Keynote
Abbas Nazari is a former Afghan refugee who fled the Taliban in 2001. Abbas was one of more than 400 asylum seekers who were rescued by the Norwegian container ship, the MV Tampa, in the Indian Ocean as they sought asylum in Australia in 2001. After being denied asylum in Australia and held offshore for weeks by Australian special forces, Abbas and his family were eventually resettled in New Zealand. Having arrived as an eight year old with no English, Abbas went on to place third in the New Zealand Spelling Bee a few years later, play representative rugby, and graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelors in Diplomacy and International Relations. In 2019 he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship where he has just completed a Master's at Georgetown University in Washington DC. While in the United States, Abbas wrote and published his family memoir, After The Tampa: From Afghanistan to New Zealand which has received critical acclaim and become a number 1 New Zealand bestseller. As a speaker, Abbas shares his journey, his experiences of thriving in a foreign country, and some lessons learned along the way.
The Honourable Kim Beazley AC was the 33rd Governor of Western Australia.
Prior to being installed as Governor, he had dedicated almost three decades to a career in Federal Parliament, representing the WA seats of Brand and Swan.
In 2009, Mr Beazley was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for service to the Parliament of Australia through contributions to the development of government policies in relation to defence and international relations, and as an advocate for Indigenous people, and to the community.
He was born in Perth, Western Australia. He completed a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts at the University of Western Australia. In 1973, he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship for Western Australia and completed a Masters of Philosophy at Oxford University.
Mr Beazley was a Minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor Governments (1983-1996) holding, at various times, the portfolios of Defence, Finance, Transport and Communications, Employment Education and Training, Aviation, and Special Minister of State.
From 1995 to 1996, he was Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1996 to 2001, and 2005 to 2006. Mr Beazley served on parliamentary committees, including the Joint Intelligence Committee and the Joint Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee.
After his retirement from politics in 2007, Mr Beazley was appointed Winthrop Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at The University of Western Australia.
In July 2008 he was appointed Chancellor of the Australian National University, a position he held until December 2009.
Mr Beazley took up an appointment as Ambassador to the United States of America in February 2010. He served as Ambassador until January 2016.
Upon returning to Australia from Washington in 2016, Mr Beazley was appointed as President of the Australian Institute for International Affairs (2016-17), Co-Chairman of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue (2016-18), Distinguished Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and a Director and Distinguished Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre.
Fronting pop funk band ‘I’m Talking’, Kate notched up 5 consecutive hit singles and a Platinum debut album ‘Bear Witness’ (The 100 Best Australian Albums). The year was 1986 and Michael Hutchence from INXS won Most Popular Male Artist and Kate won Most Popular Female Artist at the Countdown Awards.
Kate has barely drawn breath since, racking up 28 albums over 35 years whilst effortlessly moving around genres. With 3 x ARIA awards and 7 nominations for Best Female Artist, and dozens of other major awards, Kate is Australian entertainment royalty. She has starred in seminal productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and South Pacific, had her own tonight show ‘Kate Ceberano & Friends’ on the ABC TV, won Dancing With The Stars, first Australian woman inducted into the Australian Songwriters Association (ASA) Hall of Fame in 2014, awarded Order of Australia in 2016 for services to the arts and charity, curated the Adelaide Cabaret Festival for three record breaking years, just to name a few of her milestones.
Kate Ceberano is a bona fide national treasure, possessing one of the great voices of her generation. Long may she run. Kate will released SWEET INSPIRATION, on 5 February 2021 with Sony Music Australia. The album, which Kate has been produced, features the new songs, (written by Kate in lockdown) - ‘Hold On’ and ‘Sweet Inspiration’.
She will take you on a journey through the peaks and troughs that helped shape her career and build her into who she is today.
Recognition: Two times World Champion, four times Commonwealth Champion, in the sport of athletics, Jana Pittman personifies resilience and determination. When continuing injuries hampered her althetics career it could have signalled retirement, so she swapped the track for the ice. Jana joined the Australian Women’s bobsleigh team, to become the first women to represent Australia in both a Summer and Winter Olympic games.
