People and Talent Development Advisory Council (PATDAC)

People and Talent Development Advisory Council (PATDAC) contributes to the achievement of professional excellence by providing a forum for discussion and debate about current industry trends and training needs for the insurance and finance sectors.

The Chair of the Board is Catherine Dixon.
Catherine Dixon

Catherine Dixon

EGM People Experience

Suncorp New Zealand

Catherine Dixon

EGM People Experience

Suncorp New Zealand

Catherine has been part of the Suncorp Group for the last 15 years, joining Vero in March 2013 as the Executive General Manager Human Resources. 

Catherine is accountable for the development, implementation and management of the People Strategy which supports the business objectives of Vero New Zealand and aligns to the Group’s overarching People Strategy. 

Previously Catherine was the Executive Manager Human Resources & Communication for Suncorp Life New Zealand. 

In 1999, Catherine joined the Life business of Royal & SunAlliance and supported the significant change to the business during her tenure including the acquisition and divestment of a number of businesses. Prior to joining the Suncorp Group, Catherine worked for IAG in both business and HR roles for 13 years.
Angela_Hornby

Angela Hornby

Director – Capability & Strategy

Sedgwick

Angela Hornby

Director – Capability & Strategy

Sedgwick

Angela joined Sedgwick in January 2022 with over 20 years’ experience in People & Culture across financial services, telecommunications, not-for-profit and assistance services. 

Previously Angela has held executive and specialist leadership roles in Organisational Development, Human Resources and Corporate Operations. 

Angela is currently Director – Capability and Strategy, leading Sedgwick University Australia’s development and growth of colleagues, industry capability advancement, and enterprise project 

Kovacs_Amanda

Amanda Kovacs

Manager Learning and Governance

IAG

Amanda Kovacs

Manager Learning and Governance

IAG

 Amanda is the Manager Learning and Governance at Insurance Australia Group (IAG). Amanda is an L&D and HR professional passionate about developing people with 20+ years experience gained from various roles across Financial Services, Human Resources, Professional Services Industries and Group Training and Registered Training Organisations.

Amanda joined IAG in 2012 and her engaging, collaborative and practical approach to supporting business learning needs sees her managing the IAG LMS and quality governance of learning program administration, accountable for streamlining learning operations whilst ensuring a consistent and effective learning experience for the people of IAG.

Prior to her commencement with IAG, Amanda spent eight years working in a Registered Training Organisation and Group Training Organisation managing the delivery and assessment of Financial Services and Business Services training and associated Traineeship Programs to multiple Financial Services and Professional Services companies across Australia . Amanda holds a Diploma in Management, qualifications in Humans Resources, Training and Assessment and Financial Services and is a mum to two teens in high-school.

Amanda is also passionate about Community Involvement and Netball, seeing her volunteer and mentor with partnering Community Organisations through IAG and as the Secretary and Public Officer on her local Netball Club Committee.
Stephen Meyer

Stephen Meyer

Compliance Manager – Training

Hollard Insurance Australia

Stephen Meyer

Compliance Manager – Training

Hollard Insurance Australia

Stephen’s career and experience spans over 45 years in financial services and the general insurance industry holding roles in all facets of the industry.
 
He currently holds the role of Compliance Manager – Training at Hollard Insurance Australia, one of Australia’s top 5 insurers. Previous job roles include Risk, Compliance and Training Manager, Operations Manager, Personal Lines Underwriting Manager, Commercial and Motor Underwriting Superintendent and L&D Consultant involved in all facets of training at both a national and regional level and in particular the areas of technical and compliance training.
 
Stephen’s contributions to the industry have included serving on various industry discussion groups including the Sydney Motor Underwriters Group (SMUG) and the Domestic Underwriters Group and has been a committee member of PATDAC since its inception in 2004 when it was previously known as the Corporate Members Advisory Committee, CMAC. He has also provided subject matter expert services to ANZIIF as a member for over 40 years.
 
Stephen has also previously held a part time teaching role for 17 years at TAFE NSW’s Western Sydney Institute focussing on the design and delivery of their Cert III, Cert IV, and Diploma of General Insurance (which included ASIC’s Tier 2 and Tier 1 units of competency) programs. He also provides facilitation, subject matter expert and assessing/tutoring services to Kaplan Australia.
 
Stephen currently holds a Diploma of General Insurance, a TAE40110 Cert IV in Training and Assessment, and is a current Senior Associate and Certified Insurance Professional (CIP) with ANZIIF.

Melissa

Melissa Trede

Capability Specialist

Elders Insurance/QBE

Melissa Trede

Capability Specialist

Elders Insurance/QBE

Mel brings over 20 years of experience in HR Business Partnering, Organisational Development, and large-scale change projects culminating in her current role as Head of Agency Capability at Elders Insurance owned by QBE. Mel is currently responsible for leading the design and delivery of learning and development solutions across the Elders Insurance network, and for cultivating a workplace culture in which every member can thrive. Prior to joining QBE in 2019, Mel held roles in Commercial Property working with executive leaders on operating model transformation projects, as Head of HR for ING Real Estate Investment Management Asia, and a variety of roles over 9 years at Deutsche Bank where she was involved in service-centre setup in India, HR process redesign in Singapore and Germany, and Reward, Global Mobility and Generalist HR roles in Australia.   

Mel holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Graduate Diploma in Psychology, a Graduate Certificate in Change Management, a Cert IV and Diploma in Workplace and Business Coaching, and a strong belief in the value of learning-on-the-job. Being relatively new to insurance and very pleasantly surprised by this fascinating and rapidly evolving industry, Mel’s newest passion is to expand awareness of the rich and wonderful career opportunities insurance has to offer. Outside the office, there’s a good chance you’ll find Mel on a yoga mat, hiking, grappling with German grammar, or enjoying a glass of South Australian red.

 
Rod Winders

Rod Winders

Master of Education in Digital Learning

Bachelor of Vocational Education and Training

Rod Winders

Master of Education in Digital Learning

Bachelor of Vocational Education and Training

Rod commenced in the general insurance industry as the National Training & Development Manager for Elders Insurance in August 2004 and moved into the role of QBE Group Senior Compliance Officer in September 2018 with QBE’s global Risk and Compliance team, supporting the QBE global compliance framework, across all divisional compliance and L&D teams. Rod currently consults and provides Instructional Design services with ANZIIF.

Rod has been a committee member of PATDAC since its inception in October 2004 as the Corporate Members Advisory Committee, CMAC. Rod served on ANZIIF’s SA Branch Executive Committee for 3 years, leading to his ongoing membership of the SA Charity Luncheon Committee.

Rod’s qualifications include, Master of Education in Digital Learning, Bachelor of Vocational Education and Training, Diploma in Adult Education, and a Diploma in Financial Services.

 
Lloyd_Linda

Linda Lloyd

Manager Claims Learning and Development

RAA

Linda Lloyd

Manager Claims Learning and Development

RAA

With over two decades of experiences across the financial services industry, Linda has successfully navigated through various roles. Her expertise lies in learning and development, wellbeing and coaching which she has passionately pursued in recent years.

Linda is a lifelong learner and embraces the chance to acquire new skills and abilities, and her true joy lies in sharing her knowledge with others. Linda’s ultimate goal is to empower individuals to unlock their full potential and achieve success.
 

People and Talent Development Advisory Council (PATDAC) contributes to the achievement of professional excellence by providing a forum for discussion and debate about current industry trends and training needs for the insurance and finance sectors.

The Chair of the Board is Catherine Dixon.