Head of Diversified Business at HCF Australia
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Who are you and what do you do?
I am a Distribution, Operations, and Revenue leader with over 15 years of experience in the Insurance sector, across Asia Pacific and globally. I have significant expertise in General & Life Insurance, including Travel, Health and Insurtech.
I work with CEOs, CFOs, CSOs and the broader C-suite to grow revenue, enhance services and increase distribution with Life and General Insurance propositions.
1. What was the journey that brought you to your current role?
After training as a Mechanical Engineer, I moved into Process Improvement and Optimisation. I had moved from being in Manufacturing to selling into Manufacturing, when a chance encounter with an old friend, opened up the Insurance industry to me. She asked me to join her, to which I replied “I don’t want to be an Insurance Salesman”.
Her response has stuck with me to this day, “This is about helping people in their time of need, the insurance is just a vehicle to deliver it”.
Fifteen years later, across four continents, with experience from massive multinationals to <10 person start-ups, I’m working with Australia’s largest not-for-profit health insurer; growing their business, adopting new technologies and enhancing customer outcomes.
2. How do you get things done?
Find the most productive time of your day and smash the work out. If it’s 6pm-midnight, 4am-10am or 9am-5 get into that rhythm and maximise your effectiveness.
3. Who are your role models and why?
I do like the start-up story of World Nomads, who launched a few weeks before 9/11, revenue went to zero, stuck to their plans, gritted it out, then grew to a $100m+ business.
Separately, John Noel who started Travel Guard in the US is also a complete legend in the Travel Insurance space. One of the nicest and inclusive people I’ve ever met, which filtered through every part of his organisation. Every year he had a party on his boat for the staff. His business became so successful that he kept having to buy bigger boats! After he sold to AIG, rather than take a holiday for the rest of his life, he started again and launched BHTP from scratch.
4. What’s the one secret about your field or industry you wish everyone knew?
Travel and Health Insurers genuinely want to pay claims.
5. What are your predictions for the industry for the next few years?
For a long time the industry has been focused on Distribution first, then spending heaps on Technology, using standard Products and tacking on Services and ramming down the throat of Customers.
I think now, it’s the Services that are core to offerings (as the primary touch point for Customers), which the Products are designed around, Technology to facilitate this and Distribution aligned to the Customers.
