Business Made Personal

“The key is that you keep up to date and relevant. The other thing(s) are that you’re enquiring and more importantly, that you’re reinventing yourself!”

Veronica Grigg the President of Crawford Asia has the knowledge and experience that has transcended multiple industries and Countries. In this podcast, she shares with us how she managed to propel her career to the levels she did including where and how she devoted her energies as well as the impacts on her personal life as a single parent of a young child.

Veronica’s career diversity has encompassed working on rural properties, artificial insemination on farms, consulting to financial services businesses, being an employee of a major Insurer and dealing with Claims at an executive level. Her lived experiences has meant that she is able to understand and empathise because as Veronica puts it, “Nothing comes in an organised kit for you just to assemble”.

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

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Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

Leadership lessons from failure sit at the centre of Robert Kelly’s extraordinary business story.

In this episode of Business Made Personal, Mark Silveira speaks with Robert Kelly, Co-founder of Steadfast Group, about the setbacks, second chances and personal decisions that shaped his approach to insurance and leadership.

Long before Steadfast became one of Australia’s most influential insurance groups, Robert built an insurance business while young, ambitious and inexperienced. It grew quickly, but financial mistakes and inadequate controls eventually left him owing $114,000.

The consequences were personal as well as professional.

Robert lost his business, damaged relationships and found himself driving taxis and cleaning while trying to repay what he owed. At one of the lowest points of his life, rugby league coach Jack Gibson gave him something many others would not: a second chance.

That experience changed the way Robert treated people for the rest of his career.

In this conversation, Robert discusses:

•  Why leaders must admit their mistakes 
•  How failure exposed gaps in his business knowledge 
•  Why he studied accounting and risk management 
•  The importance of understanding the rationale behind decisions 
•  How Steadfast began as a survival strategy for independent brokers 
•  Why collective purpose mattered more than personal recognition 
•  How mentors and candid advice shape better leaders 
•  Why listening is one of the most valuable career skills 

Robert’s journey is not a story about succeeding without failure.

It is about becoming accountable enough to learn from it.

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website
Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

This podcast is extraordinary listening for those who are looking for inspiration in balancing family and career and what you need to consider in managing both.

“It is constant learning and development in ourselves as individuals that keeps us relevant.”

Highlighting the importance of education and technical training, Stella Pruscino explains why that has helped her achieve significant success in the Broking space. She also discusses the challenges of being a single mother of two young children whilst building a career, the value of mentors and having open and honest communications to enhance knowledge. Stella speaks about the voluntary positions she has held and why they are so important to her including her involvement with the female entrepreneur group, https://www.headsoverheels.com.au/.

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website
Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

“There is a level of reward you get that’s greater than anything else when you can truly go home knowing you have helped someone or made their life just that little bit easier.”

Steven Manning, the CEO of the LMI Group, has some big shoes to fill. In this podcast, Steve discusses the challenges and benefits of having Professor Allan Manning as his father and inspirational guide, the benefits of being in a family business and his global expansion plans for LMI. He has some great advice for others who are seeking to establish their own footprint in the profession and how important family is to achieving any business aspirations. Steven firmly believes that “if you decide to make this industry your career, it offers a fantastic opportunity.”

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website
Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

“You can’t move forward in your career if people don’t respect you and people want to be led by you and people believe in you.”

Damien Coates believes that “we’ve got to keep challenging and stretching ourselves because society in every fabric is changing and we’ve got to make sure we keep up with it.” And he should know. Apart from his role as CEO for Dual Asia Pacific, Damien discusses the impact of mental health on his life as well as the personal impact of having been front and centre of the third largest corporate fraud in Australia’s history. His views are unabashedly honest and forthright as he talks about the non-negotiables of hard work, personal betrayal and the three pillars of managing his own mental health to, as he puts it, “keep the dam under control”.

LINKS:

https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
https://www.lifeline.org.au/

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website
Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

“There’s an interesting correlation between childhood trauma and the ability to be strong and resilient later in life!”

From living in constant fear and danger all her teenage life to backing herself in developing businesses in overseas destinations, Joan Fitzpatrick speaks about the challenges she has faced and how they have impacted her business life. A huge advocate of equality in all its forms, be it religion, colour, sex or any other form of ‘ism, Joan shares with us the key aspects that have contributed to her success and longevity in the profession.

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website
Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

“Insurance and Banking are the basis of all progress (modern) mankind has ever made anywhere and at anytime and to be part of it is a pretty big buzz!”

The General Manager of the Underwriting Agencies Council, Mr William Legge discusses how selling publications along the east coast delivered him to the doorstep of the insurance profession. In this podcast, he also shares with us his learnings from doing business in the South East Asian markets and how that influenced his attitude to insurance business back home in Australia.

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website
Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

“What surprised me was the number of senior executives that have just lost their way, that had lost connection with their sense of compassion and their caring nature. By hardening their hearts what I saw was unnecessary diminishment and disempowerment of really brilliant humans.”

As the creator of the Centre for Self Fidelity, Cassandra Goodman assists employers and employees to: Remember and reconnect to their essential nature, Restore their trust in their goodness, uniqueness, worthiness and connectedness and Activate more of their potential by cultivating trust in themselves.

In this podcast, Cassandra shares her insights into how and why she does what she does!

How to find Cassandra:

https://self-fidelity.com/the-centre-for-self-fidelity/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-goodman/

To buy the book log onto https://cassandragoodman.com/self-fidelity/type and type code FRIEND to get free postage

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website
Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

Insurance innovation and leadership define the career of Colin Fagen, Managing Director of Blue Zebra Insurance and former Group Executive at QBE. In this episode of Business Made Personal, host Mark Silveira speaks with Colin about his journey from agricultural economics into senior executive roles, and eventually launching Blue Zebra as a challenger in the Australian insurance market.

Colin reflects on the opportunities and challenges of driving innovation in a traditionally conservative industry. He shares lessons from leading teams at scale, navigating redundancy, and balancing the demands of regulation with the need for fresh thinking and agility.

In this conversation, you’ll discover:

• How Colin built Blue Zebra Insurance from the ground up.
• What leadership in insurance requires during times of rapid change.
• Why innovation and legacy systems must coexist for industry progress.
• The personal values and resilience that shaped his career in insurance.

Colin’s story is one of adaptability, courage, and a clear vision for the future of insurance. His insights are invaluable for anyone looking to understand how leadership and innovation can transform businesses and industries.

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website
Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

“There is literally a job in insurance for any single person who has a tertiary qualification.”

As the first in her family to obtain a formal qualification, Prue Willsford lives and breathes education. In this podcast Prue also discusses taking risks, backing yourself in and the part men can play in assisting women to develop their careers.

Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond.

Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website
Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn
For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]