Headquarters:

Level 3, 4-6 Bligh Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Year founded:

2015

Number of employees:

Phone:

1300 799 562

Email:

info@emergenceinsurance.com.au

Website:

emergenceinsurance.com

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/emergenceinsurance

Troy Filipcevic

Founder and CEO

Jeff Gonlin

Chief Underwriting Officer

Tim Barratt

Chief Operating Officer

Leadership

Troy Filipcevic is the founder and CEO of Emergence, a specialist underwriting agency focused on delivering innovative cyber insurance solutions. Since founding Emergence in 2015, Filipcevic has led the company’s growth into a market leader across Australia and New Zealand, with expansion into the United States. His mission has been to provide organisations with comprehensive cyber protection through a combination of extensive coverage, real-time risk management services, 24/7 in-house incident response and cyber advisory services. Prior to Emergence, Filipcevic held executive leadership roles at Suncorp and worked as a strategy and innovation consultant at Deloitte. Under his leadership, Emergence has transformed the cyber insurance market, offering smarter solutions and setting new standards for cyber risk management.

Founder and CEO

Troy Filipcevic

Jeff Gonlin began his insurance career in 1980 in the US, underwriting a full spectrum of casualty business. After gaining extensive experience internationally, Gonlin sought a fresh and fun opportunity. He joined Emergence in 2016, drawn by the dynamic field of cyber insurance and Emergence’s innovative approach. As the chief underwriting officer at Emergence, Gonlin’s mission is to assess and manage cyber risks, shaping and growing the organisation while navigating the dynamic risk landscape. He is leaving his “fingerprints” on the products Emergence is developing, playing a crucial role in realising Emergence’s vision and ensuring the company’s ongoing success in the cyber insurance sector.

Chief Underwriting Officer

Jeff Gonlin

Tim Barratt has been part of Emergence Insurance’s journey since its early days, playing a key role in shaping the operational and underwriting frameworks that support the business today. With more than a decade of experience specialising in cyber insurance, Barratt has held a range of roles across underwriting, technology and operations, giving him a well-rounded understanding of the cyber insurance landscape. Throughout his time at Emergence, he has helped drive innovation across the business, strengthening the company's technology capabilities and leading the development of its broking and underwriting platforms. As chief operating officer, Barratt leads operational strategy, underwriting security relationships and compliance, supporting the continued growth and evolution of Emergence’s global cyber offering for brokers and policyholders.

Chief Operating Officer

Tim Barratt

Katrina Hickson

Head of Distribution

Katrina Hickson brings two decades of experience to the insurance industry. As the current head of distribution at Emergence Insurance, Hickson leverages her strategic insights and ability to foster strong broker relationships to support the business development team, driving strategic growth and enhancing customer satisfaction. Hickson’s career also includes a notable tenure as the senior manager of specialist operations at BOQ, where she spearheaded broker and client-focused projects aimed at improving systems and processes, ensuring high-quality service delivery and optimising operational and sales efficiency.

Head of Distribution

Katrina Hickson

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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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.

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Claire Watson

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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

Emergence Insurance is an award-winning underwriting agency specialising in cyber insurance and digital risk solutions for businesses across Australia and New Zealand. As a dedicated cyber specialist, Emergence helps organisations navigate cyber risk with confidence – supporting them before, during and after a cyber incident. Through a connected model combining cyber insurance, cyber risk services and incident response, Emergence delivers practical protection and expert support when it matters most. Emergence provides clear and comprehensive cyber insurance solutions designed to protect organisations from the financial, operational, commercial and reputational impact of cyber events. Policies are supported by embedded cyber risk services and resilience tools that help organisations reduce risk exposure, improve preparedness and strengthen cyber resilience over time. A key differentiator is Emergence’s integrated 24/7 in-house incident response capability. Its expert cyber response team works alongside insureds to contain incidents quickly, minimise disruption and support faster recovery when cyber events occur. Innovation continues to drive the Emergence approach as digital risks evolve. Alongside its cyber insurance solutions for businesses, Emergence provides IT liability insurance, a specialised insurance solution designed exclusively for IT service providers. Emergence also offers personal cyber insurance solutions for families and individuals navigating an increasingly connected digital world. With a team of experienced specialists and a customer-first mindset, Emergence combines deep cyber expertise with practical support and forward-thinking solutions. Its focus on simplicity and accessibility has made Emergence a trusted partner for brokers, businesses and families across Australia and New Zealand.

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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