The CEO who dares to cure

Over the past four years, Steadfast Group CEO Robert Kelly has been submerged in icy water, walked barefoot through broken glass and taken a bath with a couple of snakes. In the process, he’s collected an extraordinary half a million dollars for vital research into childhood cancers.

In 2024, the daredevil insurance broking leader was once again the leading fundraiser for CEO Dare to Cure, an annual event in aid of the world-renowned medical research charity Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI). It’s designed to take chief executives and business leaders in Sydney and Melbourne out of their comfort zones through a series of confronting challenges, including skydiving, walking on a carpet of red-hot coals, breakfasting on ants, shaving off eyebrows and sharing baths with two-meter pythons.

“I didn’t set out to break any records,” Kelly tells The CEO Magazine. “My goal is always to do the best I can for kids and their families who are facing up to their own biggest challenge. I’ve witnessed firsthand the extraordinary work done by CCI, and my view is that people in my position have an obligation to do all they can to support such great causes.

“Success in life isn’t just about how much money you make; it’s about using our resources and influence to create positive change.”

Scary unboxing

For Kelly, last year, that involved plunging his hand into a series of ‘mystery boxes’ that turned out to contain a gruesome tangle of creepy crawlies.

“In the first one, I could feel some slimy creatures writhing around my fingers,” he remembers with a shudder. “When they opened up the box, I saw my hand was covered in all these mealworms. And I thought, ‘Well, that’s not too big a deal,’ but then all of a sudden I felt this weird sensation, and I realized they were biting me, so it wasn’t something I’ll forget any time soon!”

The following box was guarding an equally bitey secret.

“It was a huge tarantula as big as my hand, and I thought, ‘OK, this should be fine because I’m not scared of spiders,’ but then I was warned to make sure it doesn’t crawl over my palm. I said I wouldn’t mind if it did, but was then told, ‘You see those two sharp fangs going up and down? Well, that means it’s going to bite you, and if that happens, you could be infected.’ So I moved my hand around to make sure it didn’t come too close.”

The next encounter involved more sucking than biting.

“There was a small army of greasy-looking, ugly frogs,” he says. “Big ones too! As soon as I stuck my hand in, they were jumping all over the place and sucking on my fingers. After that, it was giant cockroaches scuttling all over the place.”

Register your interest for CCI’s 2025 CEO Dare to Cure events in Sydney and Melbourne here.

One in every 1,000 Australians alive today was diagnosed with cancer before their 15th birthday. Research by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and Cancer Council Queensland suggests the prevalence of childhood cancers is likely to rise.

In just seven years, CEO Dare to Cure has raised more than US$5.21 million (A$8 million) for CCI’s vital research into childhood cancer, which includes research breakthroughs that have helped improve survival rates for more than 1,000 children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer in Australia every year.

CCI was founded almost 50 years ago by two dads with children who had been diagnosed with cancer. Their initial fundraising target of US$651,000 (A$1 million) was exceeded within 12 months, and the Institute has grown rapidly ever since.

Today, it’s the only independent research organization in Australia focused entirely on finding cures for childhood cancers and employs more than 350 scientists, medical students and operational staff.

Improving outcomes

In recent years, it has earned an enviable reputation for world-class research and achieved a series of breakthroughs that contributed directly to improving the five-year survival rate from 71 percent in 1986 to 84 percent today. One of its important focuses is reducing the lifelong health issues that many children suffer after chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Both treatments were developed for adults and target all rapidly growing cells, not just those that are cancerous. So side effects can be brutal for young bodies and cause permanent damage.

CCI was the first Australian organization to recruit a research team dedicated to brain tumors, one of the most aggressive forms of cancer and the second most common in children after leukemia. As survival rates are lower, brain cancer kills more people under 16 than any other form of the disease, with an average survival time from diagnosis of just nine to 12 months.

Meanwhile, the survival rate for acute myeloid leukemia has increased by 97.4 percent in the past three decades. The CCI teams have created a tumor bank for cells to be cultivated in a lab. The new treatments that have resulted from the research have been shared with international partners and could improve outcomes for those affected. Even incremental improvements can have a huge, positive impact given that the average years of life lost when a child dies due to cancer is 70.

“CCI’s work is simply outstanding,” Kelly declares. “Years ago, kids who got cancer had very little chance of making it to adulthood, but these days 80 percent make it, and CCI has a stated goal of reaching 100 percent. That level of dedication is inspiring.”

Inspiring work

His connection to the organization began when it approached his company inquiring about potential support.

“Years ago, they applied for a grant from the Steadfast Foundation,” he remembers. “We gave them a small grant, and they invited me to visit their facilities. I initially thought I’d be too busy, but I was persuaded to go and was captivated by what I saw.

“The passion and commitment of the people working there, their enthusiasm and the fact that they collaborate openly with researchers around the world – all of it made me realize this was something very worthwhile. Seeing the impact of their work firsthand was transformational for me, just so inspiring.”

Kelly has been particularly impressed with the plans for CCI’s brand new, state-of-the-art home, which forms part of the US$428 million redevelopment of Sydney Children’s Hospital.

Minderoo Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre (MCCCC) is a joint venture between CCI and Kids Cancer Centre at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network and UNSW Sydney with additional funding from state and federal governments.

It’s the first such facility in Australia and is set to become one of the world’s leading pediatric cancer centers. Its 900-strong team of child cancer professionals will work in state-of-the-art laboratories, education spaces and fully equipped treatment rooms. It will feature a children’s intensive care unit and emergency department, a sophisticated neuroscience and research center and child-focused inpatient and outpatient units.

