Breaking barriers: Tanya Sale

In the male-dominated financial industry, Tanya Sale has done more than just shatter glass ceilings – she’s built something entirely new on the other side. As the only female CEO of a mortgage aggregator in Australia and Founder and Managing Director of outsource Financial, she’s turned the industry on its head, championing brokers and creating a culture of empowerment and trust.

"At outsource Financial, we’ve positioned ourselves as a premium aggregator," Sale tells The CEO Magazine. "We go over and above, and we’re picky with the brokers we choose to come under our umbrella. They have to share our values and ethics. And importantly, they have to have our drive."

The climb

Sale’s career journey began in banking and finance, climbing the ranks at Colonial First State, where she helped pioneer mortgage broking as a professional field. And when Commonwealth Bank acquired Colonial, she saw firsthand the tension between innovation and tradition. This insight became the seed of something bigger – an aggregator model that put brokers and their independence at the center.

In 2010, Sale co-founded outsource Financial with business partner Andrea Tassis. From its inception, the company aimed to empower mortgage brokers with tools, training and independence. Unlike many aggregators tied to major banks or financial institutions, outsource Financial remains independently owned and operated.

While "success doesn’t come overnight", she says, having a streamlined system has helped immensely.

"One of the executives that I was close to at Macquarie Bank, back in the day said to me, ‘If I can give you any advice, it’s that you have to get your process and systems in place. If you don’t, it will all end in tears.’ Now, we have that," she says. "So when something comes up; we go, ‘Let’s do this.’"

Empowering with education

Education and training are at the heart of outsource Financial’s operations. Sale recognized a gap in the industry where new entrants often faced exorbitant fees for inadequate mentoring programs.

"I got so frustrated seeing what was going on; these poor people weren’t getting the mentoring or support they deserved," she explains.

Addressing this, outsource Financial pioneered comprehensive mentoring programs, such as ‘new entrant’ (residential), commercial, loan admin and its newly created asset finance mentoring, being launched this year – all of which are entirely complimentary to its members.

"For us, we’re strong believers that if we educate our members, they will, in turn, educate the consumer," she explains.

"So before the consumer makes a massive decision to borrow money, they can rest assured that their broker will support, educate and guide them throughout their borrowing journey."

Supporting women’s sport

As a former national touch football champion and halfback in Queensland’s inaugural women’s rugby union competition, Sale’s influence extends beyond finance into sport. And it recently culminated in outsource Financial becoming the official major partner of the Gold Coast Titans National Rugby League Women’s (NRLW) team.

"I told my business partner Andrea that if outsource was ever in a position where we had reached a certain level of success, then we’d have to ensure we gave back," Sale says.

Her long-time friendship with Titans Head Coach Karyn Murphy further solidified the partnership.

"Karyn is a legend in the National Rugby League and NRLW world. She’s even been dubbed the ‘GOAT’ – greatest of all time," she says with a smile.

"Back in 2022, when ‘Murph’ was appointed as Head Coach, the opportunity came up to become an official partner of the NRLW Gold Coast Titans; and I knew straight away, I wanted it to be outsource. And now, we’re proudly their official major partner," Sale states.

"For us, it wasn’t about getting our brand out there. It was about helping these young women fuel their passion for women’s sport and excel in their career, in whatever way we could – whether that be cheering them on from the side lines each game or helping them get finance for their first car or home."

Sale sees a critical need for professional athletes, particularly women, to be equipped with financial skills and knowledge for life outside of their sporting careers.

"Their passion is football, and our passion is assisting them in getting financially secure and thriving. That’s where we come into play," she concludes.

The secret to success

Under Sale’s leadership, outsource Financial has grown into a multi-award-winning aggregator, respected for its integrity, member-centric approach and dedication to education.

"We’re just growing, growing, growing," she says. "And when people ask about the secret behind our growth, I tell them three things: our mentoring program, reputation and our ethos – it’s not all about lending.

"With outsource, we put a lot of time and resources into our members whom we call our partners, and they help us achieve our goals."

To Sale, building this rapport is everything.

"I’m very big on relationships," she says. "My team is amazing, Andrea’s amazing, our partners are amazing – we have built an entire team our network respects and knows has their back.

"And when you have an entire network behind you that has your back, the whole company flourishes."