Gemma Acton has worked across finance and broadcast media for more than two decades. She is currently the Network Finance Editor at 7 News where she presents the latest financial and business news to audiences across the country. She is also a regular guest host across the network’s news programs.

Prior to this, she hosted broadcast programmes at CNBC International in London and worked as an on-air correspondent pursuing stories across Europe for the network. She also spent a decade working in investment banking and wealth management throughout Europe, the Middle East and the United States. She has an MBA from Wharton and is a CFA charter holder.

Away from the screen, Gemma is the co-founder and director of the personal branding and presentation skills business, Everyday Showstopper, which helps clients to fundamentally restructure and improve their approach to how they present in public. She regularly joins private and corporate functions and charity events as an MC, facilitator, or keynote speaker.

In her downtime, Gemma loves to spend time at the beach with her young family as well as play tennis, ski and do battle with cryptic crosswords!

Emma Isaacs is the Founder and Global CEO of Business Chicks.

A business owner by the age of 18, property investor by 19, and self-made millionaire by 23, Emma Isaacs has entrepreneurship and achievement in her DNA.

As founder of Business Chicks—a thriving global community that operates on two continents in eleven cities – her team produces more than 100 events annually, with past speakers including Sir Richard Branson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane von Furstenberg, Kate Hudson, and Arianna Huffington, among others.

She’s also the author of bestselling books 'Winging It' and 'The New Hustle' and a mother to six kids aged 13 and under.

In 2020, Emma livestreamed the homebirth of her sixth child from her living room with tens of thousands of viewers tuning in to watch his peaceful arrival, and as a committed philanthropist has now raised more than $13million for various charities

Andrea encourages people to be 'future fit' in their careers through writing, speaking & delivering high-impact leadership programs. A former television news reporter and Washington D.C. correspondent, Andrea covered major news events across the US before working on humanitarian aid programs to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.

With an obsession for growing careers, Andrea founded FutureFit Learning in 2012. She is the author of the book: 'Future Fit: How to Stay Relevant and Competitive in the Future of Work' - winner of the Australian Business Book of the Year 2019 and finalist in the UK Business Book Awards 2020.

Andrea is also a member of the Australian HR Institute's Future of Work Advisory Panel

Simone is the CEO of Insurtech Australia, a national not-for-profit organisation with a vision to create a world leading insurtech ecosystem which aims to foster a diverse community of insurance innovation and collaboration across the Australian insurance industry. An experienced leader in the insurance industry, Simone has held senior executive roles in both Australia and the UK and also has management consulting experience. Her previous role was that of Chief Operating Officer for Munich Re in Australasia. Additionally, she was Non-Executive Director of ANZIIF between 2018 and 2024

Gary’s expertise in advisory, risk and insurance sectors has guided the evolution of innovative solutions tailored to meet government protection needs, with a sharp focus on the important local government sector.

Having worked with insurance markets in Australia, Asia and London during a 40-year career, his approach has been trailblazing. Gary assists governments, businesses and not-for-profits to move beyond traditional insurance approaches and to take the reins for stronger risk management and claims results.

This work has resulted in modernising risk management for continuous change, including expanding opportunities in cooperative self-insurance. Gary is also leading conversations on disaster vulnerability and resilience-building in Australia.

Gary is now Head of JLT Public Sector – Pacific, part of Marsh McLennan. He is the President of Australia’s National Insurance Brokers Association and he holds a number of Board positions. He is a Qualified Practicing Insurance Broker.

With a career spanning over 20 years in the insurance profession, Rebecca gained extensive experience managing insurance programs for large commercial clients transforming the business to achieve year-on-year growth.

Rebecca focuses on cultivating a thriving workplace environment that encourages people to excel, collaborate and feel supported. As the 2010 recipient of the WTMA Insurance Young Professional of the Year Nationally and NSW, Rebecca’s gone from strength to strength as she was appointed NIBA board’s NSW Director and NSW divisional committee’s Vice Chair.

