Leading the Appraisal Industry through Innovation and Expertise

Chris Knight

Chris Knight is Chief Executive Officer of Opteon Global. Since taking on the role of CEO in 2016, Chris has cultivated a growth culture through initiation and support of more than 20 acquisitions throughout the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

In 2021, Chris relocated from Australia to the United States to further grow Opteon USA which provides both appraisal management and staff appraisal services. He is passionate about market disruption through development of great people, process, data software, and technology. By leveraging strategic partnerships, Chris aims to replicate the success Opteon has had in other markets to bring consistent same-day appraisals to the United States.

In addition to being a certified Australian valuer, Chris also has an accounting background and dual master’s degrees in Business Administration and Business Property. On a personal note, Chris is a licensed pilot and golfer.

James Harkness

James was appointed Chief Financial Officer in December 2017. James leads financial strategy, reporting, analysis, compliance and advice across Opteon.

James has a proven track record engaging with progressive leaders who thrive on delivering results in high growth businesses.

With a combination of financial, commercial and operational experience, James contributes to Opteon’s leadership through developing and executing financial, commercial, cost leadership, operational efficiency and people development strategies.

Before joining Opteon, James was Chief Financial Officer at the ASX listed Capital Health Limited, and held senior executive roles at CareerOne, Jetstar, Nu Energy and Acciona.

James is a qualified Chartered Accountant, graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.

Lisa Billington

Lisa commenced with Opteon in 2016, playing an important role in Opteon’s transformation to an integrated structure in early 2017, and Opteon’s 27 acquisitions since her commencement.

Lisa is responsible for Opteon’s global legal, risk, compliance, quality and secretariat functions, leading a team of 25 professionals to support Opteon’s strategy and growth in a way that balances opportunities with risk.

Lisa is a senior corporate lawyer with significant experience across a wide range of areas including mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance and general commercial law. Prior to joining the Opteon team, Lisa worked at law firms Clayton Utz and Maddocks and in-house for an education and media company.

Lisa holds a current legal practising certificate, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Science (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and has completed the Governance Institute of Australia’s Certificate of Governance Practice. She was included in Australasian Lawyer’s 2022 in-house leaders list.

Lee Trice

Lee Trice founded The Trice Group in 1987. After growing that firm to become the largest appraisal company in the MidAtlantic Region, Lee co-founded Valucentric with Real Valuation Services to replicate that success on a national scale. In 2021, Valucentric was acquired by Opteon to escalate growth around AMC, Appraisal Staff, and PropTech SaaS solutions. Lee was awarded professional designations from the Appraisal Institute and RICS, which is a global and multi-discipline valuation professional organization.

Jessica Sturm

Jessica Sturm is Executive Vice President of Opteon Appraisal. Jessica has worked in the appraisal industry since 2004, becoming a certified appraiser in 2007. During her tenure as an appraiser, Jessica gained on-the-ground knowledge of the valuation process that serves as a critical asset in her current role. A certified appraiser in six states, Jessica's far-reaching expertise has been key in formulating effective strategies in a wide range of local markets. During her time as an appraiser, Jessica was a central party to the development of Opteon’s TEAM model, and she has since utilized this innovative approach to facilitate growth into multiple new regions.

Kevin Groff

Kevin has over 20 years of experience working in Finance with diverse industry experience including biotech, manufacturing and commercial real estate for both private, public, and non-profit companies, most recently with American Premier Builder. He specializes in FP&A, financial modeling, M&A activity, budgeting and forecasting, strategic planning, and driving operational efficiencies. He is focused on bottom line results through building efficient processes and interdepartmental collaboration.

Nicki Brazeau

Nicki has over a decade of professional experience working in human resources and over 15 years of experience in the appraisal industry. Her knowledge and expertise were honed even further while supporting Opteon’s acquisition of The William Fall Group, during which she gained a wealth of industry-specific insights. Nicki's comprehensive background in HR management, recruitment, retention, compensation, training, and communication has resulted in strong relationships with her peers. Her academic accomplishments include holding an MBA and an M.S. in Operations Management, reflecting her commitment to continuous learning and development.

Greg Bernstein

Greg has more than 15 years experience in the real estate industry, and managed multiple companies in the space before founding Value Trend Solutions (VTS) in 2009. Serving as the organization’s Managing Partner, Greg helped to position VTS for long term success which led to an eventual partnership with Opteon in 2018. In his current role, Greg focuses on sustainable financial health, responsible growth, operational excellence, and corporate culture.

Ben Clark

In Ben’s role as US General Counsel, he is responsible for the Company’s American legal & risk functions and manages the US Compliance Department. Ben is a senior corporate lawyer with significant experience as in-house legal counsel with real estate settlement service providers, particularly in the mortgage industry, as Ben served as in-house legal counsel for Platinum Home Mortgage and Guaranteed Rate from 2013 to 2023.  Along the way, Ben has focused on general corporate governance and regulatory compliance, and has significant exposure in mergers & acquisitions, labor & employment law, and corporate litigation. Ben brings a business sense to his legal work, always striving to find a way to support our business initiatives in a manner that safeguards the Company from undue legal or regulatory exposure. 

Heather McLaughlin

In her nearly 15 years in the mortgage industry, Heather has gained significant leadership experience in mortgage lending, risk management, collateral policy, appraisal operations, and innovative valuation product development. Helping to pioneer the modernized appraisal, she is passionate about developing progressive solutions to meet the needs of the future of our industry.  In her current role, Heather focuses on creating efficiencies by utilizing cutting-edge technology and streamlined processes to deliver superior quality reports to help our clients meet the needs of their borrowers.

