Ensuring growth

Too often within companies, culture can be an afterthought – a buzzword that, in practice, means very little. But at corporate and specialty insurer HDI Global, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Culture isn’t a ‘nice to have’ – it can make or break a business,” enthuses Stefan Feldmann, Head of APAC and Managing Director of HDI Global Australasia.

“When people feel safe, respected and supported, they perform better. But sustaining culture during rapid growth requires deliberate effort. We sometimes welcome 25 new members in a single quarter, so we invest heavily in onboarding to ensure new colleagues understand our refreshingly different style from day one. They need to know immediately that this isn’t a traditional corporate environment.”

Indeed, one of the things that makes HDI Global such an interesting business, particularly in terms of culture, is that the original German parent company was founded in 1903, while the Australian operation is just 16 years old. The company gets the best of both worlds – the expertise of a legacy company and a fresh, entrepreneurial mindset.

For Feldmann, whose professional journey has included an apprenticeship at LVM Versicherung in Münster, Germany, as well as pioneering work in Asia conducting workshops on liability insurance and lecturing at Tongji University in Shanghai, China, the most transformative chapter of his career began in 2010 when he joined HDI Global to build its Australian operation from scratch.

Armed with a modest brief from German headquarters to “build something sustainable” – he set about establishing a business that would grow from five people to more than 250 and US$876 million (A$1.25 billion) in premium.

Scaling with spirit

Since then, Australia has become one of HDI Global’s fastest-growing markets.

“Even as we scale, we must preserve our entrepreneurial, startup spirit,” Feldmann insists. “We must remain a true relationship insurer that clients and brokers can rely on for the long run.

“Insurance is fundamentally about trust and human connection. Success is about sustainable leadership, not just size.”

Expanding well beyond property and liability, today HDI Global underwrites engineering, construction, marine, cyber, motor fleet and accident and health, with its general aviation portfolio now the country’s second largest.

“We cover everything from product recall and financial risks to crisis management, sports and entertainment,” Feldmann reveals. “That breadth, combined with deep expertise, has allowed us to build long-term relationships based on trust and performance.”

From day one, Australia made an imprint on Feldmann’s leadership style, particularly the ‘can-do’ attitude and how people welcome and embrace you.

He still recalls taking the ferry to work shortly after arriving, when a neighbor introduced him to other passengers. The sense of community and friendliness was instant.

“That openness and pragmatism shaped my leadership philosophy: be accessible, be genuine and trust your people,” he says with a smile.

Standing out

As for how to differentiate the Australian business and ensure ongoing success in the region, the first thing Feldmann set to work on was the ‘One HDI’ model – unifying corporate and specialty operations under a single leadership structure to create a seamless, one-stop shop. In an industry often characterized by silos, he saw differentiation in simplicity.

“Brokers don’t want to navigate multiple divisions,” he points out. “They want comprehensive solutions through a single point of contact.”

The second opportunity lay in geographic expansion. Beyond Australia, HDI Global has strengthened its footprint in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, New Zealand and most recently South Korea, targeting high-growth hubs and complex multinational clients.

And finally, longevity and market reliability were the ultimate aims.

“In a volatile market where some competitors are hot and cold – moving in and out of product lines and markets as economic conditions shift – I saw the opportunity to position HDI Global as a stable, long-term partner,” Feldmann explains.

“We take a long-term view. That consistency has become one of our defining characteristics, and it’s what brokers tell us they value most.”

Core priorities

And then of course, there’s Xcelerate29 – the overarching framework strategy driving everything HDI Global is doing.

“We’re aiming to reach what I call a ‘frontrunner position’ by 2029 – defined not just by size, but by our expertise, reliability and partnership approach,” Feldmann says.

Within that strategy, he says three priorities will dominate the next 12–18 months, starting with strengthening the Energy & Power hub to support clients transitioning from traditional oil and gas to renewables.

“The energy transition is reshaping entire industries, and we need to offer full-spectrum coverage that bridges the gap between current operations and future renewable goals,” he emphasizes.

“Second, technological empowerment. We’re scaling AI and digital tools like the HDI Guardian App to enhance claims efficiency and enable remote risk assessments. But technology is an enabling tool – it supports our core relationship-driven culture. We use AI to free up our underwriters to focus on the human side of the business.”

Customization is another defining feature. As climate volatility intensifies, cyber threats evolve and geopolitical tensions rise, off-the-shelf products no longer suffice.

Meanwhile, the global energy shift presents both uncertainty and opportunity. By integrating corporate and specialty lines, HDI Global builds bespoke solutions across construction, infrastructure, marine, aviation, cyber and energy.

What truly matters

There’s no doubt that HDI Global is thriving. But when asked what he is proudest of, financial milestones are not Feldmann’s answer.

“I’m most proud of the team,” he says, while also pointing to community engagement – including four participations in the Tour de Cure, helping raise more than US$37,000 for cancer research – as part of a broader responsibility to give back.

And as for the future?

“In an industry that can sometimes feel transactional and impersonal, HDI Global stands for something different,” Feldmann says.

“We’re solution-oriented, we have a human touch and we’re relationship-driven. We don’t sit behind closed doors. We take the long view. We invest in our people and our communities. That’s not just our differentiator – it’s who we are.

“Excellence begins with a choice – a choice we make every single day. My personal mantra is simple: be one percent better today than yesterday.”