Rebecca has spent over 10 years volunteering for the The Reach Foundation and is currently a member of the NSW subcommittee to the board alongside having raised over $400k for multiple charities.

Colin began his insurance career over thirty years ago, starting as an insurance broker in Ireland before moving to Australia.

Colin worked for some of Australia’s largest insurers before moving into broking claims, where he spent fifteen years at two international broking firms.

He is a chartered loss adjuster and the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters Vice President.

Colin joined Sedgwick as the Client Director for major and complex loss in January 2022.

Sedgwick is a Global loss-adjusting firm with over 30,000 staff in 65 countries.

Nick joined Steadfast 9 years ago, and in his role as the Executive General Manager for Australasian Networks, Broker & Insurer Services at Steadfast, he oversees the strategic direction, operational excellence, and growth initiatives for the Steadfast broker networks across the Asia-Pacific region.

With a career spanning over three decades in the insurance and financial services industry, Nick brings a wealth of experience in managing complex networks, enhancing carrier relationships, and delivering exceptional service to brokers.

Nick is also Vice President of the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA), sitting on the Board representing brokers interests at the highest level of industry & government.

Nick was previously at Zurich where he was responsible for the performance of Zurich products & propositions in the marketplace.

In his spare time, Nick enjoys an occasional round of golf, which helps him maintain a balanced and well-rounded perspective both professionally and personally.

Dianne Phelan is a well-known figure in the insurance industry, with a career spanning over 45 years. With an extensive background in insurance broking, she has dedicated 37 years to mastering the intricacies of the field. Currently serving as the COO at BJS Insurance Group, Dianne has spent the last 21 years contributing her expertise and leadership to the organisation.

Before joining BJS Insurance Group, Dianne held the position of Managing Director at Morris Lloyd Insurance Brokers. Over the course of 15 years, she provided exceptional broking services to numerous South Australian businesses, establishing herself as a trusted advisor within the local community.

Dianne's commitment to her profession extends beyond her individual achievements. She has made ongoing contributions to the insurance industry at large, exemplified by her two-year tenure as the President of the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA). In this role, she advocated for the interests of brokers, facilitated industry-wide collaboration, and played an instrumental part in shaping the future of insurance broking practices.

David Locke started as the inaugural Chief Ombudsman and CEO at the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) on 25 June 2018. 

David was previously Assistant Commissioner  at the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and played a key role in its establishment.

David is originally from the UK. He’s a qualified solicitor who has worked in the private, not-for-profit and Government sectors. He is passionate about access to justice.

David has also worked as an adviser to several international governments on the regulation of non-government organisations.

Katrina has spent much of her career in financial services. A Chartered Accountant by trade, Katrina started her career in Audit, spent time at Newton Fund Management in London and then joined Westpac Trust. She has owned her own small accountancy business for seven years, after which she was the Financial Controller for the New Zealand National Party.

Katrina has a deep understanding of the legislative process and how to influence policy development, drawn from her experience as a two-term Member of Parliament. During that time, she chaired Select Committees and was a member of the Commerce Select Committee during the significant legislative changes in the financial services sector.

Katrina has considerable experience leading membership bodies, working with regulatory change, creating public awareness, and has developed a learning academy. In addition to this she has managed the significant Funeral Trust Fund.

Katrina has been the CEO of Financial Advice NZ for five years. She was the inaugural CEO which merged three industry bodies into one professional body. In this time the organisation has become the voice of the financial advice sector, influenced significant legislative and regulatory change, and delivered quality professional development. In addition to this she has ensured research has been the basis for promoting the value of advice to consumers, enabling more New Zealanders, to seek quality financial advice to increase their financial health, wealth and wellbeing.

Before commencing his insurance training business, Oren had acquired over 20 years of insurance industry experience – predominantly as a senior Professional & Financial Lines broker and wholesaler across large, mid-sized and small brokerages in Australia and the United States. During that time, his clients ranged from publicly listed companies to SMEs and Associations across a broad array of industries.

