Headquarters:

Level 15/11 Waymouth St, Adelaide, SA 5000

Year founded:

1900

Number of team members:

800

Phone:

13 56 22

Email:

sales@aamc.com.au

Website:

eldersinsurance.com.au

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/elders-insurance

Dale Gleeson

General Manager

Marcelle Pavlov

Head of Agency Partnerships

Anthony Hall

Technical Manager – Land + Road

Leadership

Dale Gleeson brings over 20 years of experience in the Australian insurance industry, with a strong background in underwriting, product development and management within the heavy industries sector. Since joining QBE in 2016 as national product manager for construction and engineering, he advanced to head of construction and engineering in 2019, then to general manager for specialty in 2022, and is now general manager for Elders Insurance and heavy industries as of August 2023. Renowned as a collaborative and highly engaged leader, Gleeson is dedicated to developing talent and fostering a culture of growth, staff engagement and high-performing, profitable teams.

General Manager

Dale Gleeson

Marcelle Pavlov is a seasoned insurance professional with over 15 years at QBE, where she has held several senior leadership positions. In 2023, she became head of partnerships for Elders Insurance. Previously, she led QBE’s financial and professional services division for five years, focusing on strategic growth and operational excellence from Melbourne. Her earlier roles include head of builders’ warranty and national manager for QBE Insurance Motorcycle, where she championed innovation and customer-centric solutions in niche markets. Known for her strategic mindset and collaborative leadership, Pavlov is dedicated to building strong partnerships and empowering the Elders Insurance agency network.

Head of Agency Partnerships

Marcelle Pavlov

As technical manager for AAMC’s land + road division, Anthony Hall leads a dynamic team of specialised commercial assessors in the heavy transport, plant and machinery sectors nationwide. With over 20 years of industry experience, he is dedicated to building strong client relationships and upholding the high service standards that define AAMC. He is passionate about driving innovation and advancing both people and processes, ensuring the team evolves alongside industry advancements. Hall’s commitment to excellence enables AAMC to consistently deliver outstanding service and tailored solutions to clients across Australia’s commercial motor sector.

Technical Manager – Land + Road

Anthony Hall

Leadership

Stuart Munro

Chief Risk Officer

Stuart Munro serves as Quantum Mortgages’ chief compliance officer, bringing over 25 years of experience in the mortgage industry. He has developed deep expertise in the specialist market through roles at Magellan Homeloans, the UK’s pilot for credit repair, as well as disruptor brands like Habito, Mortgage Engine and Generation Home. Munro is skilled at building robust compliance frameworks, governance and controls and collaborates closely with Quantum’s leadership to nurture a strong compliance culture. His experience spans regulatory monitoring, managing FCA relationships, and securing authorisations for lenders and intermediaries. Passionate about innovation, he helps Quantum launch propositions that address real customer needs.

Chief Risk Officer

Stuart Munro

Josh Crawford

Vice President of Training & Development

Josh Crawford is a leader in the financial services industry, bringing the power of Nobel Prize-winning investing science to communities across the US and Puerto Rico. His expertise includes leading breakthrough educational experiences to hundreds of advisors and thousands of their clients, helping lead and engineer innovative advisor training programs, and training and developing entrepreneurs to expand themselves and their businesses. As vice president of training and development at Matson Money, he is instrumental in bringing the American Dream Experience to families across North America.

Vice President of Training & Development

Josh Crawford

Matt Matson

Vice President of Technology

Francine Minervini 

Senior Vice President, Chief Technical Claims Officer

Nicholas Webber

VP, WC Litigation 

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

A founding team member of Matson Money, Matt Matson has brought innovation to the organization through the implementation of technological advancements since the early 1990s. He put Matson at the forefront of the industry by pioneering its online presence in the early days. For 10 years, Matt guided the firm’s technology and design teams, expanding them into full design, development, and networking departments. He returned in 2018 to revolutionize Matson Money’s technology by championing the new Matson Tech team. Matson Tech is reimagining how technology can fulfill the promise of bringing purpose and the American Dream to every family it serves.

Vice President of Technology

Matt Matson

Francine Minervini is chief technical claims officer at Arch Insurance. She joined the company in 2007 as an assistant vice president in the casualty division and has held various roles of increasing responsibility in the claims department, ultimately being promoted to senior vice president in 2018. Prior to joining Arch, Minervini held several claims handling roles with AIG. She has her JD from New England School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Seton Hall University. She is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and New York. 

Senior Vice President, Chief Technical Claims Officer 

Francine Minervini 

Cemal Akgul sees the head of risk and collections role as pivotal in guiding and influencing business decisions. He has more than 15 years of experience across financial and government services, most recently with the NDIS, where he was the leading consultant driving the Risk Management process’ nationwide. Prior to that, he served various roles at BMW Finance across the United States, Hong Kong, Germany and Australia. During Akgul’s tenure at BMW Finance, he predominately worked in risk management, guiding the organisation through seismic changes between 2016 and 2018. In his time prior, he was based out of New York, leading BMW Finance’s American subsidiary's market risk and data analytics teams between 2011 and 2016. Akgul values a balanced approach to business, encourages a positive work culture and is passionate about teaching and guiding the business and individuals at IQumulate.

