CASE STUDIES

Tower Insurance (New Zealand)

Enabling a Digital Challenger Brand Transformation

Challenge: After a blocked Suncorp takeover, Tower Insurance (NZ) had to restart its stalled ‘digital challenger’ transformation. With two prior failed investments, the Board was wary of further funding without clear governance and execution leadership. Unfinalised agreements with two international systems providers added complexity. 

Services: Program Leadership | Program Re-design & Planning | Investment Case | Stakeholder Engagement | Supplier Procurement & Management (2017-2019) 

Engagement: Stuart was engaged to restart the program, leveraging deep expertise in complex transformations requiring strategic clarity, stakeholder alignment, and disciplined execution. His structured yet adaptive leadership record was required to restored delivery confidence. 

Solution: Following a Strategy and Investment Case refresh, the Program re-launched with a clear roadmap. Stuart established management of two offshore providers—one using a novel legal feature he co-designed with external legal counsel—ensuring smooth procurement and delivery management across 17-hour time zones. 

His leadership sustained team energy, accountability, and knowledge-sharing over two years. The Program balanced commercial oversight, execution discipline, and capability uplift to embed lasting digital and people transformation. 

Despite a second takeover offer causing some delays, the team maintained focus, designing and delivering a mature, sustainable business-led change capability. 

Key Outcomes: 

• Program objectives met— noting ‘takeover’ impact minimised 

• Strengthened digital and change capabilities for ongoing transformation 

• Improved governance and execution framework and relationships 

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QSuper (Superannuation) & QInsure (Insurance)

De-merger & New Entity Customer Experience Program

Challenge: A regulatory requirement to de-merge QSuper’s insurance offerings into an independent entity presented a significant compliance and customer service challenge whilst separating complex, insufficiently documented processes, shared services, and systems. It was imperative that staff were appropriately engaged and supported, and QSuper members continuing to receiving high-quality insurance products and services. 

Services: Program Leadership | Program Design & Planning | Investment Case | Stakeholder Engagement | Supplier Procurement & Management 

Engagement: Stuart was engaged to lead the Program, leveraging his expertise in large-scale financial services business transformations needing significant stakeholder engagement, commercial acumen, and delivery discipline. His record of aligning delivery teams and stakeholders to drive momentum in complex situations, and embed structured yet adaptive governance, was vital. 

Solution: A pragmatic, Agile program delivery approach was implemented for a time-constrained delivery of the compliance and technical elements of the de-merger.  

A plan with an investment case was accepted to re-design and enhance staff capabilities and QInsure’s support for elevating customer experiences across a range of insured situations. The resulting ‘Human-Centred Design’ insights and principles informed improved role and process designs, training, and procurement of new customer and claims management platforms.  

Stuart’s leadership and delivery mindset ensured sustained energy, accountability, and knowledge-sharing across teams, driving core execution delivery and value. His commercial innovation skills also led to implementation of new tactical process solutions including process automation to 'give time back' to people. 

Key Outcomes: 

• Regulatory, governance, and operational objectives redefined and achieved 

• Minimal disruptions to customers, staff, and stakeholders during transition 

• Enhanced internal capabilities for ongoing customer experience uplifts 

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QBuild & Public Works

(In Partnership with Buchanan Success Coaching)

‘Everest’ Leadership Development Program

Challenge: QBuild, a Queensland Government commercialised business, plays a critical role in building and maintaining government-owned assets. As part of strategy to improve service performance and customer ROI, QBuild acknowledge the need to enhance its leader education to support internal transformation and a rapidly expanding trade-qualified workforce.  

Services: Executive Leadership Development | Program Delivery Advisory (2023-2025) 

Engagement: Stuart partnered with John Buchanan, former Head Coach of the world-dominating Australian Cricket Team and principal of Buchanan Success Coaching, to co-design and deliver the ‘Everest Leaders Program’. Combining John’s elite coaching expertise with Stuart’s extensive transformation leadership and experience in coaching elite athletes transitioning beyond sport, the Program provided a uniquely adaptive approach to leadership and business performance. 

Solution: The ‘Everest’ Program is a 12 month blended interaction ‘development and doing’ initiative that aligns individual, team, and business objectives with high-performance leadership principles—helping leaders define their own ‘Everest’, their ‘Personal Best Day’, and other features that enhance the skills, mindset, and execution focus to achieve ‘high-performance’. 

The Program modes include 1:1 coaching; Workshops and Masterclasses; Meeting Performance Enhancement; WalkingMeetings; Leader and Team Shadowing; etc. 

Key Outcomes: 

• Strategic clarity and alignment on leadership and business models 

• Specific individual and team performance capabilities and measures 

• Leadership ‘muscle’ being cascaded further into the business 

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Victorian Building Authority ('VBA')

Innovative Regulatory Operational Model Uplift

Challenge: The Victorian Building Authority (‘VBA’) is Victoria’s building & construction regulator. Given rapidly increasing building demands & operational complexities, the VBA needed to respond urgently to consumer, industry, & government calls for greater regulation efficiency & effectiveness.

