Cyber insurance specialist Emergence Insurance has appointed senior industry executive Gary Dransfield as the new chair of its board of directors.
Dransfield has been in the insurance industry for 26 years. An experienced insurance executive, he was the president of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ).
Outside of the representative bodies, Dransfield was the CEO of Suncorp Insurance (Suncorp) until July 2020. He joined the insurance giant in 2009 and held various executive positions over the years, including head of Vero New Zealand and head of personal insurance. Previously, he was with IAG for over 10 years.
Dransfield will bring a deep understanding of domestic and international insurance markets and the insurance value chain to his new role at Emergence. He is deeply knowledgeable about the connections between insurance, regulations, and community and consumer expectations.
Emergence founder and CEO Troy Filipcevic welcomed Dransfield to the board, emphasising how “absolutely brilliant” it is to have such a highly experienced executive take on the key role.
“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,” he said. “He'll be hands-on with all the Emergence team. I want Gary's fingerprints on Emergence.”
Dransfield and Filipcevic will work closely together to make Emergence resilient as it grows, focusing on processes, resources, and governance.
“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,” Dransfield said.
Aside from being the new chair of Emergence's board, Dransfield chairs the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and Hollard Insurance Australia. He is also a non-executive director at the medical defence organisation MDA National Insurance Pty Ltd and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
In other news, Emergence claimed an Australian “first” with the launch of its group personal cyber insurance.
