Leading the Appraisal Industry through Innovation and Expertise

Chris Knight

Chris has been with Opteon since 2006 and held the role of Group Chief Executive Officer of Opteon since July 2016. During his time as CEO, Chris has led the Opteon team in successful growth outcomes including many acquisitions in Australia, New Zealand, and most recently is spearheading an expansion in the U.S having undertaken multiple acquisitions. He is currently executing a strategy for Opteon designed to deliver significant growth and diversification through best in class end to end tech-enabled services in each region we service.

Chris has qualifications in Accounting, Real Estate, Valuations, a Master of Business (Property) and Master of Business Administration (MBA). He is a Fellow with the Australian Property Institute (API), a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), is a Director of the Collateral Risk Network (CRN) USA (2021 to current), and was a Director of the Australian Property Institute 2018-2021.

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.

Stacy Caprioli

Stacy Caprioli, MNAa, CDEI, is the Chief Appraiser at Opteon USA, where her commitment to precision and integrity sets the standard in property valuation. With a career marked by market analysis and a keen eye for detail, Stacy brings extensive expertise to both commercial and residential appraisal. Her advanced credentials and hands-on experience enable her to deliver insightful, accurate valuations that drive informed decision-making. At Opteon USA, she leads by example, merging industry best practices with innovative strategies to consistently exceed client expectations and elevate the standards of appraisal excellence.

Chris Knight

Chris has been with Opteon since 2006 and held the role of Group Chief Executive Officer of Opteon since July 2016. During his time as CEO, Chris has led the Opteon team in successful growth outcomes including many acquisitions in Australia, New Zealand, and most recently is spearheading an expansion in the U.S having undertaken multiple acquisitions. He is currently executing a strategy for Opteon designed to deliver significant growth and diversification through best in class end to end tech-enabled services in each region we service.

Chris has qualifications in Accounting, Real Estate, Valuations, a Master of Business (Property) and Master of Business Administration (MBA). He is a Fellow with the Australian Property Institute (API), a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), is a Director of the Collateral Risk Network (CRN) USA (2021 to current), and was a Director of the Australian Property Institute 2018-2021.

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 a Non-Executive Director of Opteon, a role he has held since August 2015. 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 the founder and CEO of Trilon Group, a 5,700 person North American based infrastructure consulting firm with annual revenue exceeding US$1.2b.  Previous executive roles include Chief Growth Officer at AECOM (NYSE listed with annual revenue of US$20 billion and a workforce of 56,000) and CEO and Managing Director of Cardno (ASX listed with annual revenue of AU$1.2b and workforce of 8,000).

Michael is currently a Non-Executive Director of Cobalt Services Partners a high growth group of companies providing building access solutions.  He previously served as Non-Executive Director of NV5 (Nasdaq listed compliance, technology and engineering firm).

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

Leslie 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 Director on the Boards of New Medtek Devices Pty Ltd,  Senversa Pty Ltd, Jasmax Group Limited, and Marsden Jacob Associates. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York. Leslie is also 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, a leading fund manager that invests in small-mid cap enterprises.

Jeremy is currently also a Non-Executive Director of Anacacia portfolio companies MGI Golf and Sureway. He was the former lead director for Anacacia’s successful investments into Appen, Home Appliances, Lomb Scientific, and Yumi’s Quality Foods. Jeremy holds an MBA from the Yale University School of Management and Arts/Law degrees from the University of New South Wales.

Jonathan Bloxsom

Jonathan joined Opteon in 2009, was an Executive Director from July 2010 to October 2019, and has since been a Non- Executive Director. Jonathan has a lifetime of experience in the property industry, growing up in a family committed to property investment and construction. Commencing his career as a cadet valuer in 1986; Jonathan started his own firm in 1989 whilst still a cadet valuer. Aged just 21 with a year to go in his cadetship, he worked alongside his registered valuer partner until he completed his qualifications.

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, commercial and rental valuations and advocacy. In recent years he has commenced a renewable energy business and motor racing team.   

Outside Opteon, Jonathan is a director of several companies involved in property investment, construction, property management and agriculture. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.