Services: Stakeholder Engagement (government & industry); Operational Performance Review; Executive Engagement in Strategic Design; Program Prioritisation & Definition; Program Delivery Design

Key Resolution Features: We drew on behavioural economics & an example from Australian Customs to reimagine & recast the VBA’s role & operating model. The ‘Green Channel’ concept model emphasised that most regulated industry participants, suitably aware of their obligations, would perform to standards required. Therefore, the VBA could more effectively focus its budget & efforts on ‘Amber’ support & ‘Red’ recidivists. Consequently, all 'positive actors' contributed to designing a healthier industry.

Key Outcomes: VBA, industry, & government alignment on preferred operating model - noting feedback from industry bodies that 'we have not been engaged like this before'.

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Suncorp Group (Post-Merger with Promina Group)

'One Team' Program: Post-merger Integration & Optimisation Recovery

Challenge: Suncorp’s acquisition of Promina’s insurance businesses brought added cost and complexity from the six employment agreements and multiple HR systems (eg payroll, policies, reward, etc) for its 15,000 Australian employees.  

Services: Program Leadership | Program Re-design & Planning | Investment Case Refresh | Stakeholder Engagement | Supplier Procurement & Management 

After six months, the ‘One Team’ integration program lacked alignment, engagement, and execution momentum—draining resources and risking failure, which was unacceptable to the Group CEO. 

Engagement: Coming off successful delivery of another Suncorp initiative, Stuart was engaged as Program Manager. His proven leadership, engagement style, and commercial acumen were critical. 

Solution: An initial stage resulted in the Program being replanned and structured into 11 focused projects, each supported by pragmatic, high-tempo (i.e. Agile-oriented but 'cut to suit') ways of working for 18 months.  

Given the incredible importance of progress towards the objectives, not to mention the inherent sensitivities (including from unions) of payroll and performance systems, progress was led and governed very closely by the Suncorp CEO and executives.  

Stuart’s leadership and agile mindset drove energy, accountability, and knowledge sharing across all leaders and teams to ensure high performance delivery and an enjoyable team environment. 

Key Outcomes: 

• Simplified, unified people agreement, culture, and systems 

• Program delivered on time and under budget (by $1m) 

• Enterprise-level Agile behaviours for ongoing transformation 

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Suncorp Insurance & Suncorp Insurance Ventures

Supply Chain & Partnering Transformation

Services: Program Design & Planning; Investment Case; Program Leadership; Stakeholder & Partner Engagement

Challenge: A Suncorp strategic review concluded that harnessing its scale could transform its motor claims & repair model from a repair parts ‘price-taker’ to being a supply chain influencer. Success would mitigate premium increases & increase Suncorp’s profitability.

Key Resolution Features: The Program drew on ‘big data’ & procurement specialists to investigate the supply chain of original & ‘grey’ parts, & the viability of ‘harvested’ parts from Suncorp’s 60,000 vehicles written off annually. This included determining warranty & insurance policy implications. A joint venture was made with a large US parts business, policy wording modified, & engagements formed with local repair businesses.

Key Outcomes: Data capability & business model improved; Cost inflation mitigated.

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Interleasing UK (A GMAC Subsidiary)

A Humanised Digital & Operating Model Transformation

Services: Digital Transformation Strategy; Program Design & Leadership; Stakeholder & Partner Engagement

Challenge: Following acquisition by automotive finance giant GMAC, this UK full-service leasing business (600 staff, 75,000 vehicles) needed to strengthen legacy IT capabilities that were inefficient in meeting customer needs (typically medium to large businesses).

Key Resolution Features:Prompted & implemented a ‘humanised’ digital operating model transformation - from being ‘in the automotive business’ to  ‘expert information management’ (ie. of vehicle life cycle & customers’ staff salary implications). Led uplift of IT Team skills & culture, renewal of platforms, engagement with new digital partners, & participation with the Sales Team in key new & existing customer account engagements.

Key Outcomes: Operating model transformed; Staff & customer outcomes uplifted.

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Suncorp Insurance – Commercial Building Repair Network

Post-merger Scale & Partnering Transformation

Services: Strategic Clarity; Program Design, Investment Case, & Leadership; Stakeholder & Partner Engagement

Challenge: Suncorp, as Australia's second largest insurer, gained an opportunity from its Promina acquisition to achieve significant commercial building repair efficiencies & customer outcome improvements – from Queensland to nationally.

Key Resolution Features: Initial ‘translation’ of an international consulting firm’s recommendations. A ‘deep dive’ on the data. Utilised a national construction partner to advise the approach, RFP, & implementation of a national commercial building assessor & repairer panel. Worked with Suncorp’s legal, processes & systems teams to implement capabilities covering claim lifecycle workflows & stakeholder experiences.

Key Outcomes: Strategic clarity; Capabilities uplift delivery; Customer experience uplift.

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