Outside of sport Jana has completed a Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery and a Masters of Reproductive Medicine, she is now a practising Doctor in the field of Women’s Health. In 2021 Jana joined the cast of Channel 7’s SAS Australia making it to the last day and the only woman remaining in the final four recruits. With Jana’s passion for women’s health Jana is an ambassador for the ‘Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation’ and writes a regular column in New Idea. Jana is a mother to six children, having recently given birth to twins!
The world has gone digital, but Australian business risk is falling behind. As advisor, mentor and speaker, Stephen Scheeler partners with Australia's business leaders to help them master digital strategy, culture & leadership, and build innovative, global, billion-dollar businesses.
As a speaker, Stephen has a unique ability to excite audiences on the power of technology, the future of business and the new paradigm of 21st-century leadership. He is an inspiring personality on the highest-profile stages – including TEDx, the Australian Governance Summit and AMP Amplify – and is a member of the Prime Minister’s Knowledge Nation 100, top innovation leaders in Australia.
Robert co-founded Steadfast and has over 52 years’ experience in the insurance industry. He was voted the second most influential person in insurance by Insurance News, and was awarded the ACORD Rainmaker Award in 2014. Robert is a Qualified Practising Insurance Broker, a Fellow of NIBA, a Senior Associate of ANZIIF, a Certified Insurance Professional, Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is the Chair of the ACORD Board in New York. Robert is also a Director of ASX-listed Johns Lyng Group Limited and not-for-profit organisation KidsXpress.
Robert Kelly co-founded Steadfast in 1996 to provide insurance-related quality advice and service, leading the company to become the largest general insurance broker network and underwriting agency group in Australasia and an ASX 100 listed company.
He recently received the prestigious award of Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday 2022 Honours List.
Jenny joined Underwriting Agencies Council in 2023, having spent more than 25 years in the insurance industry and has a proven track record in successfully leading distribution, underwriting and operational teams. Jenny re-joined Ansvar (May 2022) as National Development Manager, from Allianz where she was the General Manager for Underwriting Agencies. She has also held senior national and international positions at QBE and prior to this spent time at CGU Insurance.
A founding member of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) General Insurance Faculty Advisory Board and its current chair, Jenny is passionate about advancing the skills and knowledge of insurance professionals in the Australian market.
Jenny has a Graduate Diploma in Insurance and a Master of Business Administration from Deakin University.
Alexandra joined the Insurance Council of Australia in January 2023 in the role of General Manager, Regulatory and Policy. Prior to that, Alexandra held the role of Director, Policy and Advocacy at the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman.
Alexandra is responsible for developing and implementing the ICA’s regulatory policy agenda including liaising with sector regulators ASIC and APRA, and working with stakeholders through the Business Advisory Council to solve problems related to insurance for business.
Alexandra has worked in advocacy bodies, the federal government, federal politics, and the university sector, focusing on policy and advice to deliver better outcomes for small business and communities. She holds a BA (Hons) and a Juris Doctor from the Australian National University.
Phil Kewin has over 35 years experience in Financial Services and Insurance having held a diversity of roles including owning his own financial Planning practice as well as executive roles including General Manager Life and Investments at Zurich, and was most recently the CEO of the Association of Financial Advisers. In November last year, Phil was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Brokers Association of Australia (NIBA). Phil leads NIBA’s industry representation efforts and promotes the role and professionalism of brokers to: governments; regulators; businesses and the broader community.
Adam Spencer is a famous Australian media personality and public mathematician. He likes to describe himself as “nowhere near Australia’s best mathematician - but possibly it’s best known”. Adam was completing a PhD in Pure Mathematics at the University of Sydney when he won a national Raw Comedy championship with Triple J, Australia’s youth radio station. He then went to become one of Australia’s most respected, wittiest and thought provoking breakfast radio commentators across Triple J and later ABC 702. His dexterity at being both mathematical - he has authored 7 best-selling books for talented maths students - and verbal - he was voted best debater in the world at the 1996 World Championships - makes him a curious customer indeed. Adam is currently the Ambassador for Science and Mathematics at the University of Sydney, and his latest book, Maths 101, for Dumb Dads and Desperate Mums, has been released by Hardie Grant.
