Emma Thomas has been CEO of Achmea Farm Insurance in Australia since April 2017. She leads the Executive Leadership Team and oversees Strategy and People and Culture, with a clear focus on Achmea’s mission: keeping farmers farming. Under her leadership, the specialist agricultural insurer has grown from a start up challenger into a major player in the Australian market, with consistent double digit growth.
Emma grew up in New Zealand with strong farming roots, from her grandparents’ Merino sheep farm in Central Otago to her parents’ deer and sheep farm in Riverton, Southland. She spent a lot of time helping on the farm while studying and starting her career in accounting and insurance. Before moving to Australia, she and her husband also raised their children on a small sheep and horse lifestyle farm on the Kapiti Coast.
She studied commerce at the University of Otago and began her career in audit at a big four firm in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. She later held an executive role at an IT solutions company, then spent a decade in senior leadership at FMG (Farmers Mutual Group) before joining Achmea. She now lives in Sydney with her husband and two children.
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Leaders in Finance is made possible by the support of EY, Mogelijk Vastgoedfinancieringen, and Lepaya. More information about our partners is available at our partner page.
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Books mentioned in this episode:
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Belonging by Owen Eastwood
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The conversations from Leaders in Finance are transcribed to make the podcast accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as to those who prefer reading over listening: Emma Thomas (transcript)
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Previous guests on the Leaders in Finance podcast include: Klaas Knot (President DNB), Frank Elderson (Executive Board, ECB), Roland Boekhout (CEO ASN Bank), Gerrit Zalm (former Minister of Finance and former CEO of ABN AMRO), Ingrid de Swart (member of the Executive Board, a.s.r.), Pinar Abay (Management Board ING, Head of Retail Banking), Robert Swaak (CEO ABN AMRO), Marcel Zuidam (CEO NN Bank), Saul van Beurden (CEO Consumer, Small & Business Banking, Wells Fargo), David Knibbe (CEO NN Group), Janine Vos (Executive Board, Rabobank), Nadine Klokke (CEO Knab), Maarten Edixhoven (CEO Van Lanschot Kempen), Jeroen Rijpkema (CEO Triodos Bank), Nout Wellink (former President DNB), Onno Ruding (former minister of finance), Yoram Schwarz (CEO Movir), Laura van Geest (Executive Board, AFM), Katja Kok (CEO Van Lanschot CH), Ali Niknam (CEO bunq), Nick Bortot (CEO BUX), Petri Hofsté (supervisory board member, including at Rabobank and Achmea), Peter Paul de Vries (CEO Value8), Barbara Baarsma (CEO Rabo Carbon Bank), Jan van Rutte (C supervisory board member, including at Rabobank and Achmea), Marguerite Soeteman-Reijne (Chair Aon Holdings), Lidwin van Velden (CEO Nederlandse Waterschapsbank), Jan-Willem van der Schoot (CEO Mastercard NL), Joanne Kellermann (Chair PFZW), Steven Maijoor (former Chair ESMA), Radboud Vlaar (CEO Finch Capital), Jos Baeten (CEO a.s.r.), Karin van Baardwijk (CEO Robeco), Annette Mosman (CEO APG).
