Joust appoints new head of sales, farewells co-founder

John Maxwell has been named as Joust’s new head of sales, as the company bids farewell to its co-founder and outgoing head of sales and distribution, Mark Bevan.

Mr Maxwell has 20 years’ experience in the mortgage and lending industry and was most recently partnership manager for NSW, ACT and WA at Victorian Mortgage Group. He spent 13 years with the Alpha Group prior to that.

Joust co-founder Mr Bevan had been managing director of Joust for the past five years, but moved into a new role as head of sales and distribution following the brand’s recent merger with LoanDolphin earlier this year.

The outgoing co-founder and head of sales and distribution commented that Mr Maxwell’s hire meant that “the team is in terrific shape now”, adding: “I see this as the perfect opportunity to step away from the Joust business.”

Mr Bevan added: “With the timing in the run-up to Christmas, it gives me the chance to enjoy my first holiday since 2015 – such is the life of a fintech start-up founder!” 

Joust CEO Carl Hammerschmidt thanked Mr Bevan for his leadership and welcomed Mr Maxwell to the group.

He said: “As one of the co-founders of Joust, Mark has been a key part of the business over the past six years. He has worked tirelessly to get Joust to where it is and has set the business up well for future success. 

“I would like to thank him for his tremendous contribution and passion and wish him all the best for the future.”  

The Joust CEO added that the incoming head of sales will be responsible for expanding the company’s customer base and increasing brand engagement for both its Joust Instant Match and Joust Marketplace products across the broker and lender sectors.  

He said: “We welcome John to the Joust team. His great track record of building businesses, exceptional network and depth of knowledge of the mortgage industry make him the perfect fit for this role.  

Mr Maxwell said that he was “excited to be joining the Joust business” and looked forward to “building out its partner base and working with the rest of the team to really grow the business”.  

“Joust is a game changer. The platform not only provides a stronger digital route to market for lenders and brokers, but most of all ensures the right customer is being offered the right loan at exactly the right time.  

“I really look forward to working with our lender and broker partners on getting the most out of the platform and helping them grow their businesses.”  

[Related: Mortgage auction sites merge]