Meet the team

As the first of Founder Paul Cranage’s four children to join the business in 1999, Ben has been at the forefront of the ‘new era’ of Cranage Financial Group and the strategic direction of the business. 

A natural leader, Ben takes great pride in training and motivating our fast growing and dynamic team in their own professional development.  This has been a crucial role that has cemented CFG as an ‘employee of choice’ in recent years, ensuring the client receives exceptional service from the entire team.   

As a Senior Adviser, Ben has been assisting clients for more than 20 years, throughout all the stages of their life from strategic wealth creation to managing investments in retirement.  Ben’s passionate about providing strategic advice that makes a big difference, but feels the real enjoyment comes from the trusted long-term relationships he has formed with clients, most of who he considers friends.

With an appreciation for great food and wine, Ben is known to be quite the skilled (weekend) cook.  A proud husband and father of two boys, Ben and his young family enjoy moving between Melbourne bayside and Torquay (Surf Coast) come the weekend, as well as annual extended trips to his wife's (Renata’s) home in Brazil.  

Sam joined the family business in 2002, after playing professional AFL football for St Kilda and Carlton.  He has been assisting clients for 20 years, throughout all the stages of their life - from strategic wealth creation to managing investments in retirement. 

As an owner of the business, Sam has always been driven to build a model that educates, empowers, and makes it easy for even the busiest clients to ‘take action’ and feel in control of their finances.  Sam’s passion has been providing strategic advice that makes a big difference to his client's lives, then playing a supporting role as clients put this into action and benefit from the result(s). 

Sam built a unique, visual and interactive process that enables clients to clearly see the long-term benefits of certain strategies at the start of the planning process so they can have input into their own wealth creation journey.

As a very proud and busy parent of 4 children, a business owner and professional, Sam can relate to and enjoys assisting a wide range of clients.  Outside of business, Sam enjoys spending quality time with his wife Ebony and their 4 kids in Torquay and tries to sneak in the odd surf and game of golf.  

Laura joined the business in 2007 and is now a Senior Private Wealth Adviser within the financial planning team and a proud owner, Director and member of the board for Cranage Financial Group.  

As a Senior Private Wealth Adviser, Laura is passionate about assisting clients throughout all the stages of their life from strategic wealth creation to managing investments in retirement along with intergenerational wealth transfer strategies.  Laura prides herself on, and is highly regarded for, her attention to detail and technical knowledge - and enjoys the challenge of more complex strategies. 

In recent years, Laura has taken on a more active role in the strategic direction and management for the group, which has a strong focus on providing the best client experience, with a market leading service offering.

Laura balances work commitments with regular Pilates and Yoga, loves a good Netflix binge on the weekends, and is looking forward to resuming regular overseas travel with her husband Rohan.

Hannah is the Operations Manager at Cranage Financial Group.  Leveraging her experience in arts, health and community development, Hannah first joined the team as Business Development Manager in 2013 and has played a diverse and creative role at CFG over the years. 

Hannah is driven by a passion for building a strong business culture, both internally and externally, and collaborating with team members on big picture projects.  A committed corporate by day, and a coastal loving Mum of one (Eleanor) and yogi at heart.  Authentic connection, communication and growth is at core of everything she does in both business and life.

Lizle joined the team in September 2021, after working closely with the business in a consulting role for over 5 years.  She’s been in the financial planning industry since 2002, and has extensive experience in several areas, including advising, compliance and business development, in both the corporate world and small business.  Her passion lies within small business, helping improve business performance and ensuring the clients remain the centre of everything they do.

Outside of business, Lizle is a very proud mother of gorgeous Jacob, who she loves hanging out with whenever she can.  We also can’t forget; she thoroughly enjoys getting away with the family to tropical destinations... the ultimate combination of wine with a view and living life to the fullest.

Jerome joined the Cranage team as Senior Lending Consultant in 2015 and has been successfully managing Cranage Lending Solutions ever since.  

Working as a broker since 2013, Jerome is an expert in all aspects of lending and finance, but he most enjoys being part of the clients’ property journey - whether that be a First Home Buyer or helping clients build property portfolios.  As the man front and center of all things Cranage Lending, you’ll often find Jerome collaborating with the rest of the CFG team to achieve holistic and seamless outcomes for our clients.

Come the weekend Jerome enjoys nothing more than watching a game, especially Aarsenal who he follows passionately, or taking day trips/adventures with his young family.

Jeremy has been advising clients at Cranage Private Wealth since February 2016.  He specialises in risk and investment advice and has been trading in the markets since leaving school – which is where his passion lies.  Jeremy especially enjoys constructing diverse portfolios for his wealth creation clients.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Diploma of Financial Planning and prior to joining Cranage Financial Group, Jeremy garnered his financial acumen as a financial and sales analyst at a large privately owned Australian engineering company.  

Outside of work, Jeremy is blessed with a young family, is a keen sports enthusiast and loves to travel.

Rex joined the team in 2014 as part of RMIT University’s Work Placement Program and moved into a permanent position in 2016 after completing his degree.

He spends most of his time diligently collaborating with clients and the internal advice team, to ensure the best result - as well as the most seamless client experience.  Rex enjoys more complex financial modelling, as it clearly demonstrates what a client's financial future could look like, and how we can help them achieve their goals over a long-term partnership with Cranage Private Wealth.

Growing up in Geelong, Rex moved to Melbourne a few weeks after turning 18 to study... and now calls this vibrant city his home.  Rex loves living Northside close to friends and the best food and bar scene Melbourne has to offer.  A keen traveller and adventurer, Rex looks forward to exploring the world for many years to come.

Fraser joined the business on a part time basis in September 2016 while finishing university and became a valued full-time employee from January 2017.  He directly supports Senior Adviser, Sam Cranage, helping him provide the best possible service to their clients.  As a senior leader, he also trains younger staff members, helping to develop their skills and knowledge.

Fraser loves living in Melbourne, specifically enjoying the great bars and sporting activities on offer. He also claims to be a very good home cook.

Dewmi (AKA “D”) started in the industry in 2018 as a Client Services Officer, then moved on to provisional investment adviser at Horizons Wealth.  She recently joined our business in early 2022 as a Senior Associate supporting Senior Private Wealth Adviser, Laura Cranage, to provide the best service possible for their clients.

Originally from Sri Lanka, D moved to Australia in 2014 for studies.  In her spare time, you’ll find her enjoying all types of water sports.

Discovered at our Senior Broker’s local café, Joel showcased amazing customer service skills and expressed a keen interest in the Broking industry.  He soon made the shift to Mortgage Broking at Cranage Lending Services in September 2021 and has never looked back.

Joel is very well travelled and has had the amazing life experience of living abroad in the UK and Canada for over 6 years.  He loves to experience new cultures, cuisines, and wines.  He also loves snowboarding, live music and you’ll often find him enjoying varied outdoor adventures.

Chris joined in late 2020, as part of La Trobe University’s summer internship program and became a valued (permanent) team member in late 2021.  He helps support the entire advisory team within the business in client servicing and administration activities.

He is an avid sport lover and enjoys cheering on his beloved English Premier League club, Arsenal. Closer to home, he’s been a member of Collingwood Football Club for more than 10 years.  Watching his team win the 2010 grand final was a day he’ll never forget.