Jane Power - Executive Manager

On life insurance . . . and life in general.

When customers are entrusting you with their financial welfare in an already nervous financial market, you can expect to be in high daily demand.

Even more so when you have two young daughters who need rides to school and preschool in the morning, rides home, storybooks, quality time with mum and baths before bed, and all other requirements of energetic under fives.

Jane Power, Executive Manager of life insurance business Direct Life, says the key to balancing her work and home life effectively is to not compartmentalise the two roles.

"Treat it as one and you will achieve more of everything," she says

"My work is pretty demanding, so I am lucky that I am generally supported to try and have as flexible a work arrangement as possible. This might mean I log on later, but this suits me and if it means I get a few hours with the kids before bed, that's a great outcome."

It is, however, critically important her clients know the insurance solutions offered by her team will be there when needed, particularly post-GFC customers who tended to be more anxious about insurance or investments.

"It is about doing what you say you are going to do, consistently. This couldn't be more important than in the insurance industry. You are making a promise around something very intangible, something that will or won't happen in the future."

The Direct Life team sells simple life insurance products to customers within the Suncorp portfolio such as AAMI and APIA.

"The insurance industry has traditionally been overcomplicated, however my team is really conscious of keeping things simple and meeting real customer needs."

Meanwhile, letting her team of "smart and driven" staff work autonomously has allowed Jane to focus on managing the overall business and ultimately drive a strong performance.

"I have always found that you get the most from people when you give them the rope to excel. As long as they know they have your support when things go well, as well as when they don't, if you have recruited well, you will deliver great things this way," she said.

Jane grew up in Queensland and her road to executive success began in retail but she "got a taste" for financial services after helping launch a new credit card with Westfield. Fortified by a Bachelor of Business, an MBA and a diploma in financial planning, she leapt at the opportunity to work in wealth management.

"These qualifications are really just tickets to the game. Being pretty determined and not giving up are probably the most important skills," she says.

Jane Power . . .

On the modern business environment:

"Organisations still have a long way to go to create structures that attract and keep senior women. There are still a lot of trade-offs if you want a senior role but also want to raise a family. Not everyone is prepared for the trade offs, and this results in a lot of women giving up on their career. I'm not ready to accept that there is not a better way to achieve it all!"

Outside of work:

"I love my garden, I cook, I exercise and would love to be back playing golf when I have more time. But right now any time away from work is always about quality time with the kids first."

On determination:

" I haven't yet found a job that doesn't require hard work. With hard work generally there are rewards but, with that, comes tradeoffs. Getting this balance right is the million dollar challenge!"

On insurance today:

"Australian's are still grossly underinsured. I recently had two friends, only 40, who had massive health scares. One had to give up a really senior role and drop back to working in a retail business, the other is working with hearing loss and nearly lost his vision. He is the breadwinner with three kids. Thankfully, he had taken out full cover late last year. These examples were a real moment of truth for me and confirmed what motivates me to do the best job I can. We are in the business of taking away some of this stress."