Headquarters:
Sydney, Australia
Year founded:
1998
Number of employees:
100-200
Phone:
+61 2 8270 1400
Email:
+61 2 8270 1400
Website:
axaxl.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/axaxl
Catherine Carlyon
Country Manager, Australia
Scott Jerome
Head of Brooklyn
Julie Morgan
Head of Claims, Australia
Leadership
Appointed in July 2021 as country manager, Catherine Carlyon leads the overall insurance business and drives the company’s strategy in Australia, the third largest market by gross written premium for AXA XL’s APAC and Europe business unit.
Prior to this role, she was head of Asia-Pacific claims since 2017, responsible for all aspects of the claims organisation across the region. Previously, she was chief of staff for global claims and worked in global claims management for 11 years.
Carlyon joined AXA XL in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricanes, and one of her first responsibilities was to establish a more robust catastrophe response across the organisation, much of which still exists today.
A qualified chartered accountant, she spent 10 years with KPMG, accounting and consulting on organisational, finance and process matters with insurance companies. During this period, she lived and worked in the UK, Australia and the US. She also helped establish AXA XL’s inclusion committee in Australia, focused on promoting an inclusive and diverse workplace.
Carlyon holds a BA (Hons) in Biological Sciences from St. John’s College, Oxford. She is a beekeeper and is based in Sydney with her husband, Simon, and two children.
Country Manager, Australia
Catherine Carlyon
Scott Jerome was appointed head of Brooklyn Underwriting in 2022. Prior to this appointment, he was head of operations at AXA XL. He joined the company in January 2015, a few days after the announcement of the XL and Catlin merger.
Jerome started his career in credit control and went on to hold several operational and integration roles across a number of brokers and insurers in the UK, including a Lloyd’s syndicate start-up in 2001, prior to moving to Australia. The acquisition of XL Catlin by AXA is the eighth large-scale acquisition or merger that he has been involved in during his 30-year career in insurance.
Jerome’s leadership roles to date have focused on client experience, service excellence and operational transformation. He has a passion for the development of future talent and is dedicated to creating opportunities and pathways across the entire group. His involvement in the APAC mentor and mentee program has contributed to the personal and career success of a number of people in the company.
Head of Brooklyn
Scott Jerome
Julie Morgan joined AXA XL in May 2024 as head of claims for Australia, leading the claims team and driving the company’s claims strategic objectives in the market and in the business.
As a part of the APAC and Europe business unit, she works closely with the local leaders and country manager to execute AXA XL’s strategy. She studied and practised law, with her early career being in insurance litigation. She moved into corporate insurance claims over 20 years ago with international insurers, focusing initially on financial lines and property damage.
In 2018, Morgan moved into working across all general insurance claims lines of business, specialising in large and complex losses, including casualty, property and specialty. She is a big believer in knowledge sharing for the benefit of AXA XL’s clients and will be representing the company at industry and market events. She is also passionate about leading, coaching and mentoring future insurance professionals.
Head of Claims, Australia
Julie Morgan
Stephen Nguyen
Head of Distribution
Stephen Nguyen is head of distribution for AXA XL in Australia, leading engagement with key clients and prospects across the region. He transferred from Hong Kong, where he served as client management leader for Asia.
With over a decade of experience in client management, Nguyen has held leadership roles at Aon and Goodman Group, advising businesses on risk strategy, insurance program design and governance. He works closely with underwriting and global distribution teams to grow and deepen customer relationships.
Nguyen holds a Bachelor of Business in International Business and a Diploma of Insurance Broking and brings a strong commercial and client-focused mindset.
Head of Distribution
Stephen Nguyen
Cris White
Head of Resilience
Cris White is a seasoned cyber risk leader with a wealth of experience, spanning military planning, organisational risk, cyber security and business resilience. At Emergence, he leads the proactive cyber risk services and incident response functions, helping organisations mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from cyber incidents.
White’s mission is to make cyber resilience practical, accessible and actionable. He works with leaders and teams to understand their cyber risks, strengthen readiness, and build confidence in decision-making during disruption. Known for his calm judgement, strategic insight and tailored approach, White is a trusted advisor to organisations navigating an increasingly complex digital threat landscape.
Head of Resilience
Cris White
Blake Baxter
Head of Claims and Incident Response
Nikil Deo
Head of IT
Nealy Farshadi
Principal, Strategic Client Relations
David Sexton
Director Business Services
Blake Baxter is an insurance professional with over a decade of experience and a broad background in insurance, accounting and the legal profession. He is a cyber insurance specialist with extensive experience building an incident response and claims handling function.
He has worked in financial lines claims, including the professional indemnity, D&O and cyber sectors. Baxter has also worked in corporate insolvency, where his responsibilities included managing a broad financial line claims portfolio, liaising with defence counsel and brokers, refining company claims-handling policy, and overseeing large and complex losses.
