Lee Robinson, MNZM (Chairman)

LLB

Lee joined the Abbott board in April 2018 as the independent Chairman following the merger of I C Frith & Associates with the Abbott Group of companies in January 2018, and offers a wealth of governance experience in a variety of commercial settings.

He is a founding partner of the Canterbury-based legal firm Saunders Robinson Brown, with extensive commercial and property law experience, and an interest and expertise in sports law.

Lee is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (for services to the community and sport); a director of Akaroa Health Ltd, a new integrated family health centre formed as a public-private partnership with the Canterbury District Health Board; and Chairman of the Canterbury Cricket Club, which played a significant role in the development of Hagley Oval into a first class international cricket ground.

He was also instrumental in establishing the Rainbow Children’s Trust in Christchurch, which was the Founding Sponsor of the Maia Health Foundation, donating $1.2 million in 2017 to launch the Foundation’s official fundraising campaign.

Robert Kelly

Robert is the Managing Director and CEO of Steadfast, the largest distributor of general insurance in Australia and New Zealand, and joined the Abbott board in July 2016.

He has more than 45 years’ experience in the insurance industry and co-founded Steadfast in 1996.  He led the company to a successful listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and Steadfast is now an ASX 200 company with a market capitalisation of over $1.5 billion.

Robert was the ‘Insurance Industry Leader of the Year’ at the 2011 Annual Australian Insurance Industry Awards and was named the second ‘Most Influential Person in the Insurance Industry’ in 2014 by Insurance News magazine.  He was one of the finalists in CEO Magazine’s 2015 ‘CEO of the Year Awards’, and a national finalist for the Eastern Region in the 2016 ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year’ programme. In March 2014, Robert was awarded the prestigious Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) ‘Rainmaker Award’.

Robert is a Director of various Steadfast subsidiaries, including the Steadfast Foundation, and is also a Director of the charity KidsXpress, and ACORD International representing the Asia Pacific region.

Allan Reynolds

Dip. Bus. Studies (Insurance), ANZIIF (Fellow), CIP

Allan joined the Abbott board in July 2016 representing the Steadfast Group Limited (Steadfast).  Sydney based, Allan is the Executive General Manager – Direct & New Zealand.

With a background in product development and distribution, corporate strategy and portfolio management, Allan has more than 40 years of industry experience in general insurance, including broking.

Allan joined Steadfast in 2002, and in April 2015 took on the Direct and New Zealand portfolios.  He is also an honorary member and board member of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF).

John O’Herlihy

John is the Executive General Manager – Operations & Acquisitions for the Steadfast Group and joined the Abbott board in January 2018 following the merger of Abbott Insurance Brokers and I C Frith & Associates.

A Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and Ireland, and KPMG trained, John has extensive experience in the insurance industry having held a number of senior finance roles in Australia and the United States.  His areas of expertise include mergers and acquisitions, and broker operational improvement.

He joined Steadfast in 2012 and was instrumental in its listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in July 2013, the second largest float of the year.

Anthony Jones

Anthony joined the Abbott board in July 2019 representing the management shareholders. He offers a comprehensive understanding of New Zealand’s insurance industry with experience and expertise in insurance broking, national account management, risk management and surveying, and underwriting.

He has held a variety of leadership and operational roles during his career.  Formerly the Managing Director of IC Frith (NZ), Anthony was appointed General Manager Operations following the merger with Abbott Group in 2018.  Prior to that, he worked for Vero, FAI Insurance, HIH Insurance and QBE Insurance.

Anthony is Chairman of the Brightside Group (formerly IC Frith Group) and the Managing Director of Brightside NZ.