Home » Meet the Team
Meet the Team
Management
Matthew Arena
Group Managing Director
M: 07808 922383
An entrepreneur that enjoys working with brokers and lenders alike. A big advocate of tech & good consumer advice.
Matt loves Italian food, sport and comedy. He tells us he cycles in his spare time… He has 3 children but Brilliant is his 4th!
Michael Craig
Managing Director
M: 07912 581123
Our relationship with brokers is second to none thanks to Michael’s dedication. Only Brilliant will do, giving us an edge when building relationships. He is experienced & focused on creating opportunities.
When time allows, Michael enjoys his time with his wife & 3 children or watching football, supporting the Mighty Reds (Nottingham Forest).
Lee Parkin
Head of Performance
M: 01792 277555
Previously with HSBC and L&G, Lee joined the Brilliant family in 2016. Lee said “Always learning, this role gives me the opportunity to develop”.
Swansea City FC is a passion for Lee. He is a family man who wants his children to have a role model who is striving to be the best he can be!
Sally Miles
Director of Lending
M: 07983 437629
A mortgage expert focusing on lender relationships and service levels. Sally has worked in mortgages with lenders & intermediaries and in the prime, specialist and commercial areas.
Sally’s spare time is spent at home with family or at the Norfolk coast. She supports her local primary school and is a true chocoholic.
Sonny Gosai
Bridging and Commercial Director
M: 07930 931733
The Sales Team - 01792 277 555
Ivan Vizor
Head of Key Accounts
M: 07725 488839
Ivan is an experienced mortgage professional. He has spent many years with the business and it’s not only brokers that love working with him, the team here at Brilliant HQ love having him around.
Ivan has a Brilliant sense of humour and a fantastic understanding of the specialist sector. Don’t mention Man City…
Chris Howse
Sales Manager
M: 07540 505520
Chris joined Brilliant in 2017 after amassing 14 years experience in Sales. Chris says “I found my calling in mortgages and Brilliant is by far the best home”.
Chris is a keen sports enthusiast, particularly football (Cheltenham Town & Blackburn Rovers). Antigua will always be his go to place, holding many special memories!
Donna McIntosh
Relationship Manager
DDI: 01480 702108
Donna has been in the financial industry since 2002 doing various roles, such as BTL Broker, Office Manager, Life Insurance to the Armed Forces, Office Administrator & A Divisional Coordinator.
Donna said “Now that I am a Relation Manager I can apply what I have always enjoyed, and that is, building up good relationship with Brokers”.
In Donna’s spare time she enjoys spending time with her 6 Grandchildren. She also loves great Action Movies, with a Nice Cognac and a bag of wotsits.
Andrew Lumsdaine
Sales Support
DDI: 01480 759747
Andrew has over 15 years of experience in the sales and customer service industry. Andrew enjoys helping people and making sure that the customer’s experience is the best that it can be.
In his spare time, Andrew likes to spend time with his family, he plays pool to a county level and is a massive Liverpool FC fan, but don’t hold that against him!
The Marketing Team - 01792 277 555
Grazia Caracciolo-Pool
Marketing Manager
Grazia has been Brilliant for years, supporting the Sales & the Board.
Full of energy & ideas, any marketing has been the perfect place for her creativity to run riot! Photography is an obsession for Grazia who is also a lover of Ferrari, hats, gadgets & everything Italian!
Beth Ody
Marketing Assistant
Beth has recently joined Brilliant Solutions where she is able to blend her degree in media with her 10 years of experience in hospitality together.
She can often be found reading a book, watching F1 or rugby. Beth has a fondness for travel which she sparked during her studies.
The Operations Team - 01792 277 555
Nicky
De Freitas Vieira
Head of Mortgage Packaging
M: 07930 931918
Nicky has previously been in banking for 10 years with Lloyds then TSB. Nicky has always been motivated by great client outcomes and finds working with brokers on secured loans really rewarding.
Nicky enjoys spending time with his partner and children and loves good food, especially accompanied by a few drinks.
Rebecca Bates
Head of Secured Loans
Beccy has been a second charge advisor for the last 7 and a half years, gaining her CeMAP qualification in April 2016. Beccy likes building relationships with clients and brokers and likes to see things through.
In her spare time, Beccy enjoys spending time with her family and 3 cats and going to the theatre.
Seaneen Jones
Mortgage Specialist Team Leader
Seaneen has worked in the financial industry since 2016 and particularly enjoys the specialist mortgages sector. Seaneen said it is because it allows her to build relationships with both lenders and brokers and really make a difference.
In her spare time, Seaneen enjoys spending time with her family and her pug, Daisy.
BMA AWARDS 2021 – ADMINISTRATOR WINNER
Robyn Matthews
Senior Mortgage Specialist
Robyn graduated from University with a post-graduate certificate in property and facilities management hoping to join the property industry. She has joined the mortgage industry to make an impact in people’s lives and what better way to make an impact than to help secure someone a place to call home.
