Headquarters:
1478 Morris Ave, Union, NJ 07083
Year founded:
2024
Number of employees:
19
Phone:
212 547 8752
Email:
info@unionrisk.us
Website:
unionrisk.us
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/union-risk-services-ltd
Anthony DeFede
Partner and Chief Executive Officer
Tony DeFede
Partner and Chief Risk Officer
Noelle DeFede
Partner and Chief Strategy Officer
Leadership
Anthony DeFede is a partner and the chief executive officer of Union Risk Services. With more than 35 years of experience in commercial insurance, he advises businesses with complex risks across construction, transportation, real estate, manufacturing, and other specialized industries. As CEO, he leads Union Risk’s business strategy, carrier relationships, client growth, and national expansion. DeFede has played a key role in building Union Risk into a specialized brokerage focused on captive insurance, alternative risk programs, commercial insurance, and risk management advisory services.
Partner and Chief Executive Officer
Anthony DeFede
Tony DeFede is a partner and the chief risk officer at Union Risk Services, where he leads the firm’s captive insurance growth strategy and advises companies on alternative risk, enterprise value creation, and long-term insurance cost control. Specializing in construction, transportation, real estate, manufacturing, and private equity risks, he has helped position Union Risk as one of the nation’s emerging leaders in captive insurance. DeFede has also been selected as a finalist for two consecutive years by U.S. Captive Review for Emerging Talent of the Year, recognizing his growing impact and leadership within the captive insurance industry.
Partner and Chief Risk Officer
Tony DeFede
Noelle DeFede is a partner and the chief strategy officer at Union Risk Services, where she leads the firm’s claims division with a specialized focus on captive insurance claims management. She works closely with captive clients to strengthen claims practices, improve loss outcomes, and protect long-term captive profitability. DeFede advises clients on best practices around claims reporting, documentation, communication, litigation management, and loss mitigation, helping ensure that claims are handled strategically from day one. Her leadership has been instrumental in Union Risk’s ability to deliver a hands-on, claims-focused captive insurance experience for middle-market and large commercial clients.
Partner and Chief Strategy Officer
Noelle DeFede
Jonathan Hoey
Chief Underwriting Officer
Jonathan Hoey, chief underwriting officer, brings over 20 years of insurance leadership to Western Financial Group. He leads underwriting and claims strategy, optimizing carrier partnerships and empowering high-performing teams. Hoey is recognized for his collaborative, integrity-driven leadership and has expanded Western’s delegated authority and specialty program capabilities, driving strategic growth and strengthening the company’s competitive edge across Canada.
Chief Underwriting Officer
Jonathan Hoey
Nicky Skinner
Business Development Manager
Nicky Skinner, based in Christchurch, was honoured as NZ Adviser’s BDM of the Year. With over 20 years of banking experience – including roles as bank manager, private banker and senior lender – she brings deep expertise to her work. Skinner supports mortgage advisers with product knowledge and deal presentation skills, focusing on building strong, trusted relationships. Her collaborative approach and dedication make her a valued resource, consistently praised for her guidance and support in helping advisers achieve outstanding client outcomes.
Business Development Manager
Nicky Skinner
Sarah Radonich
Third Party Support Manager
Steph Leeson
Business Development Manager
Margaret Leau-Sulusi
Business Development Manager
Pam Chhabra
Manager – Residential Strata
Sarah Radonich is a third party support manager (relief BDM) at Westpac, building strong relationships with mortgage advisers across New Zealand. With 15 years of banking experience, she supports a wide range of regions and communities, working alongside a team of experienced BDMs. Radonich is known for her responsiveness, collaboration and focus on delivering efficient, results-driven experiences for advisers and their clients, always striving for the best possible outcomes.
Third Party Support Manager
Sarah Radonich
Steph Leeson immigrated from the UK 14 years ago and began her Westpac career as a specialist lender. Now a business development manager, she supports mortgage advisers across Auckland and Northland, offering expert guidance and support. Leeson is highly regarded for her lending knowledge, responsiveness and collaborative approach. Her dedication was recognised nationally as a finalist for the 2025 NZ Adviser BDM of the Year award, reflecting her impact within the third party channel.
Business Development Manager
Steph Leeson
Margaret Leau-Sulusi brings over 20 years of banking experience to her role as business development manager, having started with Westpac in 2005. Her background includes lending support, senior lending roles and branch management. Leau-Sulusi partners closely with mortgage advisers, providing product expertise and strategic guidance to drive strong client outcomes. Known for her collaborative style and responsiveness, she is passionate about building trusted relationships and delivering customer-focused results.
Business Development Manager
Margaret Leau-Sulusi
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
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.
Product Manager
Claire Watson
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
“We also maintain open lines of communication with advisers so they know what to expect and can plan accordingly”
Hayley Burgess, ANZ Bank New Zealand
“We’ve invested heavily in resourcing and process improvements to reduce friction and speed up approvals”
Hayley Burgess, ANZ Bank New Zealand
Union Risk Services is a national insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm built around specialized insurance solutions for businesses, individuals, and high-net-worth clients. The firms core focus is captive insurance, helping companies evaluate and access group captives, single-cell captives, single-parents captives, employee benefit captives, and other alternative risk structures designed to improve cost control, premium stability, claims performance, and long-term enterprise value.
Union Risk works closely with companies in construction, transportation, real estate, manufacturing, private equity, and other complex industries where traditional insurance markets can be volatile, expensive, or inefficient. Through its captive insurance practice, the firm helps strong-performing companies move beyond the traditional insurance model and participate more directly in their own risk financing outcomes.
In addition to captive insurance, Union Risk offers full-service commercial insurance and small business insurance programs, providing property and casualty coverage, claims support, policy review, and risk management guidance. The firm also serves clients through its private client division, life insurance division, and health insurance division, delivering tailored protection strategies for business owners, executives, families, and employees.
Union Risk combines technical insurance expertise with a hands-on advisory approach, helping clients make smarter, more strategic decisions across every area of risk.
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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