Head of Risk and Collections

Cemal Akgul

Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager. As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

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Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

“We take a ‘boots on the ground’ approach, listening to local teams, understanding their challenges and co-creating solutions”

Dale Gleeson, Elders Insurance

“We foster a healthy culture where people feel valued, supported and empowered to go the extra mile”

Dale Gleeson, Elders Insurance

Ivan Verescuk

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Shaun O’Brien

Head of Underwriting

Emily Walker

Head of Strata and Development

Rex Oakman

Head of Operations and Risk

Sandy Newton

Head of Underwriting

Andrew Mitchell

Manager – NSW

Michael Prokopis

Manager – Southern Region

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Jeffrey Valdivia

Manager – Commercial Strata

Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

Elders Insurance stands apart in the general insurance space for its network of locally owned and operated agencies that are deeply embedded in the community. That grassroots approach, supported by national resources, has allowed the company to grow while staying anchored in the communities it serves. While the head office provides technology, strategy and operational support, local agents lead the day-to-day interactions with customers. They manage approximately 65% of claims directly, giving clients fast, informed service from people who understand their situation. It’s a capability unmatched in the Australian general insurance market. “Our identity is deeply rooted in our local presence, and our network of franchised agencies is embedded in the communities they serve,” Dale Gleeson, general manager at Elders Insurance, says. “We foster a healthy culture where people feel valued, supported and empowered to go the extra mile.”

IQumulate invests in education and people, which are vital to attracting new business and talent to the company. “We have long tenures for several of our key staff, including some in leadership positions, and this sound working knowledge of our business, practices and industry provides great insights and a wealth of experience to offer our clients,” says Bastow. “Our new head of sales, Graeme Gordon, formerly manager for New Zealand, joins us in Australia to drive our sales strategy and lead our team to successful outcomes for our clients and our business. We look forward to great things ahead with Graeme as he continues to be active and present in the New Zealand market as well as building sound working relationships and new connections in Australia.” Clients can also expect a lot from working with IQumulate. “Through active engagement with our trusted broker network, IQumulate provides relevant information, education and training content,” says Graeme Gordon, head of sales. “Our clients can expect IQumulate to support their business in several ways, providing an understanding of what premium funding solutions are available and how IQumulate can spread the cost of insurance and help borrowers get the right level of insurance cover to free up their cash flow for other expenses or business growth opportunities. Premium funding is often considered a tool for those who simply cannot afford to pay their premiums in full. While this is certainly a significant driver for many, it is also successfully used by profitable companies who use premium funding to manage their cash flows more wisely or better manage their liquidity.”

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The company’s leadership team has leaned into that model by investing in innovation that works at the ground level, especially in rural and remote regions. Its most significant move in recent years has been the Elders Insurance Agency Technology Modernisation (EIATM) project, a nationwide upgrade that has equipped more than 160 offices and over 820 staff with modern digital infrastructure. The project has improved application performance, introduced always-on cloud access, tightened security and given agents more mobility in the field. It also retired outdated legacy systems that were no longer fit for purpose. In their place is a connected, responsive platform that supports scale and efficiency across the network. But what made the rollout stand out and helped earn Elders Insurance an IB 5-Star Insurance Innovator award was how the change took hold. Rather than rely on top-down communication, the company created a national change champions network to lead adoption from within. “This network includes over 200 champions, comprising agents and agency office staff, who work closely with the project team to support the rollout and operational adoption of new initiatives,” Gleeson says. “What makes this approach stand out is that it is a peer-driven model. We’ve empowered trusted individuals within each office to lead change from within.”

The champions act as translators, problem-solvers and advocates. They work alongside their colleagues to make new systems easier to use, offer practical workarounds and explain changes in ways that make sense. That kind of support has helped new ideas take hold and stay in use. It also reflects how Elders Insurance approaches innovation more broadly, with a focus on what works, what matters locally and what helps people do their jobs better. “We take a ‘boots on the ground’ approach, listening to local teams, understanding their challenges and co-creating solutions,” Gleeson says. Plans for the future include launching a new insurance platform that will bring policy, billing, claims and pricing into one integrated system. The new interface is designed to support faster, more efficient ways of working for both agents and customers. The company is also focused on long-term resilience. Through its partnership with the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, Elders Insurance backs community-led climate solutions in regional Australia. It is also prioritising cybersecurity and data privacy to maintain trust in its digital platforms. These changes are already delivering results. The company reports improved operational efficiency, better connectivity, faster claims handling and stronger client retention. Staff satisfaction has also risen, driven, in part, by the smoother systems and the collaborative rollout process. Through all of it, Elders Insurance has stayed close to its roots. Growth hasn’t pulled it away from what clients value most, which includes trusted relationships, local knowledge and consistent service. That balance between innovation and community connection continues to push it to the forefront.