Foreword by Stefan Feldmann

F O R E W O R D

Stefan Feldmann, Head of HDI Global Asia-Pacific, Managing Director HDI Global SE, Australia

Dear Business Partners,

It's been a busy start to the new financial year, and we're all thoroughly enjoying travelling as well as welcoming guests in Australia again. We’ve had quite a few highlights in the past few months which I would like to share with you in this newsletter.

On the 1st of September, our Sydney office welcomed our HDI Global CEO Dr. Edgar Puls and Executive Board Members Jens Wohlthat and David Hullin. For this occasion, all our staff gathered in Sydney for our very first Townhall in our new office. This was an entertaining and informative event with our CEO and Executive Board Members participating in an interactive dialogue and sharing their perspective on HDI Global's business as well as our regional opportunities here in Australia.

Image: David Hullin, Stefan Feldmann, Jens Wohlthat, Dr Edgar Puls

HDI client and broker partner events

Following the Townhall, we hosted a client lunch where our board members had the opportunity to engage and better understand challenges as well as the opportunities that Asia-Pacific presents. In the evening, we celebrated our official HDI Office Opening at 20 Martin Place, Sydney with our broker partners in a delightful celebration, catching up again in person after two years of virtual meetings.

Image: Dr Edgar Puls, Mark Oatway, Sarah Lyons, Stefan Feldmann

HDI Sydney office, 20 Martin Place

Moving offices was one of the big milestones of the last few months. Our Sydney team are now settled into our brand-new offices on level 19 and 20, at 20 Martin Place, Sydney, which we share with our fellow colleagues from HDI Global Specialty.

The office has two levels with workspace for 100 staff and several meeting rooms. Even better there is also a beer tap, a pool as well as a ping pong table and many more exciting things for the teams to enjoy. It is a bright space, and always open for all our valued broker partners to stop by.

HDI Winter Forum

Another recent success was the launch of our inaugural HDI Winter Forum. At HDI, we always strive to organise different and unique events so fusing snow sports with blue skies, a colourful 1970s/80s inspired cellar door drinks party at Thredbo ski resort was a hit combination for our guest brokers. New and old bonds were strengthened and our brokers even named it ‘The event of the year’. So most definitely one to repeat. We are looking forward to welcoming guests in 2023.

Image: HDI's Andrew Cochrane (left) with Broker Guests at Thredbo

Image: HDI Winter Forum 70's/80's Cellar Door Party

HDI activity across Australia

While there has been much activity in Sydney, our interstate offices are also out and about. In Victoria, HDI Melbourne welcomed guests to a Winter Warmer social evening at The Duke of Wellington, Melbourne's oldest licensed pub with a fabulous rooftop bar.

Our Queensland team caught up with key broker partners for a special work out session to get everyone moving through the colder months and unseasonable rain.

Over in Western Australia, HDI Perth returned to inperson events with a memorable Spice Masterclass in July. The colleagues in Perth also hosted a table as a series sponsor at the Success & Leadership Breakfast, a breakfast series that features leaders from Western Australian organisations. This time the event hosted guest speaker Kevin Brown, CEO at Perth Airport.

Image: HDI Team and broker partners in an F45 resilience work out

Image: HDI Team and Broker Guests at Business News Breakfast

The Perth HDI Office also had the opportunity to welcome visitors from the east side of Australia again. Willem van Wyk, Haris Michaels and I flew in from Sydney, while Alex Fox-Slater, Jamie Ashby and Justin Klietz joined from Melbourne as we commemorated HDI’s partnership with Lockton, the world's largest independent insurance brokerage.

It was a night filled with good food, great company and live music. Masterchef Australia contestant Jenny Lam not only catered the event with delicious Vietnamese food, but also shared her journey from appearing on Masterchef to opening two restaurants. Award-winning singer Ezereve also graced our event with acoustic renditions of pop songs, adding to the overall relaxed vibe of the night.

Image: David Gibbs and Stefan Feldmann

Image: MasterChef's Jenny Lam with Chelsea Co, HDI

HDI Team Development

I also have some great news for you in terms of team development. Our very own Elizabeth Williams was

named one of the Elite Women 2022 by the

Insurance Business Magazine.

Elizabeth Williams serves as head of people and culture at HDI Global SE in Australia, managing over 100 employees across five locations in the country and providing support to our Asia Pacific offices in Singapore and Hong Kong. She has been with HDI for almost 20 years, and has been key to creating a forward-thinking, solution-oriented culture and leadership globally. Read more about Liz here.

Two more highlights were that our Marine team were able to meet up with colleagues in Singapore for the HDI Asia Pacific Marine Conference.

Image: HDI Marine team with international colleagues in Singapore