Graham has worked in the insurance sector for over 40 years with expertise in underwriting, relationships and management. Graham is married and has two daughters.
He joined Steadfast in 2006 as Member technical manager and now is Head of Broker Network.
ANZIIF (Fellow) CIP, Diploma of Financial Services (Insurance Broking)
Head of Broker Network.
Steadfast Group Limited.
Michael has 23 years of experience in the insurance industry and has been with Vero for 15 years. During this time, Michael has held roles across underwriting execution and management, underwriting agency leadership, portfolio product management and currently holds the role of Executive Manager, SME Packages portfolio. Michael has a Bachelor of Commerce with Majors in Economics and Marketing from Macquarie University and an MBA (including a Graduate Diploma in Insurance) from Deakin University.
Andy Doran has a wealth of experience in the insurance industry, with a 30 year career spanning both underwriting and distribution.
Andy is an experienced commercial insurance executive with a proven track record of building capability, business improvement and customer experience.
Andy has a strategic focus and has already overseen significant change to the Allianz underwriting team structure which has brought immediate positive feedback from our Broker partners in his short time at Allianz.
A person’s quest for a healthier life can be as dynamic as Felicity Harley’s media career, which for the past two decades has seen her working on Australia’s leading women’s magazines, websites and podcasts. She currently hosts News Corp’s Body & Soul chart-topping daily podcasts, Healthy-ish and Extra Healthy-ish while working on book number two - her first through Allen & Unwin, called Balance & Other B.S: How to hold it together when you’re doing it all, was published in 2020.
Felicity kicked off her publishing career at Girlfriend magazine, did a stint in London and on her return to Australia, she quickly moved up the ranks working on Cleo, Cosmopolitan and Cosmopolitan Style. After an impressive three years as Deputy Editor of Cosmopolitan and Editor of Cosmopolitan Style, Felicity was offered the much sought-after position of Editor of debuting magazine, Women’s Health. In 2007, Felicity successfully launched Women’s Health and during her tenure it became Australia’s No1 women’s lifestyle magazine brand. In 2017, she moved to News Corp to launch whimn.com.au and moved to editor-at-large until its closure in June 2020.
In 2012, she was named one of Australia’s 100 Women of Influence for her brainchild - the I Support Women In Sport campaign - which won recognition from then PM Julia Gillard plus national and international awards. Felicity has hosted and appeared on numerous TV shows: a weekly regular on Sunrise plus The Morning Show, Daily Edition and Live Well.
She is a proud mum to Jimmy, Hugo and Arabella. Felicity enjoys reading, running, yoga and watching AFL. Of course.
First drafted to Port Adelaide but best known for his decorated career with Geelong, Tom Harley is a veteran of 198 AFL games.
Appointed captain of Geelong in 2007, he led the team to three successive grand finals and two premierships, in 2007 and 2009.
Holding a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Deakin University, Harley moved to Sydney to be with his Sydney-based wife, Felicity, and from then has held numerous roles within the football industry.
Brian Hay APM has a rare blend of cyber security skills and business attributes. Long considered a thought leader in the world of cyber security and learned his craft by focusing on the activities of organised crime and cyber criminals.
Having developed the security concept of the “Lifecycle of Cybercrime”, he consults with clients to understand their business strategies to ensure the highest levels of security.
Recently with Unisys as Lead CISO Advisor APAC Security, Brian was responsible for managing and developing Unisys’ Security Consulting business for Asia Pacific. Prior to Unisys, Brian was General Manager, Security for Dimension Data, Australia and served as a Detective Superintendent at Queensland Police for 35 years.
Since 2004, Brian has worked extensively in financial, identity and cybercrime. He was Commander of the Queensland Police Fraud & Cyber Crime Group; Chair of the Australia New Zealand Police Advisory Agency’s eCrime Working Group, a pivotal driver of the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network, and a member of the Federal Attorney-General’s National Cybercrime Working Group.
In 2009 Brian was the recipient of an international award from McAfee for efforts in combating cybercrime - "The International Award for Cyber Crime Fighter of the Year"; the recipient of the Australian Police Medal and in 2010 he was the recipient of the National AusCERT Award for Individual Excellence in Information Security.