He joined Emergence in March 2020 to build an in-house claims handling and incident response function. Having in-house incident response gives Emergence a competitive advantage, but more importantly, it provides a better response to insureds, enabling them to get back to their best lives faster.
Head of Claims and Incident Response
Blake Baxter
Nikil Deo brings over 20 years of technology and cyber experience in the financial services sector. His career has spanned the evolution from mainframe computing to today’s cloud ecosystem, providing him with deep insight into the changing cyber risk landscape.
As the leader of Emergence’s technology team, Deo drives the development of efficient, scalable solutions to support and advance internal operations. He also plays a key role in crafting innovative and smarter cyber solutions tailored to customers’ needs in an ever-evolving digital environment.
Deo and his team are leaving their fingerprint on Emergence’s technology ecosystem, contributing to the company’s vision and ensuring ongoing success in the cyber insurance sector.
Head of IT
Nikil Deo
Nealy Farshadi is instrumental in helping strengthen and grow B&R’s client relationships. She maintains and improves quality procedures, oversees B&R’s ISO certification, and manages the firm’s client feedback program. Her contributions enable the executive management team to act on client input effectively. As a result, B&R’s client feedback scores greatly exceed the average and continue to improve each year.
Farshadi also supports and furthers the growth of B&R and its employees by contributing to professional development within the organization and being a resource to staff.
Principal, Strategic Client Relations
Nealy Farshadi
As Director of Business Services, David oversees the financial, operational and commercial aspects of the School. In this role, he contributes to shaping and implementing strategic initiatives, supports business sustainability and enables the next phase of campus development, including the 10-year Master Plan and Strategic Plan (2026–2028).
He is an accomplished executive leader with over 25 years of experience at C-Suite and Board level spanning diverse sectors including education, not-for-profit, disability, sport and professional services. He has extensive experience shaping and executing strategic plans, driving income growth and diversification, master planning and major capital projects, stakeholder engagement, leading high-performing teams and managing complex budgets.
Director Business Services
David Sexton
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Manager – Claims
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Product Manager
Claire Watson
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Commercial Manager
Stephen McMillan
“Having close connections with our parents, staff and community, is integral to a rich learning environment. When we work together, we can achieve amazing things”
Karen Yager,
Hills Grammar
“I believe that students learn in a supportive environment with passionate and inspiring teachers and staff. We surround our students with positive creative and inspiring people, enthusiastic about their own learning and keen to immerse students in the spirit of life-long learning across the whole community”
Karen Yager,
Hills Grammar
AXA XL’s business is protecting our customers, people and businesses alike, so that they can pursue their lives and ventures with peace of mind. AXA XL is the commercial line division of AXA and is the number one P&C commercial line insurance platform globally.
In Australia, through our AXA XL and Brooklyn brands, we offer solutions for clients ranging from SMEs and the midmarket to large complex risks, global programs and captive solutions. We cover property and casualty, including environmental liability; financial lines and cyber; and marine and specialty lines, including political risk and trade credit, fine art, crisis management and parametric solutions.
Our award-winning local claims team and risk consulting experts are on hand when you need them, and we are able to tap into support from AXA XL and the AXA Group for expertise, if needed, to meet client needs.
Learning designed for educators
The centrepiece of Hills Grammar’s approach to staff development is its Professional Learning Model, led by director of professional learning Dr. Chris Furner. Grounded in adult learning pedagogies, aligned with the school’s strategic intent and staff profile and standards, the model deliberately moves away from compliance-driven professional development towards something more meaningful. This is delivered as learning that is authentic, research-based and tailored to where each educator is in their career journey.
Supporting this is the Learning Centre Staff Program, which creates structured opportunities for staff to share practice, reflect on their work and learn from one another. Mentoring, leadership development and action research opportunities are embedded throughout, making professional growth a continuous and collegial practice rather than a periodic obligation. It is a model that reflects Hills Grammar’s commitment to investing in the people responsible for delivering its educational vision.
Future-forward leadership
The school’s commitment to its team extends to how Hills Grammar approaches leadership. Working in partnership with the governing council, school leaders maintain a shared focus on developing what the school describes as a ‘future fit’ graduate and the workforce equipped to teach them. Innovation is encouraged, and the culture is one where academic ambition and professional development are seen as inseparable.
Wellbeing in a remarkable setting
Staff also benefit from complimentary wellbeing programs, a genuine commitment to work-life balance and access to an Employee Assistance Program. Additionally, for educators who value a workplace where the physical environment itself is part of the daily experience, Hills Grammar’s picturesque campus offers a setting that is as restorative as it is inspiring.
There is also a proactive approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), such that employees are informed and educated through integrated professional learning frameworks. Hills Grammar is proud to be actively shaping bold thinkers, and in turn empowering the people who teach them.
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