The Speakers
Our speakers' expertise
The success of any 'learning' forum lies squarely in researching, locating, assessing, then engaging expert speakers who can
deliver exactly what the audience wants to hear
, then
briefing them effectively
on what their knowledge can contribute to the delegates attending. We believe that is what we do well - as evidenced by the success of our line-up in 2008, 2009 & 2010. In August 2011, we will deliver a considered and robust programme - as close to perfect as we can for the topic of Sailing Through Life.
So what we have outlined for you below is not the 'cv' of each speaker and how many tertiary qualifications they have, but
why each has been chosen
to deliver their session to you. Soon we will add a bio to each speaker which you can click and download if you wish to see their full 'cv'.
“Brilliant conference! Excellent presenters! Great venue and value!”
Suzie French -
feedback from 2010 Forum
|
|
ALL SPEAKERS ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO DELEGATES FOR QUESTIONS BOTH FROM THE PLENARY & AT THE DEDICATED "SPEAKERS' DOCK" IN THE EXPO AT THE NEXT BREAK
|
|
Donald MacKee
(Master of Ceremonies (MC) )
Donald Mackee is a unique multi talented performer who is an expert in Fun Facilitation of events and conferences.
He has over 25 years full time professional experience which he has honed into an effective corporate entertainment tool enabling him to put any audience at ease as they respond with laughter to his exuberance, warmth and easy going likeable nature.
Donald’s creativity is inexhaustible and his performance infectious. He delivers fun filled content with audience interaction, be it as a complete conference compere over a week long conference or MCing a gala event, road show, product launch or workshop. Donald has a diverse range of entertainment and comedy services which he presents in a non-threatening way for audiences of any nature.
|
|
|
|
Dr Paul Davis
(Cardiologist & Insurance Medico of note )
- Plenary MR POPULARITY HIMSELF!!!
"Helming through the Heart"
Topic Category - UNDERWRITING
Dr Paul is the CMO for RGA as well as holding down several other medical roles in practice and in education. Paul wins hands-down as 'most demanded speaker' and he is the only speaker we have brought back this year, amongst a field of all first timers for us. Paul's had a vast amount of experience talking to advisers and he really knows how to communicate complexities simply.
Here's another straight talking session: this year it's the bewildering array of heart conditions you see referred to on a daily basis and for which you may have managed claims for clients. Paul will simplify them and explain what differentiates them all. This will help you navigate the next cardiac underwriting issue or claim you manage.
|
Stephen Smith
(Director of Psychological Services, Prova Profiling)
- Plenary and Workshop
"Avoiding the Whirlpool of Grief"
Topic Category - CLAIMS AND CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Stephen's depth of experience as a counsellor supporting disaster and conflict teams across the globe has meant that he understands intimately how to walk the fine line between supporting those going through grief and getting into the grieving 'mode' yourself. It's a role that not surprisingly daunts many advisers and one that you need some training for, so we felt it important to deliver tips and guides to navigating the course of grief. The recent spate of natural disasters and deaths has brought home the critical role that advisers play in this area. A workbook goes with this session, for practical take-away value.
Stephen will also help kick off the Forum on Tuesday with a short session on handling stress in your own world - a bonus!
|
|
Peter Jones
(Principal, cogent; forensic accountant; business adviser)
- Plenary and Workshop
"Good Financial Evidence - the secret chart to a smooth claim journey"
Topic Category - UNDERWRITING
Peter
is spending more and more of his time working with advisers after a long history of working with insurers in the accounts analysis and financial evidence arena. Peter is expertly placed to help advisers understand the place of financial evidence and how to extract the right evidence by working with the client's accountant and then submit it to get the best and most robust result from underwriting. He will also use some case studies to explain the value of having financial evidence established before a claim rather than after.
Peter will also help kick off the Forum with a short session of great tips on financial management and reporting within your own practices
|
|
|
Nettie Handley
(CEO, Complete Risk Analysis)
- Workshop
"Be the Skipper in your referral relationships, not the Crew"
Topic Category - REFERRAL RELATIONSHIPS
Nettie's team at CRA works very successfully with a panel of strong referrers after years of perfecting the 'how'. Nettie will workshop the most effective methods of enunciating your advice proposition at all levels. This is a workshop we're categorising as an "in-shore" level learning opportunity - so it will be for experienced advisers who've not yet cracked the referrer relationships you'd like, as well as for the up-and-coming adviser who's keen to get into this form of business building as you grow a new (or new-ish) practice. A workbook will give you great practical take-away value too.
|
|
Avril Henry
(Human Resource Specialist and Guru on Gens X, Y and Z
) - Plenary
You can communicate with Gen X, Y and Z - you just need the right signal flags!"
