When many expats arrive in a new country, it is a chance for a new start.

Martin Blake, New South Wales chairman of KPMG and Australian leader for the insurance sector, was no different.

“I came to Australia in 1989 working with CitiBank and spent a couple of years there but found that I really wanted to reinvent myself,” Blake told Insurance Business.

Blake re-skilled as a strategy consultant and began working with the insurance industry in the early 1990s, advising insurance businesses on strategy and improving business processes.

Since then, Blake has developed into a global leader in the insurtech space. Throughout his career, however, he says that one key element of the industry has remained particularly appealing.

“Insurers have a fundamental role to play when bad things happen to people,” Blake said.

“They are a safety net to enable them to get over the speed bumps in life, so there is sort of a higher purpose in insurance and that’s certainly one of the things that really appealed to me.”

Outside of work, Blake is a keen sailor and races from the Middle Harbour Yacht club with friends, and has taken part in the most famous race in Australian waters.

“I’ve done a couple of Sydney to Hobarts on Brindabella,” Blake revealed.

“I went last year and unfortunately we didn’t get there – but I’m hoping to achieve that goal at some point. I’m a very passionate sailor and that’s really why I originally moved to Australia.”

With 21 years at KPMG, Blake looks back fondly on his impact on the industry.

“I think I’ve been a catalyst for change in terms of encouraging insurers to transform their businesses and become more customer centric,” he said.



Related stories:
How a trip to New York inspired a new business
Insurance ‘a hell of a lot harder’ than NRL career
Baking-loving broker shines on TV