Headquarters:
Sydney
Year founded:
1965
Number of employees:
200
Phone:
0411 151 743
Email:
Dimi.bartolillo@helia.com.au
Website:
helia.com.au
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/helia-2
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Greg McAweeney
Chief Commercial Officer, Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI)
Strachan Taylor
Strategic Partnership Leader
Clair Steenson
Head of Customer Delivery
Leadership
Greg McAweeney is a proven leader with over 20 years of experience in digital strategy, customer experience, strategic marketing, brand building, and B2C and B2B sales leadership across financial services, telecommunications and insurance.
McAweeney joined Helia in 2022 and is responsible for leading the product and partnerships team to revolutionise growth for the business and seek partnership opportunities. Before Helia, he was the CCO at HCF and held various executive sales and service roles at Rabobank in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
McAweeney holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and a master’s degree in business administration from University College Dublin. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
Chief Commercial Officer, Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI)
Greg McAweeney
Strachan Taylor is a proven financial services business leader with over 25 years of experience across banking, mortgage broking and financial services.
Taylor has been a member of the product and partnerships leadership team driving growth for the company’s business and customers for six years. Before Helia, he was head of home and personal finance at Woolworths Group and held various commercial lending and mortgage distribution roles at Westpac during a 10-year tenure.
Taylor is a qualified mortgage broker and understands the needs of today’s mortgage brokers.
Strategic Partnership Leader
Strachan Taylor
Clair Steenson joined Helia as a project manager in 2005. Since then, she has worked in various roles, including corporate relationship manager, hardship and borrower sale manager, customer experience leader, and planning and engagement leader.
In 2022, Steenson was appointed to the role of head of customer delivery with a focus on education by building customer-centric resources and tools for brokers and lenders to assist home buyers in making informed choices on their home ownership journey.
Steenson holds a bachelor’s degree in information studies from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Head of Customer Delivery
Clair Steenson
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Leadership
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Leadership
Conrad D. Brooks
General Counsel
Conrad D. Brooks is General Counsel of AXIS Capital, where he has global oversight of legal, compliance and regulatory operations across all AXIS offices. Prior to his appointment to the role in January 2017, he served for nearly a decade as the company’s corporate counsel. He joined AXIS from McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (now Dentons), where he was a partner and served as practice team leader in the firm’s corporate and securities practice.
A former officer in the United States Navy, Brooks graduated magna cum laude from the Georgia State University College of Law. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois and earned a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from Old Dominion University.
General Counsel
Conrad D. Brooks
Noreen McMullan
Chief People Officer
Noreen McMullan joined AXIS Capital as chief human resources officer in September 2014 and is responsible for HR strategy and the delivery of HR services worldwide. McMullan has over 26 years of leadership experience in corporate HR for the financial services industry. Before joining AXIS, she served as executive vice president and CHRO for FirstKey Holdings, a diversified specialty finance company.
Prior to FirstKey, she led HR at Bank of America’s Legacy Asset Services Group. Additionally, McMullan spent 13 years at Morgan Stanley in several different capacities, including HR lead for C-level executives and their organisations, chief operations officer for global HR and head of HR and chief administrative officer for a Morgan Stanley subsidiary. Previously, she was with Citigroup from 1988 to 1998.
Chief People Officer
Noreen McMullan
Helia has a big vision – to become the leading choice for flexible home ownership solutions.
“The last 12 months have been a transformational year. With the completion of the operational separation from our former majority shareholder and the launch of new brand Helia, our business has evolved to harness the new independence in the Australian property market,” says Greg McAweeney, Chief Commercial Officer, Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).
With a proud heritage as Australia’s first LMI provider and a specialist in the field, Helia has played a pivotal role in the property market since 1965. So, it’s fair to say we know a few things about the home ownership experience.
The company’s name is inspired by the sun. It reflects who it is and how it reimagines the home ownership experience by using their expertise, experience and understanding to show people possibilities, shine a light on solutions, and create brighter outcomes. Whether the clients are looking to save for a deposit, purchase their first home, or manage retirement by unlocking equity in their home later in life, Helia exists to help people achieve the dream of home ownership.
