I did it my way | The interview
Right: A friendly and increasingly familiar sight.
success BY SASHA WESTWOOD A
part from lovable larrikin Paul 'The Chief' Harragon grinning down from the shiny marketing posters, there is nothing inside any one of the nib branches around the country that hints of its humble
Newcastle beginnings. However, it was in a small office at BHP Steelworks' regional
Mayfield headquarters where the Newcastle Industrial Benefits (nib) Fund was first established in 1952. Since then the private health insurance provider has grown
from just seven persons covered to more than 800,000 Australia-wide. Appealing to the health conscious under-40s market has been
key to nib's success in recent years, with the health fund writing policies for almost a quarter of the competitive age bracket in the 2010–2011 financial year. "That was definitely part of our strategy, in both marketing,
distribution and product design," says nib Group Financial Controller, Glenn Treadwell. The strategy appears to be paying off: last financial year, the
company reported a six per cent lift in profits, with premium revenue reaching $1 billion. Growth in customers during the same period was almost double the health insurance industry average of 3.2 per cent.
24 George www.stgeorge.com.au/george
Glenn Treadwell, Group Financial Controller, nib Group
Steel town story
Established by a group of employees at Newcastle's BHP Steelworks in 1952, nib is now one of Australia's most recognisable private health insurance brands. Glenn Treadwell, nib health fund's Group Financial Controller, talks about how the company has grown from a small regional company into a billion-dollar brand.
