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Senior industry executive to chair Emergence board

Experienced insurance industry executive Gary Dransfield has joined Emergence Insurance as chair of the board of directors.

Gary’s has been in the insurance industry for 26 years and is a former president of both the Insurance Council of Australia and the Insurance Council of New Zealand.

He chairs the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and Hollard Insurance Australia and is a non-executive director at the medical defence organisation MDA National Insurance Pty Ltd and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

Gary was Suncorp Group CEO Insurance until July 2020. He had joined Suncorp in 2009 and held various executive positions including head of Vero New Zealand and head of personal insurance. Before that, he was with IAG for more than 10 years.

Emergence founder and CEO Troy Filipcevic welcomed Gary to the board, saying it was “absolutely brilliant” to have such a highly experienced executive of Gary’s calibre take on the chair’s role.

Gary joins Troy and Steadfast Group CEO Robert Kelly on the board.

Strategic plans

Troy said: “In line with the company’s strong growth and future strategic plans, Gary will guide Emergence with advice on governance, structure and execution. I look forward to working closely with him to bring our strategic plans to fruition.

“Gary will be hands on with all the Emergence team. I want his fingerprints on Emergence.”

Gary brings to Emergence a deep understanding of domestic and international insurance markets and the entire insurance value chain.

He understands the interactions between insurance and the regulatory settings and governance requirements, coupled with community and consumer expectations.

Gary has been cognisant of cyber risk through his many board roles and says it is exciting to be involved in a specialty insurance business. “Having everyone focused on one thing – cyber insurance – ensures alignment for success,” he says.

Owners’ vision

Gary says Troy is as “an energetic, entrepreneurial founder who understands the fundamentals of the insurance industry. He has a passion for meeting insureds’ specialist needs for cyber insurance and that’s something Emergence does really well.

“The owners’ vision is to grow the market in Australia and Emergence is achieving excellent market penetration, plus the market itself continues to grow. Opening in New Zealand is a wonderful opportunity to build the brand so it can become the best-known brand in New Zealand and potentially other overseas markets.”

Gary says he and Troy will work together on making the company resilient as it grows, with a strong focus on resources, processes and governance to enable Emergence to take advantage of growth opportunities.

“Cyber insurance is relevant right across the economy and for all organisations, making it a great sector to be involved in.”

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