One of Robyn’s proudest achievements was climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa to raise money for charity. Robyn enjoys playing Basketball, video games and spending time with her 2 children.
BMA AWARDS 2024 – ADMINISTRATOR NOMMINEE
Shaun Rollitt
Mortgage Specialist
Shaun has been a mortgage broker since 2014, dealing with complex mortgage placement, lending into later life and equity release.
Outside of work Shaun can be found religiously watching Formula 1 or spending some quality time with his son.
Oliver Hart
Trainee Mortgage Specialist
Kieran Barnden
Bridging & Commercial Team Leader
Kieran joined Brilliant Solutions in 2018 and has enjoyed his time in Bridging & Commercial ever since.
He is a big football fan and follows his beloved Swansea City. Kieran enjoys cooking to relax whilst listening to some classic Britpop. He loves nothing more than his 2 kids which are his biggest achievement.
Kieran is always there to help and feels there is no job too small and certainly no job too big!
Drew Sage
Bridging & Commercial Specialist
After 20 years in construction Drew joined Brilliant in early 2019. Drew has always been interested in financial services. Drew quotes “This role gives me the chance to put my knowledge to a different use in our bridging, development and commercial team”.
Drew enjoys spending time with those around him, Formula 1, golf and reptiles too.
Megan Davies
Bridging & Commercial Specialist
Brought up in Swansea with a degree in Sculpture and a nearly decade-long career in the hospitality industry. Megan enjoys developing relationships, helping people meet their goals, and strives to achieve the best possible outcome for any client.
Megan is a contemporary Welsh artist, working on paintings in her spare time. The Welsh coast and its landscapes inspire her day-to-day life.
Jack Western
Trainee Bridging & Commercial Specialist
Katie Hills
Secured Loans Specialist
Katie has been in the 2nd charge industry since 2014 and has always enjoyed helping clients achieve their goals. A happy client outcome is the best feeling. She strongly feels that 2nd charge mortgages are amazing products and really can be the better option for a client, depending on their situation of course.
Katie is from Lincolnshire, having also lived in other places such as Hertfordshire, Dorset, Marbella and was even born in America.
Katie is kept occupied in her spare time with her 3 year old and partner and is partial to a glass (or more) of white.
Lyndsey Steele
Secured Loans Specialist
Jodie Grief
Secured Loans Specialist
Jodie has been in the Financial Industry since the age of 17 and worked with Brilliant Solutions for the majority of those years.
Jodie is a mum to two girls and loves having trips out, and going stockcar racing in her spare time. Also a dab hand at anything crafting.
We're recruiting!
Mortgage Placement Specialist
We’re on the hunt for individuals with a passion for customer service and a knack for problem-solving. If you’ve got experience with “sales through service,” this brand-new role could be perfect for you, with opportunities to help develop lead generation as you grow. We want people who want to grow with one of the industries fasted growing and exciting companies.
Take the next step in your career—apply now!
We're recruiting!
Specialist Mortgage Underwriter
We are searching for professionals with mortgage underwriting experience. Do you have experience in mortgage underwriting and want to join a dynamic team? Your duties will include reviewing financial documents, processing Decisions in Principle, and ensuring mortgage applications meet lender requirements. If you’ve got the skills, we’ve got the opportunity! We want people who want to grow with one of the industries fasted growing and exciting companies. If this sounds like you, apply now!
Finance & HR - 01792 277 555
Teg Purssell
Finance Manager
Her main responsibility is processing proc fees, this includes approving express payments. Teg is constantly improving her skills and knowledge.
As an amateur foodie she is always happy hearing new tips and tricks.
Natasha Courtney
Finance Executive
Sam Telford
Broker Support Administrator
Supporting brokers with the most difficult of cases. Sam has an in-built passion to learn new skills and information and is always looking to improve his knowledge of the market.
Sam challenges himself in his spare time too. Currently a house renovation, and reading non-fiction books about Science & Mathematics.
Your mortgage support is fantastic. Whoever I speak to, about whatever type of mortgage, gives me genuine support and clearly has real expertise. The team are also a joy to work with!
Everyone at Brilliant is highly informed and across any and all up to the minute product and criteria offerings from the lenders.
Anyone I have spoken to has provided a genuine high level of service and interest in my business which really makes them a “go-to” contact.
In addition to giving advice and support for the packaged panel, the team at Brilliant also provide insight and help for brokers to find solutions with the non-packaged lenders.
Their recent series of webinars hosted in partnership with the various panel lenders have proved to be extremely useful.
Brilliant are a firm that does precisely what it says on the tin!
Brilliant Solutions and their team have been excellent in supporting my business over the past 6 years.
