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Craig Kitchen, business development manager at Keylend and a former long-serving state manager for PLAN Australia, has passed away at the age of 61 after a long battle with cancer.
Industry stalwart Craig Kitchen, affectionately known as ‘Kitch’, passed away on Friday (17 February), after a long battle with liver cancer.
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Mr Kitchen was a long-serving member of the mortgage lending and broking industry, having been a lending manager at BankSA for over 20 years (1979–2000), and the first state manager for South Australia/Northern Territory at aggregation group PLAN Australia - a position he held for nearly 12 years (2000–11).
For the last decade, Mr Kitchen had been working as a sales manager at South Australia-based KeyInvest Lending Services and as a business development manager (BDM) at its broking arm, Keylend.
In his most recent position, he was responsible for the recruitment and retention of mortgage brokers and helped many brokers build successful businesses.
Speaking to The Adviser about Mr Kitchen’s legacy, Chris Burns, the chief executive of Keylend, said: “Kitch was an industry stalwart who had such a positive impact on the lives of so many people in the mortgage broking industry.
“After a lengthy career with BankSA, he became the inaugural state manager for PLAN Australia SA/NT putting PLAN on the map in those states.
“He then joined Keylend in 2011 as a relationship manager and much of Keylend’s success is attributed to Kitch and the amazing relationships he formed.
“To say I am gutted by Craig’s passing is a profound understatement, as Kitch has been both a colleague and close personal friend for many decades.
“He will be remembered as a beautiful human who always saw the best in everyone. His positivity and fight during his battle with this insidious disease was truly inspiring.”
The Keylend CEO noted that Mr Kitchen “loved nothing more than a beer with a mate chatting about his beloved Crows and his family, including his grandchildren, who were his pride and joy”.
“It was impossible for those who knew him, not to love the guy. He was outstanding by every measure,” Mr Burns said.
“We are missing him every day, here in the Norwood office.”
Ray Hair, who was CEO at PLAN Australia between 2001–11 and worked closely with Mr Kitchen over the decade, reflected on the memory of his colleague and friend.
Mr Hair said: “Craig was a people person; he understood the value of relationships.
“He made time for everyone, he was genuinely interested in people, their roles and/or businesses.
“He created and nurtured a collaborative culture among his broker members, which made for lifetime friendships.”
Mr Kitchen is survived by his wife, Wanda, children Ryan and Sophie and grandchildren Spencer, Darcy, and Walker.
A celebration of the life of Mr Kitchen will be held at Osmond Terrace Function Centre at the Norwood Hotel in The Parade, Norwood, South Australia on Friday, 3 March (10.30 am–2 pm).
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