The underlying theme of his career has been the desire for personal growth, imparting his knowledge, challenging himself and others, and developing and mentoring those around him. Oren is a passionate advocate for training in the insurance industry. He prefers to offer his programs “in-person” and is focused on changing the training mindset from often being a “box-ticking exercise”, to being a fundamental component of running a successful broking business. As a broker, Oren had always felt that something was missing in the professional development space and saw a real gap in the market to provide specialised insurance training in a more engaging and interactive way.

His training modules can be split into two broad categories. Product-related modules – which revolve around Professional & Financial Lines products, and non-product-related modules – which revolve around risk management, operational and sales training. Underpinning all he does is the desire for brokers to become more confident in their dealings with clients and underwriters. Oren is also a presenter at conferences and an accomplished mentor who is committed to attracting more talent to our industry.

A life-long learner, he holds several qualifications including a Master in Risk Management & Insurance, a Bachelor in Commerce, and a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment. In his spare-time you can find Oren swimming, working out, playing his guitar, learning a new language, meditating, and spending time with family and friends.

Shane Fitzsimmons is currently Managing Director, SAF Leading Advisory, the Board Chair of Youth Insearch Foundation (Australia) Inc, the National Emergency Medal Committee, and the NSW Connectivity Innovation Network. A member of the Australian Bravery Decorations Council and Australian Father's Day Council and he also serves as an Advisory Board Member for Fireant. Patron of two charities, Kids Xpress and Coffee 4 Kids, and Ambassador for the First Responders Wellbeing Summit and Rotary NSW Emergency Services Community Awards (RESCA).

Shane is passionate about emergency service and public safety organisations, disaster management and recovery arrangements, community centred organisations and most importantly, the people, both volunteer and salaried alike, who are focused on keeping our communities safe and making a positive difference for others.

Shane served as the inaugural Commissioner of Resilience NSW from May 2020 to December 2022, an organization established as the lead agency for disaster recovery with a focus on social, economic, infrastructure and environmental outcomes. The agency also led in the area of building community resilience to future disasters. Whilst Commissioner, Shane chaired the NSW State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC), NSW State Recovery Committee (SRC), NSW Board of Commissioners (BOC) and served as a member of the NSW Mentally Healthy Workplaces Advisory Board.

This appointment followed a distinguished career with the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) of over 35 years, as both a volunteer and salaried member. The NSW RFS is widely acknowledged as the largest volunteer fire service in the world and is the lead agency for bushfires and bushfire management in NSW. Whilst Commissioner for the NSW RFS from September 2007 to April 2020, Shane was at the forefront of the unprecedented 2019/20 bushfire crisis where he was recognised for his authentic and trusted leadership and genuine compassion and care for people.

Stephen Jones is the Federal Member for Whitlam and Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services.

Stephen was first elected to the Federal Parliament in 2010 representing the Southern Illawarra seat of Throsby. He was re-elected at the 2013 election and elected to the re-named seat of Whitlam in the 2016 election.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wollongong and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Macquarie University.

Prior to entering the Federal Parliament he worked as a community worker for various front line disability services, youth and health services and as a lawyer with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and as the Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU).

Martin Lakos has been one of Macquarie’s leading media spokespeople for more than 15 years, being a regular economic and market commentator on all major Australian networks as well as CNBC Asia and Bloomberg. Known for his ability to clearly explain complex economic issues and market trends, Martin is passionate about a broad spectrum of issues and can confidently address an extensive range of topics – from big picture macroeconomics and current trends, to interest rates, investor strategy and what’s happening in key global markets. He frequently gives presentations or facilitates panel discussions at conferences around Australia, providing a personalised approach to the key issues facing a specific industry group or business. Having literally grown up in the finance industry where he worked for school holiday pocket money, Martin has always been fascinated by the economy and investment markets. His financial career spans 40 years, having started on the Australian Stock Exchange trading floor in 1979 and he has held roles in Macquarie since 1994, including heading up the Asia institutional sales desk. He was appointed a Division Director of Macquarie Bank in 2006.

