Departing Chair Tony Cleland reflects on his time on FMG’s Board.
It has been an absolute pleasure to be part of the FMG Board for the last 16 years and Chair for the last six, and a privilege to be part of the FMG family. As I look back, what I am most proud of during my time has been the growth in scale of the business and the development of a thriving culture within FMG. The business has grown from $150m Gross Written Premium to $600m and from 32% market share in rural to 55%. Our employee and client satisfaction has hit world best standards.
My time, however, has not been without its challenges – we’ve dealt with the Global Financial Crisis fallout, the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes, a global pandemic as well as a number of weather catastrophes. Just this year Cyclone Gabrielle will be the largest event in FMG’s history with more claims than the two earthquakes combined. We are here as we always are for rural New
Zealand in their hour of need.
This year has seen certainly the biggest response in our history. I am extremely proud of how our entire team stepped up to help deal with the massive devastation our clients suffered. Even though if you are an impacted client the response would never be quick enough or take away the stress caused. In terms of FMG’s response we’re ahead of the industry and ahead of the earthquake response rate. That is something we can all be proud of.
I am leaving feeling extremely comfortable with the Board and management teams in place as I depart. Adam has done an amazing job of guiding the team through a very tough year and has plenty of ideas for future improvements.
As I am retiring from FMG at the conclusion of the 2023 AGM, the Board has been actively engaged in identifying my successor as Chair. The current Board is overwhelmingly in support of Sarah von Dadelszen succeeding me as the Chair; noting this will be subject to confirmation by the Board post the AGM. It is with some sadness I depart the Board but it is the right time for a change. I leave knowing in my heart that FMG is well set up for the next 118 years.
Ngā mihi
Tony Cleland
FMG Member Director
