2017 Hot List Recipient
2020 Hot List Recipient
2021 CEO of the Year
Accolades
Media
Milestones
2008
2013
2016
2019
2020
2021
Joint venture is formed between Macquarie and Steadfast.
2008
Pacific Premium Funding is acquired from GE.
2013
Wayne Tower is promoted to division director at Macquarie Bank.
2016
Macquarie Pacific Funding becomes IQumulate Premium Funding.
2019
IQumulate launches the first securitisation of premium funding loans in Australia.
2020
Tower is appointed CEO of IQumulate.
2021
Innovation and education drive IQumulate’s success
Wayne Tower, CEO of IQumulate Premium Funding, says 2022 is looking good.
He puts that down to a great team, a competitive offering and heavy investment in the company's delivery platform.
“We're investing heavily in our platform to ensure we deliver solutions that our brokers and their clients expect from us. These investments are aimed at improving the broker experience when they transact with us and improving time to outcome,” he says.
Tower says that with the support of the board and shareholders, IQumulate has placed a priority on sustainable growth.
“I'm really pleased with the momentum we have at the moment, both in Australia and New Zealand. So, we are well positioned to deliver on our goals,” he says.
Tower expects IQumulate to roll out several new initiatives over the next 12 months.
“That’s really exciting for us and we hope equally exciting for our broker partners,” he says.
Differentiating IQumulate’s offering from the competition depends on service, delivery and technology, Tower says. The other vital factor is education.
Last year the company launched IQView, its broker education and insights program. The offering delivers a variety of free content that isn’t necessarily product related.
“We want this to become a channel where people can access information such as economic updates, work wellbeing and general financial topics which they can use both in their own business and also to help the way in which they can engage with customers,” says the CEO.
Each learning module provides Continuing Professional Development points, which helps brokers with their accreditation.
The CEO also brings a sense of humour. One of his career highlights, he says, was finally being able to satisfy the naggings of his late grandfather.
“My late grandfather was always hurrying me along in my career, only so he could see my office and have a cuppa from the tea lady,” he says.
However, the last two years of COVID-19 have meant the Sydney-based CEO has spent less time in the office than he was expecting. On the bright side, Tower says, a major event before COVID struck helped provide IQumulate with the agility to deal with pandemic challenges.
“When Steadfast acquired 100% of our business in 2019, we effectively had to rebuild a large swathe of the organisation,” he says.
Tower says the rebuilding included part of iQumulate's technology platform, as well as funding arrangements and the launch of a new brand.
“Each of these components would have been big undertakings in their own right, but to do all that in what was really a very short time period was a massive endeavour,” he says.
The focus throughout this business transformation was on IQumulate’s brokers.
“We prioritised our brokers and tried very hard to minimise disruption to their business,” Tower says.
He adds that “it’s worth noting” that IQumulate still receives a large amount of support from partners of all shapes and sizes, from authorised representatives all the way though to international brokers who it partners with to support corporate clients.
“Did we get everything right? Probably not. But how we came through that was testament to the support we had from our broker partners and the relationships they have with our business,”
says Tower.
However, the premium funder didn’t have much time to rest on any accolades. He describes the COVID-19 experience that followed as “quite confronting”.
“We had no idea what this would do to our way of life. When lockdowns commenced, we really did worry about the impact on our customers, 97% of which are businesses who were about to be hit between the eyes."
IQumulate tried to find a balance between supporting struggling customers and protecting its own business, Tower says.
“We took a balanced approach for the majority of 2020 and early 2021 and tried to support our team who had worked so hard to develop and grow relationships throughout and after the rebranding of the business."
However, in such a tough environment, the CEO admits it was very hard to keep everyone happy.
“Whilst we have taken a massive step forward, there remains work to do in re-establishing some relationships with some brokers – but we won’t stop trying,” he says.
Tower says the pandemic has changed the way we work forever.
“Realistically, I see a hybrid model becoming the norm, and it will be an increasingly important element of decision-making in terms of whether a potential employee joins the business."
Despite that, he is a firm advocate of the importance of face-to-face personal relationships.
“Call me old-school, but I do see value in getting people together, particularly when it comes to the learning and development of our team,” he says.
One of the current industry challenges that’s a priority for Tower is attracting and retaining talent.
“Whilst not a challenge that is specific to insurance or financial services, attracting and retaining talent is on everyone’s minds at the moment,” he says.
The CEO has been working hard to turn this around.
“At IQumulate we've been working on our employee engagement intensely over the past few years,” he says. “Pleasingly, our results in this area continue to improve, so I'm confident that we are well placed as a business to retain the great team we have."
Spotlight
Humility, humour and tea ladies
Tower brings a refreshing humility to his role. That’s reflected in what he regards as important leadership qualities.
“If I had to pinpoint a few attributes that I think are critical in leadership, they would certainly be composure and humility,” he says.
In a fast-paced transactional environment, Tower says composure goes a long way to ensuring the focus remains firmly on goals and objectives.
“It’s my role to ensure the environment our team and business operates in allows us to deliver on potential. I don’t have all the answers, so asking for and accepting input from those around you with wide-ranging skill sets is crucial."
IQumulate Premium Funding is a leading provider of insurance premium funding in Australia and New Zealand. Each year IQumulate works with over 600 brokers to help more than 60,000 businesses, from sole traders through to large corporates, finance the cost of their insurance premiums. By spreading the cost of insurance, IQumulate helps clients get the right level of cover and free up cash flow for other expenses or business growth.
Company Profile
2008
YEAR FOUNDED
70+
Number of staff across Australia and New Zealand
600+
Number of brokers in network
60%
PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
60,000
Number of businesses worked with
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
Years of Experience
22
Tenure at current position
2017 - Present
Fun FActs
“Got the golf handicap down to 5 (before the kids arrived!),” Tower says. He is also a small shareholder of four racehorses
Wayne Tower
CEO at IQumulate Premium Funding
IQumulate CEO Wayne Tower says quality service, delivery and technology help set the premium funder apart. However,
a focus on education might be his company’s secret weapon
Read on
“We’re investing heavily in our platform to ensure we deliver solutions that our brokers and their clients expect from us. These investments are aimed at improving the broker experience when they transact with us and improving time to outcome”
Wayne Tower,
IQumulate Premium Funding
“If I had to pinpoint a few attributes that I think are critical in leadership, they would certainly be composure and humility”
Wayne Tower,
IQumulate Premium Funding
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Favourite quote
“You have two ears and one mouth – use them proportionately”
Career highlight
“Being appointed CEO of IQumulate”
DrivenxDesign 2019 Sydney Design Awards – Silver winner in Identity and Branding category for IQumulate brand launch campaign