When he is not addressing conferences or the media, Martin is a senior investment adviser with Macquarie, advising clients and their families on a full range of wealth strategies. He also devotes his spare time to not-for-profit groups and is a board member for The George Gregan Foundation. He spent nine years on the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation corporate fund raising committee with three as chairman and has emceed at the Gala Ball event.

Rob has been working within the insurance industry for over 35 years. Rob is an ASIC licenced expert in Business Interruption Insurance/ Economic Loss and Property Damage claims matters.

Rob has over 20 years' experience in working for Clients (Businesses) assisting them with the Claims Preparation of Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance claims, which includes negotiating favourable outcomes for his Clients. Before becoming an independent Claim Preparation Expert, Rob worked in management roles in and with commercial insurance companies for over 10 years. Rob therefore brings practical knowledge and experience of both the Insured and Insurer perspective on Claims matters.

Rob has managed the preparation and resolution of property damage and business interruption insurance claims for a diverse range of clients including world leading brewing and beverage companies, multi-national mining companies, large property management funds, wholesale, manufacturing and retail entities, restaurants, clubs, hotels, tourist resorts and numerous small to medium businesses. Rob has prepared ISR and Buspack Claims for Business clients in every State and Territory of Australia as well as overseas.

Rob has also liaised with senior counsel and solicitors and compiled expert reports on quantum of loss claims for mediation and litigation matters.Rob is often asked to share his expertise and present training sessions, particularly on ISR and Business Package policies, in regard to Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance.

With over a decade of experience within insurance and financial services, Ben has an extensive background in people and culture leading teams across the human resources, talent and communications functions. As the Chief People Officer at Insurance House, Ben is dedicated to shaping organisational culture through the development of awesome humans and empowering high performing teams.

Underpinned by a master’s degree in Human Resource Management, Ben’s expertise in Australian Labour and Employment Law provide a foundation for offering practical solutions and business partnering to drive organisational capability, strategic execution and commercial outcomes.

As CEO, Jennifer leads Aon Australia and delivers its world-class capabilities to address the complex needs of clients.

Jennifer has been with Aon for 12 years, serving most recently as the Managing Director of Aon’s Specialist Risk business. This has uniquely positioned Jennifer to focus on clients’ emerging risks such as climate change, cyber, D&O, supply chain, and employee attraction and retention (amongst others), and designing solutions to enable clients to better protect and grow their business.

Prior to Aon, Jennifer held a variety of senior management roles at AIG where she was responsible for their Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Real Estate practices.

Before joining the insurance industry, Jennifer practised corporate and securities law at Sidley Austin LLP in New York City.

Jennifer is a member of Aon’s Global Executive Leadership Team and Global Inclusive Leadership Council. Jennifer is also a member of Chief Executive Women and the Champions of Change Coalition. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall, York University and a Master of Laws from University of Cambridge.

Andrew joined the Insurance Council of Australia in September 2020 as CEO and Executive Director. He joined the ICA from the Commonwealth Bank, where he served as the Executive General Manager for Corporate Affairs for seven years. He was previously Director of Corporate and Public Affairs for Woolworths Limited for six years, participating as a member of the Management Board.

Andrew’s professional career started as a journalist in regional New South Wales in 1994, before moving to Canberra in 1996 where he worked in federal politics for 10 years. From 2001 to 2007 he was the Federal Director of the Nationals and served on the Federal Management Committee.

His expertise in the corporate affairs profession has been recognised with admission to the Arthur W. Page Society, recognition in the International Top 50 Corporate Affairs Professionals (Salt & Shein 2014) and in the inaugural award of Top 50 Outstanding LGBTI Leaders in Australia (Deloitte 2016) for his work in leadership roles, diversity and on the Board of Equality Australia for the marriage equality campaign. He has extensive experience in governance, both in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.

