Banjo Loans has appointed Craig Rowe as Chief Technology Officer, marking a significant leadership transition as co-founder and long-serving CTO Julian Hedt steps down after more than a decade building Banjo’s technology foundation.
The appointment also signals a new phase for the non-bank SME lender, as it continues its trajectory, moving away from its startup origins, and continues to build into a more scaled and mature technology and lending business.
Julian Hedt was one of Banjo’s three co-founders and has played a central role in designing and building the company’s proprietary lending platform since its inception nearly 12 years ago.
Under his leadership, Banjo developed a fully bespoke system capable of delivering fast, data-driven lending decisions for Australian small and medium-sized businesses.
“The goal was always to make it simple for customers and brokers, while managing significant complexity underneath,” Hedt said.
“We’ve built a platform that allows multi-million-dollar lending decisions to be made in hours, not weeks and that’s been a real differentiator.”
From its beginnings between three founders in a Melbourne café, Banjo Loans has grown into a scaled fintech supporting SMEs nationwide, with a reputation for speed, transparency and long-term customer relationships.
Hedt said the business is now well-positioned for its next phase.
“We’re at the stage where the foundations are strong, the team is experienced, and the platform is proven.
“Craig brings the experience to take the technology function to the next level, not just the systems, but how the team evolves and scales with the business,” Hedt said.
Echoing Julian’s comments, Banjo CEO, Guy Callaghan described the transition as both a significant moment and a strategic opportunity for the company.
“Julian has been a foundational member of Banjo and built the system that underpins our business today. His contribution has been enormous,” said Callaghan.
“At the same time, this is a natural evolution for us. As we continue to grow, we need to strengthen how we deliver technology, scale our teams and bring more rigour to execution.”
According to Callaghan, Rowe’s experience in scaling technology teams and operating in complex environments made him the right fit for Banjo’s next phase of growth.
“Craig brings a future-focused mindset, with deep experience in building and structuring technology functions for growth,” Callaghan said.
“We’re particularly excited about his ability to enhance delivery discipline, strengthen team capability and help us continue evolving our technology, including opportunities in areas like AI.”
Rowe joins Banjo from recoveriescorp, where he spent more than two decades in senior technology leadership roles, including 12 years as Chief Information Officer. During his tenure, he oversaw technology at scale within one of Australia’s largest receivables management businesses, supporting significant organisational growth and transformation.
He said the opportunity to join Banjo was driven by its growth potential, culture and alignment with his experience.
“Banjo is at a really interesting point in its journey,” Rowe said.
“The business has achieved a huge amount in startup mode, and now it’s about evolving the technology, processes and systems to support sustainable growth without losing that agility.”
Explaining his focus for Banjo Loans, Craig Rowe explained that he will work on ways to improve delivery capability, scale the technology function and enhance customer experience for all existing and new SME customers.
“There’s a significant opportunity to create a more seamless, frictionless experience for customers and brokers,” Rowe said.
“At the same time, we’ll be focused on increasing the velocity of change. From delivering more, and delivering it better, while continuing to evolve our platforms.”
Rowe added that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence would play an increasing role across the business.
“There’s huge potential for AI across every part of the business. From software development through to customer experience and credit processes,” Rowe said.
“The opportunity is to apply that in a way that delivers real value, not technology for its own sake.”