The past, the present, and the future - celebrating 60 years of Guild

Ever since Alan Russell’s conversation with a distressed hairdresser planted a seed that gave birth to Guild Insurance 60 years ago, the company has been committed to delivering a positive outcome initially for Australian pharmacists and now for a broad spectrum of health care and community services professionals. Whilst we may not get this right every time, our focus remains on making good on this commitment, making amends if needed and learning from each experience to improve each aspect of how we deliver on the commitments we make.

My journey to Guild Group CEO started from my passion for surfing which saw me attend a cyclone modelling presentation at an insurance conference early in my career. Some of Australia’s best surf occurs when a cyclone nestles into a cradling high-pressure cell off the Queensland coast, and I thought if I could understand the phenomenon of cyclones, it might just help me get more good days of surf. These were the days before the internet made this information freely available to anybody with a phone. This interest in cyclones progressed into a developing interest in the world of insurance.

One of my first realisations of insurance was the huge gap that existed between the important role that insurance plays in protecting everything that matters to people and the mistrust toward insurance companies to deliver on their promises. Like any product, you get what you pay for. The complexity of an insurance contract makes it too easy to sell a promise and a cheap premium that doesn’t deliver when called upon due to cleverly crafted ‘fine print’ that carves out cover commensurate with the low premium. I admire all those that came before me at Guild Insurance for choosing a different path.

Over its 60 years, Guild Insurance has worked alongside each of the professions we serve to design a product and level of service that balances premium affordability with the cover and claim service their members deserve. Over my time I've sought to build on this legacy and inspire trust by doing what we say we will do and using our customers feedback as the true measure of whether we are getting this right.

An important part of being a CEO is providing direction and confidence by charting a course through the uncertainty and perils that inevitably come along. I came into the role just after the appointment of both Trent Twomey as National President of the PGA and Andrew Bloore as Chairman of Guild Group. These two are formidable forces in their own right, but when combined, their visionary thinking creates a strong mandate to realise the potential of the Guild Group and support the pharmacy profession as it pursues its mission to improve the health and wellbeing of the broader community.

This mandate, guided by our approach of inspiring trust, has led to monumental growth as more professionals seek to partner with us. As we’ve expanded, we’ve stayed true to our niche to ensure we deliver with care and diligence.

Looking forward there are both challenges and opportunities. The pharmacy landscape is rapidly evolving and the inherent tensions within the public/private partnership that is at the Australian industry’s core will continue to drive changes aimed at bringing more affordable medicines and care to the community. This inevitably creates pressure on the pharmacy sector which can only be faced with a focus on innovation and adaptability and of course a peak body in the PGA to press for fair and reasonable sequencing of changes. A healthy Guild Group, financially supporting the PGA and supporting pharmacies with new products and services that are unique to and trusted by pharmacies and their customers is a critical part of this solution.

As the Guild Group pursues this challenge, we will remain motivated by our desire to inspire trust and driven by the energies of our people. Through their dedication, loyalty, and spirit of collaboration they continue to lay the foundation for a proud and ongoing legacy. I am confident that this legacy will be appreciated for the positive and meaningful impact we have on the lives of the people we serve for many more decades to come.