He is a member of the ASX Corporate Governance Council and the Advisory Board of the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation. He serves on the Board of the charity Rural Aid.

Ben Bessell, Chief Broking Officer Austbrokers (AUB Group)

Ben has worked in the insurance industry for over 25 years and lived and worked in many locations and businesses.

Ben is Chief Broking Officer of Austbrokers and member of the Group Executive of AUB Group. He has been in that role since 2020.

Prior to that Ben was in a number of roles at IAG, including being a member of the IAG Group Executive.

Ben is a Director of a number of businesses in the Austbroker network, a Senior Associate of ANZIIF, board member of NIBA and is a an alumnus of the London Business School.

Alex is a Partner at Johnson Partners, where he leads the insurance, wealth, asset management and fund management practice. Alex commenced his executive search career in 2010 and has completed senior leadership assignments including appointing Board, CEO and C-suite roles across industries in Australia and the wider Asia Pacific.

Alex joined Johnson from global executive search firm Korn Ferry, where he worked in the company’s Sydney and Singapore offices on assignments across Financial Services, Consumer, Industrial, Life Sciences and Professional Services industries. Prior to his career in executive search, Alex worked at Intercontinental Hotels Group in its sales function.

Alex holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wollongong, as well as a Master of International Business and a Master of Commerce from the University of Sydney.

Belinda is the founder and Managing Director of the national BJS Insurance Group, specialising in complex corporate risk insurances. She is passionate about educating and collaborating with her clients regarding risk management and tailored insurance programs.

She has a Bachelor of Commerce – Double Major in Insurance and Management, is a Fellow of the Australian & New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF), a Qualified Practicing Insurance Broker (QPIB), a Certified Insurance Professional (CIP) and the Inaugural winner of the Valerie Baker Insurance Industry Award.

She has worked hard to establish the BJS brand as a respected professional National brokerage within the industry, with our clients and the greater community, something that has been achieved by living the group’s strategy of delivering an outstanding client experience driven by superior team performance with the group’s purpose of holding your best interest at heart, always.

I'm an Insurance Broker specialising in Mining Services and Corporate risks. With almost five years of experience, I have quickly established myself as a trusted advisor and a connector between clients and comprehensive insurance solutions.

What I love most about my role is the immense satisfaction of providing exceptional service to my clients. I'm dedicated to delivering peace of mind and protecting their operations with tailored insurance coverage.

Naturally optimistic and driven to succeed, I've honed my abilities to cultivate trusted relationships. As a result, these partnerships have allowed me to expand my industry expertise and provide empowering solutions for the mining insurance sector.

Some of my key achievements include completing the QBE Equip Program and my Diploma of Insurance Broking, as well as serving as a Committee Member for the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) and National Convention Committee.

Ploomo focuses on helping businesses build high-performing teams through data-driven hiring and leadership solutions. They collaborate with some of Australia's best and fastest-growing brands, including Qualitas, Gurner, Huesker, Deakin University, Bizcap, Amused Group, and Community Broker Network.

Josh began his career in systematic trading within the hedge fund industry. He rapidly progressed from a graduate position to Deputy CEO of a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund. Throughout this journey, he directly encountered the challenges of building high performing teams.

Over the past 15 years, he has been developing more effective methods for hiring and leading people by using data to identify the intangible factors that lead to success and building high-performing teams.

Lynette has over 20 years’ experience in the insurance broking industry. Her broking experience is diverse across multiple industries spanning both Ireland and Australia. Lynette is QLD State Director at Aon.

A strategic and creative thinker, who is highly analytical, technical and data proficient, Lynette is a key member of the Aon leadership team to ensure delivery upon client, colleague and commercial expectations.

Lynette is a NIBA Board Director (National Insurance Brokers Association) and has a Bachelor of Commerce and Masters in Strategy.

