Our story (well, the short version at least)

our story, don mclardy, mike mcshane

What’s our story? Find out straight from the source!

“We met at the bar in Jupiters Casino in the early 80s at the National Insurance Brokers Association convention. We worked out we had things in common – we both liked a quiet drink, a punt on the races, the Melbourne Demons in the AFL, great Aussie bands, and had fallen into the insurance industry at the same time. Instant friends.

In the late 80s, we ended up working together at OAMPS, a successful insurance broking company which had expanded quickly. We learnt a lot. Then we left together when we didn’t like where things were heading in 1996. After a working (but not friendship) stint apart, we teamed up again at Insurance Advisernet, another successful insurance broking company that had expanded quickly. We learnt some more. As well as helping expand the network, here we also started our own individual broking businesses as Authorised Representatives.

In 2007, over many glasses of wine, we worked out we had similar surnames. Also that they sounded good together! So we decided to merge our broking businesses and start McLardy McShane. In 2010, we were not sure where we were heading again. Over a couple more wines, we thought it was time after our 30 year apprenticeship to run our own race – so we got our own AFS license. As soon as we did, we found all those years of working hard, long lunches, late nights and attending conferences paid off – lots of people found out what we were doing and wanted to join us! So we started some branch offices in the bush. Then in other capital cities. And then some old friends wanted to become Authorised Representatives of us, so we started adding them to our team.

Now we have 20 offices and 50 Authorised Reps around the country, and no signs of our growth (or us) slowing down. Along the way, we also found out we had some other things in common. Love of family, and a desire to give back and help those who didn’t have as much luck and fun as us. We built these critical factors into the way McLardy McShane was going to do business.

Through our friendships with Jim Stynes and Neale Daniher, our team has raised millions for youth organisation Reach and Fight MND. And we support as many local communities as we can where the McLardy McShane name pops up. Today we find ourselves surrounded by a fantastic team who pretty much all share our common values (including drinking wine). We still open our own office bar on a Friday with as many of our team as we can get together, play some tunes and talk about footy, races and life – and how lucky we are. We couldn’t have done it without our families, friends, clients and industry supporters – thanks to you all!”

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