Business Made Personal

Women in insurance leadership are central to this conversation with Lisa Hiscock, Director of Hakea Insurance Brokers. Mark Silveira interviews Lisa about her journey from a tough start in Chatham, UK, to senior underwriting roles at AXA XL and Axis, and ultimately founding Hakea to create a more flexible, values-driven career. 

You’ll hear how a love of travel and learning opened doors beyond a traditional legal path, why early exposure to clients at Hiscox accelerated her growth, and what crisis management underwriting taught her about education, risk, and resilience. Lisa also shares honest reflections on pregnancy in corporate life, imposter syndrome, and the identity shift that motherhood brings.

Key takeaways:

 • Practical strategies for women in insurance leadership, mentorship, saying “I don’t know” aloud, and learning through experience.

 • How flexible work models in broking create space for family, deep client service, and personal wellbeing.

 • The business case for mental health advocacy, how loss led Lisa to crisis counselling and improved listening skills as a broker.

 • Why the industry must incorporate sustainability into underwriting, claims, and product design to safeguard community-critical businesses.

If you’re building a meaningful, sustainable career in insurance or leading a team that wants to attract and retain top talent, this episode will provide you with frameworks and inspiration. Listen, subscribe, and share your key takeaways with a colleague.

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

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Mentorship in insurance careers is central to this conversation with Mike McShane, founder and director of McClardy McShane Partners. From a modest beginning in Melbourne to co-founding one of Australia’s most respected broker networks, Mike explains how resilience, education, and trusted mentors shaped his journey.

He recalls leaving school early, travelling across Australia doing tough jobs, and realising that true learning often comes from experience. Returning home, he completed a Bachelor of Business while working full-time—an education that boosted his confidence and changed his career path. When corporate conflict pushed him out of a role, it became the trigger for entrepreneurship and, eventually, a partnership with Don McLeary.

Mike also discusses his deep involvement with the Reach Foundation, which helps young people become their best selves, and explains why nurturing future professionals is vital for the industry’s well-being.

Takeaways

• Formal study fosters long-term confidence in insurance careers.
• Values-aligned partnerships endure beyond circumstances.
• Claims transparency enhances public trust.
• Mentorship in insurance careers speeds up professional development.

https://fundraise.reach.org.au/donate-to-reach

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

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Mentorship in insurance impacts careers, cultures, and client results—and few exemplify this better than Ambrose Construct’s Executive GM of Business Development, Darren Trott. In this chat with Mark Silveira, Darren shares a 40-year journey from Adelaide to national leadership, illustrating how mentors, music, and resilience shaped an empathy-first approach to claims and culture. You’ll discover how early family influences and a parallel life as a musician taught Darren to listen carefully; how a “Trojan horse” mindset helps builders and insurers collaborate; and why mentorship in insurance underpins sustainable teams.

Key takeaways include practical leadership lessons learned through redundancies and relocations, how to support staff facing catastrophic loss, and the importance of compassion in moments that matter—such as Black Saturday and Cyclone Yasi—when clients remember how you showed up, not just what you did. Darren also shares the story of John and Chrissy, and the simple promise that kept them going until they received the keys to their rebuilt home.

Whether you’re in broking, underwriting, loss adjusting, or builder networks, this episode will enhance your understanding of mentorship in insurance, client care, and culture development. Listen now and subscribe for weekly leadership insights that drive better outcomes for people and the industry.

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

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For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]

"I don't think you can have real, sustained success, especially in leadership, without having some sort of sacrifice."

Allicia Tsolis's genuine leadership in insurance takes centre stage in this episode of Business Made Personal. As the Executive General Manager of Workers’ Compensation at Suncorp, Allicia shares how a tough childhood in South Australia and her Greek heritage shaped her grit, empathy, and people-first leadership approach. She explains how early hardships fostered resilience, why authenticity surpasses conformity, and how prioritising the customer in every decision leads to sustainable results.

With over 26 years of experience at AAMI and Suncorp, Allicia has gained expertise across the entire value chain—sales, service, claims, transformation, and strategy—enabling her to lead with insight and practicality. She reflects on working in male-dominated environments, the mentors who supported her, and the moment she stopped trying to emulate “hard-edged” leadership to lead authentically as herself.

You’ll hear the inside story of building a newly privatised scheme from scratch, earning recognition as CSIA’s Service Hero Customer Service Executive of the Year and later being named one of Insurance Business Australia’s Elite Women. Allicia is open about personal trade-offs, motherhood, and learning to trust and delegate without compromising standards.

Takeaways:
• Practical ways to lead authentically while delivering results
• How to build credibility: “trust is built in drops, lost in buckets”
• Designing services with human-centred, customer-first thinking
• Lifting as you climb: mentoring the next generation of leaders

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]

"It is the best thing I have ever done in my life….taken jobs that I probably shouldn't have or possibly shouldn't have been offered."

Calling it as it is is Kerrie Challenor’s stock in trade, and in this podcast, she did not disappoint. A couple of notable comments from Kerrie: “Let's face it, it's not really rocket science… Insurance. (You can learn it, but) What you can't teach people is how to be resilient or how to have respect.” 

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]

"I just accepted that I was different and stopped trying to fit in so much."

As a child of Turkish migrants, growing up, Nese faced two choices. Either to continue her education and keep learning or to get married. Nese chose the former, and when explaining her decision, she says that for her, “the driver really becomes well, I need to be independent, I need to be able to do things without relying on anyone else. The saying knowledge is power absolutely resonated with me.”

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]

"I tend to spend a lot of time in my own head questioning every decision I make and second-guessing and analysing."

Being able to speak German unbeknownst to him helped Simon Lightbody enter the insurance industry. He admits that he is “not the sort of character who has this kind of myopic view that I'm going to do this and I am absolutely right set on it” and that flexibility has allowed him to take risks - the biggest and most challenging being starting his own Underwriting Agency, Miramar. 

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]

"If you want to learn and grow, and exceed, you just have to put in the work and hustle."

Starting an insurance broking business when you have a four-year-old and are pregnant with your second child is not for the faint-hearted. Having decided she wanted to spend more time with her children, starting out on her own was Lisa’s way of being present for her children whilst creating an insurance business that now employs eight people, most of whom are working mothers. 

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 will be offered opportunities. Take them, try things, do different things, challenge yourself and take yourself out of your comfort zone because that's how you learn."

Understand what your values are and what you stand for, and what you don't stand for. What's right for you? What's wrong for you? And what are you prepared to compromise on? Because this will guide you not only in your work life but also in your personal life. On staying relevant, Adam’s tips: ask for help, be really clear on your personal values, be flexible but don't compromise your principles, and be on time.

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]

"A tingle of fear is good because that's giving you the right knowledge that you're probably pushing yourself to where you'll grow and learn."

Brendan Dunne walks around with a set of post-it notes because, in his words, if it can't fit on the post-it note, it's probably not going to get done. This approach has served him well in his different leadership roles over his 20+ years at Allianz. His other piece of advice is to “make sure that you're not leaving your life behind because you spend a lot more time in your life than you do in your work.”

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]