Matthew Arena and Michael Craig have built an amazing team of specialists who have helped my business grow. All of the team are friendly and go the extra mile to help my clients and advisers achieve their goals.
I have found their webinars and workshops over the past year to be very informative, and they were delivered in a professional but informal way.
Michael Craig has brought brokers and lenders together in social Zoom meetings by way of quiz evenings and charity poker events, this has kept broker/lender relationships strong, and in some cases, new relationships have been built off the back of these events.
The icing on the cake is that Brilliant are the only mortgage club I can think of that pay commissions to brokers within 24 hours of completion, and in the majority of cases on the same day! In the initial months of the pandemic, I am sure this certainty over cash flow helped keep some companies afloat.
Well done Matthew, Michael and all of the team at Brilliant; keep up the good work!”
I cannot believe the hard work and perseverance that your team has shown on this case. It has been going on for over 6 months now and your team has been nothing short of outstanding.
The client had a really tricky set of circumstances and was often reluctant to provide all the information that the lender needed.
However, the skill, knowledge and effort of your team, especially Drew Sage has created an awesome client outcome and a very happy broker.
Thanks again,
I wanted to pass on feedback to you, Cushla has been great working my cases. I am really impressed with her persistence, quick replies and information provided. It has not been easy cases and I am grateful for the help and have been super impressed.
Thanks again
This case, is by far one of the most challenging I have faced but I undoubtedly could not have got it done with you being there to help me through it. From the issues with underwriting and then problems with the warranty, you 100% went the extra mile on for the clients to ensure this case got over the line and for this I thank you.
Brilliant Solutions has been a key part of my business since it started in January 2020. The service received from them has been consistently excellent, and more than I have experienced with other clubs in the past. They have helped me develop my mortgage business, given direction with complex cases and always gone more than the extra mile.
I recently had a complex Ltd Co BTL case where company was also trading as well as being an SPV, and additionally it was owned by a holding company, not the directors. For various reasons, we struggled to place even with the usual specialists but Brilliant Solutions spent time helping us find a lender that would do what we needed. They have since seen that case through and we are expecting completion on this business imminently. With Brilliant Solutions’ help, we saved the case, the clients were very happy (not to mention the deal being amazing anyway) and we were glad to be able to place the case.
The team are always accessible, we are building up relationships with their specialists and know that help is just a phonecall away from a club that offers service better than I’ve experienced before.
Brilliant Solutions Mortgage Club are a pleasure to work with. In the time that we have been dealing with Brilliant we have found that they, and in particular Ivan Vizor place as much emphasis on my client and the right solution as they do on ensuring the service they give to us is from the top drawer. As the mortgage industry changes its paramount that we connect with the right partners to help us evolve and Brilliant are an excellent partner to work together with Lord Clarke Ltd.
The people at Brilliant are extremely approachable and work tirelessly to help secure or offer tips on cases where they have previous experience in dealing with similar cases previously. They pay cases very quickly and also provide links for commercial loans/bridging we have also looked at with our clients. They provide an all round solutions for most of our clients requirements. In addition they provide regular CPD sessions with useful webinars involving lenders which has been extremely valuable during the pandemic.
Brilliant are always at the end of the phone with great advice to help get those tricky mortgages over the line.
Brilliant are always my first port of call for any unusual cases, the team take away the time-consuming research that can often be needed and will point me in the direction of the best solution – even if it’s not using them! They have my trust 100% and don’t know what I would do without them!
I wish to note a huge thanks to Brilliant Solutions and their team. Working from only last year with Andrew Lumsdaine my BDM since my integration from my previous route, I can say that in the last 26 years of working in the financial mortgage industry that Andrew Lumsdaine has walked me through step by step with my start with Brilliant Solutions, and I can certainly say that since last year the way that he has been able to show me that there are mortgage clubs that can offer full support and honestly prove that they can complete on transactions exactly on the time that is stated. This support from Brilliant Solutions has made a massive impact on my business and has given me the encouragement to be able to move ahead in what we are all dealing with in the difficult financial times.
Andrew Lumsdaine has also introduced me to the relevant team to support payments of proc fees on time and the commission team is superb ! I only wish I had worked with them much sooner ! to all of you brokers out there if you are not with Brilliant Solutions then you should be, I have succeeded on 100% of cases, and to have them with you offering this level of support and accuracy and proven efficiency that I have ever seen in over 10 years at least ! This is the support that all brokers need on board !
Thank you all so much for your hard work and I am a very happy broker to be alongside with you.
Christina Melville. Financial Director.
Brilliant Solutions go the extra mile to find the right lender, the right product and they do it with the right attitude.
I moved my mortgage club to Brilliant Mortgages last year after over 20 years in the industry and can honestly say they are the best club I have ever used.
Use the mortgage club and you will get a personal service that you can rely on. Thanks for your continued support.