The new center will be a major shot in the arm for Zero Childhood Cancer (ZERO), a collaboration between the Children’s Cancer Institute and Kids Cancer Centre, which is Australia’s first personalized program for children with cancer. ZERO uses comprehensive genomic analysis to look for clues about what is driving each child’s cancer and how it might best be treated. Over 1,800 children have so far been enrolled, and the results have been remarkable.

Real-world benefits

A study in 2024 found the two-year survival rate of children who had received a ZERO-recommended treatment was more than double that of those who received standard therapy. Today, every Australian aged 0–18 diagnosed with cancer has access to precision medicine through ZERO.

“The MCCCC is going to be sensational,” Kelly says. “Instead of having scientists working in a university or remote lab, they’ll be right there in the real world with the kids receiving the treatment at St Vincent’s, so everyone will benefit. I’ll certainly be visiting when it opens later this year to find out more about what it needs going forward and how I can continue to support CCI’s magnificent efforts.”

For Kelly, supporting fundraising campaigns like CEO Dare to Cure is about more than just making his sizable contributions; it’s about building a legacy of empathy and action and setting an example he hopes other business leaders will follow.

“It’s not only about raising the funds,” he says firmly. “It has created a thriving community of business leaders who are willing to step out of their comfort zones and meet other like-minded CEOs. As a networking event, it’s priceless, so I would encourage anybody to give it a go. You don’t even need to be a CEO to take part, so there’s no excuse!”

His determination to give back extends to other causes close to his heart.

One of them is KidsXpress, which was founded by Paul Hines, Executive Chairman of GSA Insurance Brokers and Margo Ward, who became CEO of KidsXpress in 2005.

KidsXpress, was founded to improve the emotional wellbeing of thousands of vulnerable children, often breaking a cycle of suffering and giving them opportunities to thrive.

“I’m very proud of how much money it has raised over the years for kids doing it tough,” Kelly says. “Some have experienced abuse or bullying or other childhood traumas, while others have parents who aren’t interested in their welfare.”

KidsXpress uses evidence-based expressive therapy that combines psychology with the use of art, music and play to promote emotional growth and healing. It has also developed trauma-informed training for childcare professionals and parenting programs in partnership with schools.

The other charity that Kelly supports every year is the CEO Sleepout in aid of Vinnies, which raises awareness and funds for homelessness. Last year, it brought in over US$5.53 million, enough to pay for 288,000 meals and 72,000 nights in clean, safe beds.

A personal connection

Homelessness is an issue that has touched his own family. “My grandfather was a regular visitor at the Matthew Talbot Hostel at Woolloomooloo,” he says.

“He came back from the war and, like many soldiers, was a bit broken and became an alcoholic. When I was very young, we used to go and collect him from the street, clean him up and look after him, but then he’d go back and the whole rigmarole would start again. It was very sad.

“And unfortunately he ended up dying out on the street. I think that’s why I became involved in the CEO Sleepout many years ago because when I was a child, it was very personal to me.”

A desire to facilitate change as a force for good is what also led to the founding of the Steadfast Group, Australia’s largest general insurance broker network, with over 500 members, including a number in New Zealand. Kelly envisioned an organization that would bring together small businesses to share ideas and find ways to help each other.

“It had a collaborative energy right from the start,” he says. “It wasn’t about making money, it was about people with a dedication to ethical principles coming together. Our campfire philosophy has always been that none of us are as good as all of us.

“Everything we do is around service, reliability and sound morals to prioritize the consumer’s needs. We basically work backwards from there. I’ve always believed that you shouldn’t pursue profits; you should pursue values. The profits will come if you get the values right.”

And the value he places above all others is enhancing the community in which he operates. Hence his personal donation of US$39,000 to 2024’s CEO Dare to Cure, a figure that was matched by a separate contribution from Steadfast. So those close encounters with worms, spiders and cockroaches were well worth the effort.

Walking the plank

In previous years, Kelly plunged into a freezing tub for three torturous minutes (“the first minute was the worst; after that, I just went numb and started to freeze”), walked across piles of broken glass (“you hear it go crunch, crunch, crunch and it’s very sharp!”) and taken a bath with snakes (“they started wrapping themselves around me, including round my neck”).

But he was surprised by which challenge frightened him the most.

“One year I put on a virtual reality headset and suddenly I was at the top of an 80-story building where I had to walk the plank,” he says, shuddering at the memory.

“I just couldn’t do it. I was completely frozen! I’m not normally scared of heights, and I knew I wasn’t really up a skyscraper, but my mind refused to believe it was all fake, so I was absolutely terrified! I had to confront the feelings of panic and force myself to take a few steps forward.”

Overcoming seemingly insurmountable fears is part of what makes CEO Dare to Cure so unique, compelling … and satisfying.

“I can’t recommend taking part highly enough,” Kelly says. “In business, we have to take risks that sometimes make us uncomfortable, so confronting those fears is an important skill to learn. When you’ve completed a challenge, it’s immensely satisfying, and the money raised goes to such an important cause.

“I’ll certainly be taking part again this year, and I hope everyone reading this will join me. You’ll meet and bond with your fellow CEOs and learn a lot about yourself. Take it from me, it’s a day you’ll remember forever.”

Find out more about CEO Dare to Cure here.