Profile
"West Oak’s success has come from always putting our clients’ best interests first and always finding ways to improve and add more value to them"
Andrew mcquiston,
west oak family office, wellington-altus private wealth
Insurance recruitment is all James Toth has known during his professional life. Entering the industry in London when he was only 18 – with almost no knowledge of commercial insurance – he quickly fell in love with the expansive and diverse market. Attracted to the “best-kept secret” in financial services, Toth has dedicated his entire professional life to helping insurance professionals find their commercial homes and helping businesses fill gaps and thrive.
“I understood very quickly that what clients want in a supplier is reliability, so implementing things like a four-day work week and full remote working means my consultants are happier, balanced and sticking around for the long term,” he says.
“If I can lead a business that retains its staff better than anyone, our clients receive a better service as the relationship they share with a recruiter only gets better over time. The longer you work on an account, the better you know them. And since recruitment is as much about culture as competency, having a recruiter who knows your business as if they worked there themselves is invaluable.”
Unlike most recruiters, Toth sees his role in insurance as a career for life. Having spent the last eight years gradually becoming more knowledgeable and trusted within the industry, his ambition now is to shine a spotlight on great companies and professionals, opening a door for communication in the hopes of aiding the long-term sustainability and growth of the industry in Australia.
His business, Kona Recruitment, has been extremely vocal and proactive in introducing new talent to the industry, advising clients to change expectations and making concessions to attract fresh faces to insurance often straight out of high school or university. Toth has also recognised the importance of employing the talented professionals already in the industry but who are being overlooked for promotion, which is why his first question to clients is always “Is there someone in the business who could do this role before we look elsewhere?”
Promoting an internal culture of “purpose over profit” and “integrity and transparency” as his two fundamental values, Toth hopes to shatter the stereotype of what a recruiter is and replace it as a trusted extension of a company’s talent acquisition strategy, one successful placement at a time.
And what are his plans for the near future? “Right now, the focus is on securing my brand’s sustainability through reliability,” says Toth.
“I’ve shifted our focus internally from volume to quality, driving our ‘fill rates’ to the [higher side of 80%] and by the end of the year want to be able to say we have filled 95% of roles our clients have given us.”
200 Adelaide St, Brisbane CBD, QLD, 4000
+61 427 532 744
james@konarecruitment.com
au.linkedin.com/in/jamestothkona
konarecruitment.com
James Toth
Managing Director
Kona Recruitment
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Bio
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Profile
Milestones
2020–present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Deputy Principal at Australian Christian College - Southlands
Doctor of Education
2020–present
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2021
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Year 7 Community Leader and Leader for Learning Technologies and Platforms at Northern Beaches Christian School
Master of Business Administration, 2017–2019
2021
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2014
2017
2019
2021
2022
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
Profile
Milestones
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2014
2017
2019
2021
2022
Read on
Special Report
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Bio
Milestones
2022
2021
2019
2017
2014
2022
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Leader of the Year finalist at the TIARA Awards
2022
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2021
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Launched Kona Recruitment
2021
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2019
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Joined Profusion, a financial services recruitment leader,
as youngest ever associate director
2019
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2017
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Moved to Australia and helped launch the NSW division of
General Insurance Recruitment Agency
2017
1997
2014
human resources | key media
Entered the recruitment industry
2014
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Milestones
2022
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
2022
Excellence awardee – Independent Mortgage Adviser of the Year category at the New Zealand Mortgage Awards
2022
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2022
2020–present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Deputy Principal at Australian Christian College - Southlands
Doctor of Education
2020–present
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2021
Launched his own business,
Ascend Financial Services
2022
2022
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2021
Launched his own business,
Ascend Financial Services
2022
Managing Director
Kona Recruitment
James Toth