Topic Category - PROSPECTING/MARKETING
We saw Avril at another event and her message was so practical, so "go out and do it right now", that we had to have her to help you with this increasing demographic in your client bases - and
future client bases. Avril will entertain you but also get a clear message across about really touching the X, Y and Z generations with your value proposition - in a way they will relate to. You'll go away with even a 'list' of what not to say and what to say - invaluable and insightful!! There's a handout from this session too.
|
|
Helen Bairstow
(Founder - Great Look Email Marketing
)
-
Plenary Interview
"Daily Navigation Through the Shoals of Cancer" - a case study
Topic Category - PROSPECTING/MARKETING via live case study
Helen's a business associate who spoke on email marketing at our 2008 Forum. Imagine our shock when she called us and asked to speak at this Forum - about her recent and ongoing cancer experience, not about email marketing! Helen was and is well insured, but she
won't be preaching to the converted. Her message is about the realities of family life with cancer at the centre of every waking moment. This story will help you communicate the reality of the life-invading nature of cancer and how her husband couldn't continue work even if he'd needed to.
|
Fiona Navarro
(Nat'l Mgr Protection Advice, MLC RSN; Life Risk Champion 2010)
-
Plenary CLOSING SPEAKER
"Charting a not-so-familiar course?"
Topic Category - CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Fiona's days are spent supporting advisers with their business growth and she is passionate about managing the ongoing client relationship profitably and effectively. Fiona contends that the advice process contains far more vaue than the majority of advisers even recognise themselves and she has lots to share on this philosophy. The process that advisers undertake at review time and most critically at claim time are the two areas that are often overlooked in an otherwise structured practice and these will be given particular attention. Fiona will inject her proven methods and ideas into this 'cradle-to-grave' concept that we all know needs to be done excellently, not just well. |
|
Kay Ledson
(Mother of disabled snowboarder Josh Wood and a financial planner)
- Plenary
"No plain sailing" - a case study
Topic Category - PROSPECTING/MARKETING via live case study
Kay's is the story you don't usually hear: as the mother of an active and adventurous young son she underwent virtual financial ruin when Josh broke his neck snowboarding. He's since snowboarded again, once...just to prove he could - after Kay spent every cent she had on helping Josh to learn to walk even though he remains a quadriplegic. Josh has told his story to our industry on a few occasions. We wanted to give you the parent story because it's the parents you'll be speaking to, as future clients, about protecting
their financial stability from such a devastating setback.
|
|
Claire Wivell Plater
(Director, Gold Seal Compliance)
- Plenary
2 Sessions from Claire:
"The Most Important Person on Board"
and "Will the Insurance Contracts Act be your Client's Lifeline?"
Topic Category - (session 1) CLAIMS & (session 2) COMPLIANCE
Claire's a wonderfully open, engaging and plain English presenter, for a lawyer and compliance expert! She will be presenting two short, punchy sessions: one on 'client best interest' as proposed under FoFA, encompassing 'reasonable basis for advice' as it relates to the life risk advice process; and one on the clients' rights at claim time as enshrined in the Insurance Contracts Act. This second session could make a big difference to the way you help a client manage a claim one day and complements Paul Hastings' workshop on claims management.