“Our role is to make home ownership easier – with an emphasis on both home buyers and lenders and brokers,” says McAweeney. “With an innovation-first mindset, we undertook research with our First Home Buyer Report and utilised human-centred design work; we found that home buyers and brokers were seeking easy, accessible tools to understand the many and often confusing entry options, including LMI. We reimagined and innovated existing tools and created the ‘Deposit Comparison Estimator’ to reflect contemporary deposit options that are used by home buyers, including our evolving LMI payment features, including Monthly LMI and Family Assistance.” The feedback so far has been positive, with many brokers commenting that it is helping to support and guide conversations with their clients.
Helia is continually focused on enhancing, evolving and extending its offerings to bring innovative and broader home ownership solutions to market. It knows that the dream of home ownership remains a lifetime aspiration that plays a pivotal role in financial wellbeing.
The company’s unique value and real benefit come from choosing to partner with them. For lenders and brokers, it means having an expert partner who understands their needs – a partner who can listen, partner and co-create flexible solutions integral to their business and the financial wellbeing of their customers. For home buyers, Helia is here to help them get into a home faster by showing them possibilities. It is here to help them be empowered by education and feel supported during the home ownership journey.
“As more Australians look for ways to enter or move within the increasingly challenging property market, we’re working to develop and enhance more solutions to help people get into homes sooner,” says McAweeney. “This will include bringing additional and innovative LMI offerings to market while developing new products and services extending into complementary offerings to provide new opportunities for home buyers and homeowners.”
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
David Phillips
Chief Investment Officer
Keith Schlosser
Global Chief Information Officer
Dan Draper
Group Chief Underwriting Officer
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
David Phillips joined AXIS Capital as chief investment officer in April 2014. With more than 25 years of experience in investments, he previously served as head of investments for PartnerRe, where he had management and asset allocation responsibilities for public fixed income, public equities, private equities, and alternative fixed income. Prior to PartnerRe, he was the director of research and a portfolio manager at Oppenheimer Capital, an institutional money manager based in New York City. Phillips is a CFA charterholder and received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an AB from Princeton University.
Chief Investment Officer
David Phillips
Keith Schlosser is global chief information officer at AXIS Capital, where he leads the company’s global information technology and data strategy. He is also responsible for driving change throughout the organisation by delivering high-quality, future-oriented IT services in line with AXIS Capital’s business strategy. Schlosser has more than 30 years of insurance industry experience, spanning roles in information technology, business solutions, marketing and sales. Prior to AXIS, he served as chief information officer for Chubb’s Overseas General Insurance division, where he spearheaded a number of growth, innovation, digital and change initiatives. Before that, he served as CIO at The Travelers Companies international division. Schlosser was also a vice president for marketing technology and web communications at AIG.
Global Chief Information Officer
Keith Schlosser
Dan Draper was appointed group chief underwriting officer in September 2022. He had previously served for more than two years as group head of underwriting at AXIS. Prior to that, he had been group chief risk and actuarial officer at VIBE. Before joining VIBE, Draper spent eight years with AXIS, holding a number of leadership roles that included group chief actuary, chief risk analytics officer, and insurance segment chief risk officer. Before that, he held managerial positions at the Financial Services Authority, XL Capital, and EY.
Group Chief Underwriting Officer
Dan Draper
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Karen Bannister, CM
Vice President, Marketing
Dave Longbottom
Chief Technology Officer
Alex Ventura
Head of Marketing
Damian Palovick
Senior Vice President of Underwriting
AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America
Dr. Mary Lavoie
Head of Risk Management and Senior Vice President
AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America
Mark Bernacki
Chief Underwriting Officer
Ryan Armijo
Chief Operating Officer, Underwriting Division
Bob Petrilli
President, Underwriting Division
“Despite the challenging claims environment, QBE’s coverage and risk appetite have remained consistent. Brokers and customers know and understand our risk appetite and the cover we offer, providing them with certainty for the future,” says Erica Kofie, head of cyber proposition. “We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions.”
Kofie adds, “Through 2022, QBE successfully delivered significant growth in the cyber sector, reflecting the depth and strength of our team. We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations.”
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Medal
Overall service level
Broker communication, training and development
BDM support
Turnaround time – claims
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability
Small business