Insurance Business Australia (IB) has recently announced the winners of this year's Elite Women awards, composed of an intelligent and diverse group of insurance professionals who have pulled more women up with them while climbing the ladder of success in a male-dominated industry.
Some of this year's winners, ARAG Services Australia (ARAG) CEO Natasha Gale and CHU Underwriting (CHU) CEO Kimberley Jonsson, shared their difficult but attainable journeys to the top.
Gale has more than 30 years of experience in the finance and insurance industries, working across facets of the banking, general insurance, premium funding, and underwriting agency environments for companies such as iCare, ME Bank, Wesfarmers/Lumley Insurance, Allianz/Hunter Premium Funding, and Westpac. She joined ARAG in 2019 as a general manager and then took on the CEO role of ARAG Australia in 2020.
However, 12 months into her CEO role, she struggled with imposter syndrome: “When I was asked to take on the CEO role, I really had to dig deep in my bucket of ‘can I really do this?’ Being a start-up business, a new product to the Australian market, as well as reporting to an international managing director with very little local support - there have been many moments of self-reflection.”
Despite her fears, Gale tries to be genuine in all aspects of leadership – regardless of gender or role – providing encouragement and offering a collaborative environment, but knowing the right time to make decisions.
Meanwhile, Jonsson entered the insurance industry in South Australia in 2005 after her first year in university. She gained a wealth of experience in the strata industry and community, working across multiple jurisdictions and holding various underwriting sales and management roles. She joined CHU as a customer service officer in 2005 and then took on various roles until she became the CEO in 2020, making her one of the youngest CEOs in the industry.
In a previous interview with IB, Jonsson described her CEO appointment as a “testament to the opportunities in the industry.” However, she had faced many challenges while climbing the ladder to success.
“To become CEO of the company where your career started is quite rare,” she said. “If I had given up – which any clever person likely would have – I wouldn't have had the opportunities that came after.”
Find out more about Gale and Jonsson and the rest of this year's elite women by reading the IB Elite Women 2022 report.
