eVentures New Zealand Appoints Chief Executive of E-LOAN
eVentures New Zealand has appointed Bruce Gordon as Chief Executive Officer of its first business venture, E-LOAN.
E-LOAN will be New Zealand's first online, one-stop home loan reseller.
Chief executive of eVentures New Zealand, Cindy Mitchener, said Mr Gordon's proven background in business development,
his vision and commitment to consumers, and his acute knowledge of the banking and financial services industries were
key reasons for his appointment.
"Bruce has a solid grounding in operational customer-focused banking and is an expert in electronic applications in
banking services, and in business development. In his most recent role as Chief Executive of Farmers' Financial
Services, New Zealand's largest consumer finance and card company, he achieved outstanding success."
E-LOAN will enable customers to compare home loan options online using objective analysis tools and select the best loan
for their individual needs. The website will be launched in June.
Ms Mitchener said Mr Gordon's appointment was crucial to E-LOAN, which represented an exciting opportunity to
revolutionise the financial services industry by providing New Zealanders with real choice and control over the home
loan process.
"Because E-LOAN puts the borrower rather than the lender in the driving seat, Mr Gordon's background in creating and
implementing strategies which provide consumers with the best possible experience will be integral to E-LOAN's success."
E-LOAN in New Zealand will initially offer a complete home loan (and related insurances) service only, however, personal
and commercial finance products will follow shortly after. Mr Gordon is confident of a wide-ranging service offering
after receiving an extremely positive response from New Zealand financial providers.
Mr Gordon's previous roles have included chief manager of Electronic Banking at the Bank of New Zealand. In this role Mr
Gordon was responsible for strategy and the implementation of electronic banking, e-commerce and payments initiatives.
He conceived and launched the Bank's internet site and its BuyLine e-commerce service, and was directly involved in the
development and launch of the Bank's smartcard trials.
Mr Gordon joined Farmers' Financial Services late in 1998 as its chief executive officer. In this role he made
significant changes to the company which greatly improved its performance. His achievements included launching the
Farmers' Home Loan Service and initiating and managing the introduction of technology initiatives such as Interactive
Voice Response (IVR) services and establishing a state-of-the-art imaging system.
Mr Gordon has served on several banking industry payment committees, and as a Director of ETSL (New Zealand's EFTPOS
switch company) for three years, including as chairman of the board in 1997-98. ETSL twice won the prestigious
international performance award, ITUG, during this time.
E-LOAN is 50% owned by eVentures New Zealand and 50% owned by E-LOAN International, the United States' leading online
financial services company founded in 1996 and launched in the United States in June 1997.
eVentures New Zealand's primary goal is to provide investment capital, strategic resources and management services to
establish leading international internet, e-commerce and new media businesses.
ENDS
B A C K G R O U N D E R
Bruce Gordon Bruce Gordon has had an extensive career in banking over the last fifteen years. As well as undertaking
highly successful management roles, Bruce has played a significant part in industry and bank forums, and in establishing
study groups which examined electronic technology as it related to the banking industry. One of these involved
representing the BNZ on an international project team that focused on e-commerce strategies for the future.
His most recent position was chief executive officer of Farmers' Financial Services, New Zealand's largest consumer
finance and card company. In 18 months he transformed the company into a stable and growing business. This role included
launching Farmers' Home Loan Service, and initiating and managing the introduction of technology initiatives such as a
customer IVR service and a state-of-the-art imaging system.
Bruce's career began with the ASB Bank in 1985 where he gained solid experience in operational customer-focused banking.
He moved to the Bank of New Zealand in 1996 where he soon became chief manager of Electronic Banking. His
responsibilities in this role included strategy and the implementation of electronic banking, e-commerce and payments
initiatives. The role involved conceiving and launching the BNZ's internet site and BuyLine e-commerce service, and the
development and launch of the bank's smartcard trials.
During most of 1998, Bruce was advisor to the group general manager of Global Payments for the National Australia Bank
(NAB), where he was part of a team that worked on a strategy for electronic banking within the NAB Group.
Bruce has a Diploma in Business, Information Services from the University of Auckland.