Brian has a Masters in Public Policy and Administration and former President of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (Brisbane Chapter). He is an industry renown and sought-after cybersecurity thought leader and regularly presents at many cybersecurity conferences across the world.
Jason Hawksworth is an accomplished insurance professional with nearly 30 years’ experience in the industry across a range of underwriting, sales and distribution roles.
His expertise and deep industry knowledge has been a valuable addition to the Allianz team. He has strong market relationships and a track record of developing value propositions to grow broker portfolios.
Chris has specialised in distribution and relationship management within the General Insurance industry for over 18 years and joined Vero in 2020. During this time, Chris has held roles across claims, underwriting, business development for General Insurance and Workers Compensation as well as Distribution Management for NSW/ACT. Chris is currently responsible for managing key broker and cluster groups, working in partnership with the Steadfast executive team in delivering our strategic initiatives and service proposition to Steadfast members.
Jodie Levitski is the Head of Marketing & Communications at Steadfast Group. In this role, Jodie oversees all aspects of Steadfast Group’s marketing, digital, events, sponsorships, and communication activities across all business units.
Before joining Steadfast, Jodie was Head of Marketing & Communications for Marsh in the Asia-Pacific region where she spearheaded the delivery of strategic marketing and communication initiatives across 16 countries. This included the development and execution of regional and country marketing and communication strategies, working with country CEOs and specialty and industry practice leaders to support revenue growth. In this role Jodie was a member of the Marsh senior leadership team.
Prior to this time Jodie worked across the financial services industry and listed property sectors for over 15 years where she was involved in multiple M&A deals, company transformations, change management programs, marketing and communication initiatives and lead generation programs.
Jodie holds a Bachelor of Business with Honours, a Diploma in Financial Services and is a Prosci® Certified Change Practitioner.
Chloe Moore is the National Claims Manager for CGU’s end-to-end Workers Compensation business. She is an Exercise Physiologist with 12 years industry experience, and has a passion for helping people return to life post injury. Chloe has a strong focus on customer service – to help make workers compensation simple and create sustainable value for all. Chloe designed and implemented CGU’s FY23-25 Claims Improvement program which is on track to reduce claims costs by >$20m.
Marc McLennan is the National Injury Management Team Leader for CGU Workers Compensation. He is a Registered Psychologist with a Master degree in Organisational Psychology. Marc has over 12 years’ industry experience and is passionate about helping injured workers achieve optimal health and return to work outcomes. Marc continues to reduce the cost and impact of workplace injuries, through his considered design and application of claims initiatives.
Annette has over 20 years’ experience as an insurance lawyer, technical advisor and team leader. She has worked as an in-house and private practice lawyer. She has experience in claims, policy, general insurance, internal dispute resolution and litigation.
Annette worked in a number of insurance law firms primarily as a litigator before working as an in-house lawyer for a large insurance company where she specialised in advising on property liability, professional indemnity and NSW statutory claims.
Annette joined Steadfast in June 2018 where she works alongside Michael White in the Broker Services Team.
Kylie draws on decades of experience in health and high performance environments, with qualifications in physiotherapy, psychology, mindfulness and movement disciplines brought together in a holistic approach to human optimisation. Having worked with both elite athletes at an international level and tier-1 companies across a range of industries, including resources and finance, she has developed a unique understanding of how to harness science to guide and develop people to their best performance, be it on a sporting field or leading an oil and gas company. She's an engaging science communicator who brings practical applications to life in her sessions, making it possible to perform at your best everyday. Kylie is currently researching the effects of work stress on attentional resources, while collaborating on workplace wellbeing programs for her clients and keeping a variety of indoor plants alive.
Anthony Solaese has worked in the Australian insurance industry since 2008 and has held roles across Distribution and Underwriting with several large insurers. In his current role as Middle Market Manager A&NZ at Chubb, he is focused on product development, underwriting growth and distribution strategy within Middle Market, with a particular focus on our new Lower Middle Market segment., for clients up $50m Turnover and up to $50m Total Insured Values.
Andrew has been in the insurance industry and with Vero for 23 years. With over 15 years specialising in property underwriting and reinsurance, Andrew’s current role is the Executive Manager of Underwriting and Distribution for Vic/Tas.
