Familiar face joins UDC Finance as new GM – Dealer
31 October 2023
A familiar face has rejoined UDC Finance after 13 years. Andrew Brough is UDC’s new General Manager – Dealer after previous GM – Dealer, Lawrence Profitt, took over the reins of UDC Chief Operating Officer earlier in the year.
Andrew Brough has a long and impressive resumé in the New Zealand finance industry. He has finally come full circle to rejoin UDC Finance where he started his journey back in 1994.
“I spent a satisfying 16 years at ANZ and UDC (UDC was a wholly owned subsidiary of ANZ until 2020),” says Andrew. “I started at ANZ in operations then moved into credit, before shifting across to UDC. I held several roles at UDC including running acceptance, credit and operations for Dealer as well as Head of Operations. This was a fantastic leadership role for me, which had me managing 120 staff and spending time overseas in both India and Australia.”
In 2010, Andrew made the tough decision to leave UDC to take up a role at Heartland Bank, which gave him the opportunity to run operations for a new bank. He then moved onto Finance Now as GM – Operations where he played a significant role in launching motor vehicle finance for used cars. Opportunities for growth kept coming Andrew’s way, as he progressed into GM - Intermediaries then Chief Risk Officer at Finance Now, followed by Avanti Finance/Branded Financial Services as Australasian GM – Motor Vehicle & Consumer.
Andrew Brough
But Andrew was always keeping an eye on his old stomping ground, UDC. It was no surprise then that when the role of GM – Dealer at UDC popped up, Andrew jumped at the chance to re-connect after 13 years away.
“I was always watching what UDC did, and I kept in touch with old colleagues who were still there”, states Andrew. “So many people have been at UDC for 15 years or more, which says a lot about the culture and growth opportunities for individuals. The business and the people at UDC have grown considerably and there has been impressive growth in the Dealer business with a number of distributors now connected with UDC”.
Andrew’s role covers a wide area of the business, incorporating Dealer (motor vehicle and equipment) and Direct Lending. Andrew is focussed on providing strong support to UDC’s dealers.
“If a customer comes to UDC directly, we aim to switch customer ownership across to the relevant dealer as soon as we can”, says Andrew. “34% of our applications start online. We transfer these across to our Dealer network supporting the 22 distributor relationships we are partnered with. It is so important that we support our dealers as they can provide customers with a quick, hassle-free experience with the handover of the keys and retain the customer in their lifecycle marketing capability.
So where does Andrew see his role heading over the next few years? A feature of the business, he believes, will be the digital journey.
“We’re talking about enhancing our API integration, customer remarketing, iframes and online calculators to name a few”, states Andrew. “UDC also has an excellent product called Assured Future Value (AFV) which is a point of difference for UDC and is a great way to give the customer certainty. UDC is very focused on the digital space, and I see this as an exciting aspect of my role as we move into the future”.
For 87 years, UDC has taken great pride in helping New Zealanders grow by providing them with the funds they need for vehicles, plant, equipment and machinery. They are one of the largest finance companies operating in the New Zealand market. UDC has a network of accredited car dealers throughout New Zealand who are recognised by UDC as preferred suppliers and are authorised to provide UDC finance products.