Michael Floyd

With nearly 30 years of management-level experience in appraisal, appraisal review, appraisal training/instruction, vendor quality control, and AMC/valuation compliance, Michael is a seasoned industry veteran. He was one of the original founding members of StreetLinks Lender Solutions, where he served as Chief Appraiser and Senior Vice President of Compliance for nearly a decade. He continued in that role through the company’s acquisition by Assurant Mortgage Solutions. Most recently, Michael held the position of Chief Appraiser at First Look Appraisals, a national Appraisal Management Company based in Chicago, IL. Opteon looks forward to the expertise and leadership Michael will bring to the team.

Chris Knight

Chris Knight is Chief Executive Officer of Opteon Global. Since taking on the role of CEO in 2016, Chris has cultivated a growth culture through initiation and support of more than 20 acquisitions throughout the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

In 2021, Chris relocated from Australia to the United States to further grow Opteon USA which provides both appraisal management and staff appraisal services. He is passionate about market disruption through development of great people, process, data software, and technology. By leveraging strategic partnerships, Chris aims to replicate the success Opteon has had in other markets to bring consistent same-day appraisals to the United States.

In addition to being a certified Australian valuer, Chris also has an accounting background and dual master’s degrees in Business Administration and Business Property. On a personal note, Chris is a licensed pilot and golfer.

Lisa Billington

Lisa commenced with Opteon in 2016, playing an important role in Opteon’s transformation to an integrated structure in early 2017, and Opteon’s 27 acquisitions since her commencement.

Lisa is responsible for Opteon’s global legal, risk, compliance, quality and secretariat functions, leading a team of 25 professionals to support Opteon’s strategy and growth in a way that balances opportunities with risk.

Lisa is a senior corporate lawyer with significant experience across a wide range of areas including mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance and general commercial law. Prior to joining the Opteon team, Lisa worked at law firms Clayton Utz and Maddocks and in-house for an education and media company.

Lisa holds a current legal practising certificate, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Science (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and has completed the Governance Institute of Australia’s Certificate of Governance Practice. She was included in Australasian Lawyer’s 2022 in-house leaders list.

Michael Renshaw

Michael is the Chair and Non-Executive Director of Opteon. With almost 30 years’ senior management experience, Michael possesses a strong understanding of international markets, strategic management, mergers and acquisitions and profitable growth at the Board, CEO and Senior Executive level.

Michael is CEO of Trilon Group, a North American based infrastructure consulting firm with annual revenue exceeding $300m. Michael was the Chief Growth Officer at AECOM, the worlds’ largest integrated design and construction firm with annual revenue of US$20 billion and a workforce of 56,000. Michael was also the CEO and Managing Director of Cardno, an engineering, environmental and management services company. At that time, Cardno was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (an ASX200 company). He also previously served as an Independent Director on the Board of Nasdaq listed NV5 (NVEE) a compliance, technology and engineering firm providing solutions to public and private infrastructure.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Business (Hons) and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School.

Cliff Rosenberg

Cliff Rosenberg joined Opteon’s Board of Directors in December 2020.

Cliff is an active investor, advisor and board member in the technology sector.

He is a member of the Anacacia Capital Business Advisory Council, and a non-executive director on four listed companies: Nearmap (ASX), TechnologyOne (ASX), A2B (ASX) and Bidcorp (JSE).

With a passion for the start-up space, Cliff was instrumental in helping start, and grow, Australia’s leading online restaurant booking platform, Dimmi.com.au, which was sold to Tripadvisor in 2015; and was an early advisor to Afterpay, and on the board from IPO in 2016 to mid 2020.

In 2009 Cliff was the first employee for LinkedIn in the Asia Pacific region and was MD for Australia NZ and South East Asia from 2009 to 2017. He was also the MD of Yahoo! Australia NZ from 2003 to 2006.

Cliff holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business and information systems and is a member of the AICD.

Leslie Butterfield

Leslie has been a Non-Executive Director of Opteon since October 2017.

Leslie has a civil engineering degree and background in Project Management and has a wealth of international and local experience in corporate advisory, corporate finance, business development, strategic planning and senior executive roles.

She has a strategic focus on technology and innovation in new and existing businesses.  She is a strong supporter of, and mentor to, women in her industry, and is a frequent public speaker actively encouraging young women to consider a career in engineering.

Leslie is currently a Non-Executive Director of ASX listed Vivid Technology Limited, RKF Engineering and the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation.

Leslie holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York. Leslie is also an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Jeremy Samuel

Jeremy Samuel joined Opteon’s Board of Directors in December 2020.

Jeremy is the founder and Managing Director of Anacacia Capital. He is responsible for the overall management of the firm and chairs the investment committee.

He holds an MBA from Yale University School of Management and Arts/Law degrees from the University of New South Wales.

​Jeremy has led investments into small-medium enterprises (SMEs) across a range of industries including in consumer, services and industrial businesses. He is the former Chair of ANZ’s private equity management committee and was previously a strategy consultant with Booz Allen (now PwC Strategy).

Jeremy is currently the Non-Executive Chair of Anacacia portfolio companies Duncan Technologies, Sureway and Pump Haircare, and was the former lead director for Anacacia’s successful investments into the following businesses:

• Appen
• Lomb Scientific
• Home Appliances
• Yumi’s Quality Foods

Jeremy has also been a director of other companies, including Big River and Direct Couriers.

Jonathan Bloxsom

FAPI CPV

Jonathan joined Opteon in 2009 and has served on Opteon’s Board of Directors since since July 2010.

Jonathan is a fellow of the Australian Property Institute and a Certified Practicing Valuer with accreditations in both the valuation and economy streams of the Australian Property Institute.

His areas of expertise are industrial, office and retail property, rental valuations and advocacy, development projects and subdivisional property, and prestige residences.

Jonathan’s role in the business is focused on international expansion and investment into new markets for Opteon.