Ben Tan is the Digital Marketing Manager at Steadfast Group, managing all aspects of digital marketing including Digital Advertising / Performance Marketing, Websites and SEO, Social Media plus the Marketing technology stack.
Before joining Steadfast in 2018, Ben was a Senior Marketing Manager at Macquarie BFS for 2 years, looking after various banking and financial services products including home loan, everyday banking, and digital investment.
Prior to this time, Ben worked for various leading Financial Institutions in Australia such as Westpac, ING Australia, Colonial First States (Commonwealth Bank of Australia) for over 10 years, with extensive digital marketing experience across Superannuation, Business Banking, Financial Planning, and Home Loans.
Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts (Multimedia and Digital Studies), Master of Information Technology and Diploma in Financial Planning.
Martyn joined Steadfast as Executive General Manager – Corporate Development in June 2018 with over 35 years’ experience as an Insurance Broker.
As part of the Executive team, Martyn’s role at Steadfast has him primarily responsible for helping to develop our international footprint which includes unisonSteadfast as well as leading Steadfast Risk Group which has been formed to oversee the various risk businesses that provide effective enterprise, risk engineering, valuation services, claims management as well as alternative risk transfer solutions such as Captives and Mutuals to the Broker Network and their clients. As a consequence, Martyn sits on a number of associated external Boards as well as Steadfast Group subsidiaries.
Prior to joining Steadfast he held senior roles for over 29 years at the global Broker, Willis Towers Watson where he was National Client Service Director. This role saw him successfully implement digital service platforms and standards across the global network as well as providing risk and insurance advice and solutions to many ASX companies, government as and Multi-National organisations.
He is a Senior Associate ANZIIF, holds a Diploma of Financial Services, a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Risk and Insurance Management Society, and Risk Management and Insurance Association of Australia.
Michael is the Broker Technical Manager of Steadfast. He has been with Steadfast since early August 2010.
Prior to joining Steadfast, Michael worked for what is now DLA Piper (previously DLA Phillips Fox) for almost 19 years and prior to that worked for QBE for six and half years and the NSW Government Insurance Office for 5 years.
Michael’s role as Broker Technical Manager includes responsibility for the Steadfast wordings.
Fiona Wood has been a burns surgeon and researcher for over 30 years and is Director of the Burns Service of Western Australia (BSWA). She is a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Fiona Stanley Hospital and Perth Children's Hospital; co-founder of the first skin cell laboratory in WA; Winthrop Professor in the School of Surgery at The University of Western Australia; and co-founder of the Fiona Wood Foundation (formerly The McComb Foundation).
Professor Wood’s greatest contribution and enduring legacy is her work with co-inventor Marie Stoner, pioneering the innovative ‘spray-on skin’ technique (Recell), where today the technique is used worldwide. In October 2002, Fiona was propelled into the media spotlight when the largest proportion of survivors from the 2002 Bali bombings arrived in Perth where Fiona led the medical team at Royal Perth Hospital to save many lives.
Fiona was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2003. In 2004 she was awarded the Western Australia Citizen of the Year award for her contribution to Medicine in the field of burns research. Fiona was then named Australian of the Year for 2005. She is an Australian Living Treasure. Fiona is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science.
Richard Yetsenga is Chief Economist and Head of Research at ANZ, based in Sydney. He leads the Bank's global research team, which focuses on Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
Richard joined ANZ in 2011 from HSBC in Hong Kong, where he was Managing Director of Emerging Market Strategy. Prior to his seven years at HSBC, Richard held economics roles with Deutsche Bank and the Australian Government.
Richard publishes on issues of broad economic relevance, including climate change, technology, inequality and the benefits of diversity.
The ANZ Research team has been recognised with more than 40 top-three rankings in major industry surveys across Australia, New Zealand and Asia in the past six years, alongside numerous industry awards.
Richard regularly appears on CNBC, Bloomberg TV and other regional media, his work has been published by the Lowy Interpreter, and he is an editorial contributor in the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, The Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong Economic Journal, Singapore's The Business Times and Japan's Nikkei.