Expertli Founder Pete Steel on creating better-than-in-person digital customer experiences

When Pete Steel reflects on his hugely successful career in financial services, his fondest memories aren’t of work. While achievements have come and gone, his wife, two boys and pet groodle have been a constant source of support and inspiration throughout his career. It’s family that always comes to mind first.

A family man at heart, his passion for driving social change and helping communities – and now businesses – with technology are evident throughout his 23-year career. When Pete launched online mortgage brokerage, True Savings in the middle of the Pandemic in 2021, he was faced with the seemingly impossible task of juggling work, schooling and family time all from home. 

While many other businesses scrambled to find the right tools, Pete’s team of innovation-loving techies were eager to solve this problem not only for True Savings, but for other businesses too.  

"I'm lucky to be surrounded by a team of born problem solvers who are up for any challenge,” says Pete. We take real-life problems and turn them into memorable digital experiences that we as customers would want to use.” 

They had a single goal: to create a better-than-in-person digital experience that would help customers make great decisions from anywhere in the world (or from the comfort of their home) and have real business efficiencies.  

And so, Expertli was born...

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Being a leader in tech innovation 

Pete Steel is no stranger to tech innovation; as former Chief Digital Officer at CommBank, he was responsible for the evolution of Australia’s number one banking app, with features backed by machine learning and behavioural science that are still used by more than 7 million people every day.  

Senior Engineer at Expertli Adam Taranto believes Pete has a unique ability to see customer problems, identify key areas of focus and then invest in solutions that have not been seen before. As a visionary leader, Pete looks to the horizon, constantly feeding new ideas back to the team.   

“Every day, I’m inspired by Pete’s continuous support and trust in me and the team to deliver on his vision and create an outstanding digital product,” says Adam. “I’m especially proud of the custom modules we’ve built for mortgage brokers enabling them to complete needs analysis and work out borrowing power in real-time.” 

While Pete certainly gives off the appearance that he’s spinning many plates (which, as the Founder and CEO of two thriving businesses, is totally understandable), he still inspires his team, clients and investors every day. 

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Building a thriving team and culture 

Pete’s a big advocate for creating excellent customer outcomes and even better digital experiences. But you don’t get there without a strong team who believes in the business, its leadership and what you’re trying to achieve for your customers. Having worked alongside some of Australia’s top talent in the past, it’s no wonder Pete sought out the best of the best when he started building his team. 

Expertli’s Senior Leadership have quite a few career notches under their belts. Their experience spans some of the country's most well-known digital products including the CommBank app, Beem (now owned by Eftpos) and the Woolworths app. Not to mention big businesses like Unilever, News Corp and Nestlé. 

With a strong mission and leadership style anchored in trust, Pete didn't have to work hard to woo the likes of leaders such as Sylvia Sara. She’s the product fanatic responsible for Commonwealth Bank’s Benefits Finder, an award-winning feature that’s helped Australians access more than $480 million in government rebates (as of 2021) and is now Expertli’s Head of Product.  

"Watching Pete lead and inspire so many teams at CommBank was one of the main reasons I chose to work at Expertli,” Sylvia says. “Being able to work 1:1 with such an experienced leader was an opportunity that doesn't come around very often."

Pete credits his incredibly capable team who work really well together with what they’ve achieved in such a short amount of time. But there are two areas he will continue to challenge the team to do better. 

“I want us to be curious and really immerse ourselves in the challenges our business customers face when serving valuable clients,” says Pete. “And be bold with new innovations to crack stubborn traditional problems.” 

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Expertli is looking to the future 

While Expertli is still in its infancy, its initial focus has been on reinventing the way businesses connect with digital customers to help them make critical decisions. But the team has big dreams for the future.

Head of Design Tommy Mayes prides himself on making an impact. He was the creative force redefining payment experiences at Beem It - making sending and requesting money more human and maybe even fun, and more recently delivered a category-leading app to millions of Everyday Rewards members at Woolies X. 

Now he’s bringing that passion to Expertli and there’s a lot he and the team can do. “At its core, our product will help people help people,” says Tommy. “And any type of positive impact I can have as a designer is all I can ask for.”

And their advice for businesses thinking about digitising their customer experience.

“Digital customer experiences are no longer a choice for businesses; it’s critical to survival in our post-pandemic reality,” says Pete. “Businesses should focus on aligning their existing services with their digital channels. At Expertli, we give you the tools needed to connect with digital customers and provide services with a better-than-in-person online experience.” 

Pete and the team at Expertli are excited to bring businesses around the world more innovations. This is one start up you’ll want to keep watching.