This will all be easy to understand and designed to be useful for your day-to-day client activities. That's what Claire excels in - extracting the practical from the hard-to-understand! |
|
George Trippis and Paula Taweel: selected experts from insurers -
Workshop
"Rehabilitation - the Spinnaker of Claims Management"
Topic Category - CLAIMS
[Using insurer technicians is an unusual strategy for the risk store to take, as we have always upheld a policy of no insurer representation in the programme. Although this stance was welcomed by delegates in the past, our use of reinsurance technicians has been very popular. So why ignore the 'backroom' talent in the insurance companies?] There are some very talented technicians who are also good educators and George and Paula are two of those - they will deliver to the constant requests we get for more sessions on claims. Their session will sail you through the rehabilitation process at claim time and how much clients benefit from this; regardless of the benefits to insurers of clients coming off claim, the benefits for claimants far outstrip that and are probably not clearly understood. The success of rehab can catapult claimants back into a world they thought was lost forever - one where self-esteem is regenerated. Without insurance these people are relegated to the pension world. You need to know how this works in practice.
|
|
Paul Hastings
(Lawyer, insurer legal counsel)
- Workshop
"Getting the Signals Right - being the best facilitator you can while navigating claims"
Topic Category - CLAIMS
Paul has been dealing for many years at the insurer end with claims issues and has a very clear perspective on the value that an adviser can add to the process and how this should be done to the bests ends for everyone. He also has seen some disasters he can give you some lessons from - on how NOT to try to help clients! There are tips on improving the up-front advice process to avoid problems at claim time, too. This will be a very interactive workshop session as Paul's keen to generate discussions with advisers who've been in this boat.
|
|
Chris Boyd
(Student; founder and GM of Australian Youth Against Cancer)
- Plenary OPENING SPEAKER
"Navigating the Murray - after Tossing Terry Overboard"
Topic Category - PROSPECTING/MARKETING via live case study
Chris is an extraordinary young man who was amazed and appalled to find out at 20 that he had cancer. Before setting out to annihilate the tumour he called it Terry and this gave him the focus he needed to beat the odds. His response to his diagnosis and his views on how we should and could be looking after his generation (because he of all people was, of course, invincible!!) will be the opening presentation and a highlight of this event.
Chris kayaked the Murray after his recovery, to raise awareness of young adult cancer and to raise funds for his new charity Australian Youth Against Cancer. He will tell some of that story, too.
|
|
Louise Biti
(Director, Strategy Steps)
-
Workshop
"Keeping the cap on - the latest navigation challenges in insurance in super"
Topic Category - TECHNICAL ADVANCED
Many of you will know Louise from her long career in the industry and will have enjoyed the depth of technical support she provided to thousands of advisers over many years. We have asked Louise to conduct a technical session that will set out the reasons for and guidelines on keeping clients within their concessional caps when it comes to insurance premiums. Insurance advisers don't always realise they, as much as investment advisers, can tip a client easily into the excess cap area - and the penalties Louise will show you in a few case studies will astound. Without Louise's guidelines, you might find yourself unwittingly in the firing line for the client to blame/sue for the tax penalties that can ensue.
|
|
Naomi Rosenthal and Marc Fabris
(Adviser; Manager - Sales Strategies & Research, Zurich) - Workshop
"Your online identity is your mainsail - don't cast off without it"
Topic Category - PROSPECTING/MARKETING
Social or 'connective' media (as we and others prefer) - Facebook and Twitter most popularly - have been getting a lot of attention in our industry recently. The question of how and where they might and can fit into a personal advice practice isn't easy to answer
. If you are an entertainer or a famous personality, the opportunities to 'market' yourself are obvious and endless. But what if you're an adviser working within a very stringent regulatory regime? And what if you simply don't know where to start, even if you would like to? Naomi, an adviser who has put her toe firmly in the water yet still says she has no idea what she is doing (!) and Marc, a technophile who understands how these things work, will combine to deliver a useful, educational and topical workshop. Both will also share some handout tools with you as added take-away value.
|
|
Sue Laing
(Technical Manager, The Risk Store) - Workshop
"Using the right signal flags for SMEs to read"
Topic Category - Business Succession Planning
Sue conducted this workshop in Melbourne at our 2010 Forum but not every delegate got to see it. The feedback was great and as we have one workshop spot available (as Stephen Smith can conduct only 2 not 3 workshops) we have decided to give delegates a chance to see Sue's workshop. There are lots of technical sessions on business succession planning but very few on how to get from the first introduction to the final recommendations - i.e. how to engage the business in embarking into a relationship with you for this important advice area. It's critical to get this right. Sue's tips and 'scripts' are tried and proven now, after having delivered this to hundreds of advisers over the last few years. So, if you haven't seen this one yet or want a refresher - this is your opportunity!
|
|
|