Jim has worked across the Commercial and Travel Insurance sectors over the past 20 years and has enjoyed leading high performing Sales Teams. Transitioning from the Underwriting/Sales side of insurance after 14 years with Vero, he now manages four branches across SA & NT as an Area Director for Gallagher Insurance brokers based in Adelaide. Placing a lot of emphasis on flexibility in the workforce, building a great team culture and combining it with providing exceptional customer service to our clients, Jim believes these are the key elements to running a successful branch.

Nese Akay is the Executive General Manager for Strategy & Innovation at CBN, where she leads strategic efforts in HR, marketing, technology, and projects. With a focus on talent acquisition and retention, Nese drives initiatives to build high-performing teams that align with business goals. Her leadership fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration, ensuring CBN attracts and retains top talent while empowering employees to achieve long-term success.

Cameron has over 34 years of insurance industry experience, including 25 years of international brokering experience having worked across four countries.

Cameron has worked in London, Australia, Indonesia and Japan and for the past 5 years, back in Australia with Lockton in their national Power and Energy team. He 'cut his teeth' in the London market when the post 9/11 tragedy hit the global industry hard, where he learnt the importance of identifying and obtaining risk data and assisting clients in identifying risk and finding risk solutions via traditional transfer or other risk mitigation strategies. Cameron has been involved in and been responsible for the design, implementation, maintenance and servicing of global risk managed programs for energy and power companies. This includes alternative risk transfer, risk retention and consultancy, establishing wholesale markets for adverse and/or unique risks, negotiation of aggregates and risk transfer costs.

In his current role, he develops bespoke solutions for the renewable energy sector to identify risk and manage risk, for example risk transfer solutions which protect the continuity of revenue and cash-flow of projects.

FM Affiliated, a specialty commercial property insurer, works exclusively with insurance brokers to provide innovative engineering-based insurance solutions. As Director, Antony is responsible for the FM Affiliated’ s operations in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to being appointed to his current role in 2021, Tony served as the Group Manager, Account Engineering, where he led FM engineering team in the same region. He joined the FM Global Group in 2004 as a consultant engineer. Antony holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

Edward Sinclair is a strategic leader with a proven track record in driving growth and impact across diverse sectors. He has advised some of Australia's largest companies and investors in his time at McKinsey & Company as a management consultant, and at Herbert Smith Freehills as a corporate lawyer. At the Minderoo Foundation, one of Asia's largest philanthropies, he led investments out of their $250m Strategic Impact Fund.

Today, Edward is the Head of Strategy for Anika Legal, an innovative community law centre in Melbourne revolutionising the legal service delivery model to enhance access to justice for those in need. He is also an Independent Strategy Consultant, where he has advised both for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises on their most important strategic priorities, including advising one of the world's largest membership organisations on their revenue model, board effectiveness and membership recruitment strategy. Edward also advises students, MBA cohorts and professionals on their career pathway, career changes and their professional development.

Edward is an admitted Solicitor in the Supreme Court of Western Australia and High Court of Australia (2017). He is currently completing an Executive Masters of Business Administration, and holds a Bachelors of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts (Majors: Global Studies & Psychology) from Bond University where he was the recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Elite Scholarship in recognition of his academic achievement, leadership and all-round excellence.

Tim is the Executive Chairman at AEI Insurance Broking Group and has been with AEI for the last 37 years.

AEI is proudly part of the Austbroker network, and they have just over 100 employees, with offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra & Melbourne.

Earlier this year Tim stepped away from his role with NIBA after 20 years working on various committees and the National Board. Tim is a past NIBA President and has been involved in representation on many fronts, including Careers in Insurance and remains passionate about continuing the journey to raise the integrity of our profession.

Tim was awarded the NSW Qualified Professional Insurance Broker of the year award in 2004 and 2009. Tim was also awarded the 2018 ANZIIF Insurance Leader of the Year award, and most recently Tim was awarded the 2021 NIBA Lex McKeown Award for his outstanding service to NIBA.