Stuart Blake
Managing Director & Founder
Stuart has over 30 years’ experience in Financial Services and has been a Chief Executive at IAG Australia’s largest insurer and Chief Executive at Wesfarmers Insurance accountable for brands including NRMA, RACV, SGIO, SGIC, Berkshire Hathaway, Myer, Steadfast, CGU, Bing Lee, JB-HIFI, Myer, WFI and Coles Insurance.
He has led start-ups and large mature businesses with revenues exceeding $4B and market shares exceeding 40%. He has delivered significant growth and profit outcomes through market leading customer and employee advocacy.
At Wesfarmers, Australia’s largest conglomerate with 200,000 employees, Stuart was Chief Executive of Coles Insurance; the quickest international insurance start-up to reach 200,000 and then 400,000 customers. This Insurtech disruptor was ground-breaking and the most successful non-traditional insurance brand in Australia.
EXPERTISE
Stuart has transformed large scale operations with over 2,000 employees, been accountable for 4 start-ups totalling $1B in revenue and has extensive P&L, pricing and underwriting, distribution, strategic, risk and compliance and distribution experience including call centres, BPO, digital, branches and agencies.
Stuart has also completed an Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School and has been on the board of numerous Financial Services businesses. He chairs an Australian owned fintech operating in North America.
CO FOUNDING A NEW CHALLENGER MODEL
Stuart also believes, as do many other business leaders, that the traditional consulting model is broken and is rapidly losing relevance in this changing world.
He decided to walk the talk, co-founding the Bridge International, a new advisory team of like-minded, experienced executives, who shared his leadership and transformation philosophy and wanted to disrupt the traditional consulting model.
BEST VALUE FOR MONEY
Stuart and David have deliberately set up The Bridge International as a challenger advisory service, providing the best value for money to their clients.
In addition to the low overhead model, the Bridge does not rely on high margins to pay all the consulting Partners a share of the fees for the engagement, irrespective of whether they work on the project or not.
This model allows The Bridge to bring in more experienced and credentialed consultants than incumbent firms. The client pays for who they get, as well as practical solutions that the team know can be implemented.
TRANSFORMATION THROUGH PEOPLE
His passion and expertise is leadership, cultural and business transformation through a people first approach, working with boards, executives and other key stakeholder to deliver the organisational purpose (and help employees realise their full potential)
He believes that highly engaged people, in the right culture, is critical to deliver the customer experience outcomes that, in turn, deliver to commercial targets of the organisation. He started his career in the front line and believes you build business through great teams. As a leader, he continues to take a consultative, present and highly connected approach with every level of organisation.
FAST TRACKED PROBLEM SOLVING
As a group of practitioners, not career consultants, Stuart and The Bridge are able to fast track problem solving and execution of solutions, further reducing the cost of their engagement.
A TRUSTED ADVISOR
Over the last two years, Stuart has become a trusted advisor, supported by his team, to several high profile blue chip, start up and not-for-profit clients in Australia and overseas, including RAA, SwissRe, icare, EML, Lifeline, Kohab, Black and White and The Claims Bridge International.
