Our Team

Introduction to the Premier Partners Finance Team

Premier Partners Finance Pty Ltd

Alan Whitehead, Executive Director

Alan Whitehead has had an extensive international corporate banking career and has held several executive management positions in United Kingdom, Southern Africa, North America and Australia.

Alan's diverse background allows him to assess finance proposals in an all-embracing manner. In particular, he is able to highlight strengths and mitigate weaknesses, and thereby present loan proposals in the most rational and persuasive ways. Alan is a strong advocate of Premier's unique tendering process and the effective way in which it presents loan proposals to its panel of lenders. We believe this practice is best able to manage the expectations of our clients, ensure their requirements are clearly specified, and result in the best offers from the lenders.

His long term involvement in the corporate and business lending sector has embedded in him a thorough understanding of lending principles, and his relationships with key executives of major lenders allows him the opportunity to workshop loan proposals to obtain the best structural outcomes. Alan is able to use his knowledge and understanding of credit practices and institutional views to negotiate the most favourable outcome for borrowers and, in most circumstances, eliminate conditions that the majority of commercial brokers today would not have the influence, industry respect or know-how to accomplish.

Peter Choice, Director - Lending

Peter Choice hails from the country region of northern New South Wales. His formative years were spent on his grandparents' sheep and cattle property. His love for the rural lifestyle has seen him in recent years establish his own cattle breeding operation in the Southern Highlands.

Peter commenced his banking career with The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited which today is known as The National Australia Bank. After a number of years, Peter began to assume senior banking roles including being a key member of the Managing Director's staff.

In the 1980s, Peter moved to the Australian subsidiary of First National Bank of Chicago where he dealt with the local operations of major multinational companies. Peter later took up a senior role with the Canadian merchant bank, CIBC Australia Limited. As Executive Director and National Head of Corporate Lending, he had collective responsibility for the overall performance and profitability of the group in Australia and New Zealand.

As well as holding executive and general management positions with major Australian and International banks, Peter has undertaken consultative roles for the NSW government on banking and finance matters.

Brian Salter, Consultant - Workout & Turnaround Management

Sarah Wells, Executive Manager

In 1996, Sarah began her career in the finance sector with Mortgage Choice, a founder of the residential mortgage broking industry in NSW. Sarah honed her fierce negotiating and sales skills in her early years and was always in the top 10 writers nationally.

In 2004, she took a leap of faith and started her own residential mortgage company, and has built a sound loan portfolio of high net worth individuals, professionals and business owners. In 2005 her clients rewarded her with a nomination for the 2005 City of Sydney Business Awards which she won. Sarah believes this is testament to her understanding the needs of her clients and exceeding their expectations through her lateral approach to lending.

Sarah joined the team at Premier Partners in 2007 as Business Development Manager responsible for increasing its market share and profile in the commercial and corporate finance broking market. She sees this as a natural progression in her becoming a well-rounded provider of top class broking services arranging commercial, retail and industrial property finance, residential and commercial property development, and structuring financial transactions that are strongly reliant on cash flow for repayment.