pathways that support women through different life stages, from maternity leave to caregiving and career transitions, arguing that a model built on long hours and constant availability disproportionately affects women. Stronger mentoring, flexible work, return-to-work support and greater visibility of successful women, she believes, would attract and keep more talent in the profession.
For Lewis, real leadership points outward. “I don’t measure success solely by personal achievements; I believe true leadership is demonstrated through the positive impact we have on those around us.” She hopes to be remembered for trust, integrity and positive client outcomes. “Ultimately, I hope my impact is measured not only by the loans I write but also by the long-term relationships I build and the positive difference I make in people’s lives,” she says. “I hope to inspire others not to follow exactly in my footsteps but to create their own path and chase their ambitions without limitations.”
25/333 Collins St, Melbourne, Vic 3000
0483 902 873
info@investorus.com.au
linkedin.com/in/vanessa-lewis16
investorus.com.au
Vanessa Lewis
Senior Finance Strategist and Credit Manager
Investorus
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Bio
Milestones
2013
2015-2017
2025
2026
Present
Risk Manager, Derivatives Operations at BNP Paribas (National Bank of Paris)
2013
2015:Team Leader, Securities Operations and Risk Management at BNP Paris ( National Bank of Paris)
2017: Certificate 4 in Mortgage and Finance Broking and Diploma in Finance.
2015-2017
Finalist, Bankwest Broker of the Year
2025
Winner, Bankwest Customer Experience
2026
Senior Finance Strategist and Credit Manager at Asset Finance Services Australia and Investorus since 2017
Present
Milestones
As a founding member of WOW! (Women. Opportunity. Winning.), an employee resource group created for all women of Ryan Specialty, Phillips Topping has long championed for women in the industry.
“It’s very important to set an example and to not only inspire but mentor other females,” she adds.
In addition to her sharp marketing eye, the key to Phillips Topping’s success lies in her high-energy approach and positive attitude.
“As the leader of a team, it’s important to motivate and encourage your team members. People work very hard and do their best and it’s important to recognize these efforts. For my career overall, my attitude has been one of curiosity. The more you can learn, the better you’ll understand the business, and then the deeper your knowledge will become, making you a better team member.”
Chief underwriting officer of executive risk at Chubb
President of financial insurance solutions at Kemper
Chief underwriting officer at Axis Capital
CEO of global Insurance at Endurance
CEO of global Insurance at Sompo International
Empathy underpins that discipline. Prickett has struggled in the industry. She has felt what it is like when promised support does not materialize. Having worked across almost every function in the company, she understands operational detail and the pressure agents face. That shared experience shapes her leadership.
Structural barriers also shaped her path. As a woman and a mother, she encountered the assumption that serious business building required keeping priorities “out of order for a time.” She also experienced the double standard that frames firm women as difficult while praising similar behaviour in men.
“If you have a choice between being liked and doing the right thing, doing the right thing is always better, even if it’s the unpopular thing,” Prickett says.
She wants to dismantle the expectation that women must choose between career and family, or between strength and kindness. In her view, leadership demands both conviction and care.
Being named an Elite Woman carries weight. Prickett did not have female role models in the industry when she started. She hopes visibility changes that. “I hope I can be an example. Not of perfection, but of persistence. Of building from your values and staying true to who you are.”
The legacy Prickett is still defining centres on proof – proof that a large, profitable company can grow without sacrificing integrity; proof that agents can build real assets while keeping their priorities intact; and proof that leadership does not require abandoning who you are to succeed.
“If you have a choice between being liked and doing the right thing, doing the right thing is always better, even if it’s the unpopular thing”
Lee-Ann Prickett,
Experior Financial Group
“What I’ve learned is that when you build from your values, when you put people first, when you do the right thing even when it’s hard, that becomes your plan”
Lee-Ann Prickett,
Experior Financial Group