Discover The Story Behind Imalia
A Different Kind Of Financial and Insurances Services Provider
"What if I fall? Oh but my darling what if you fly?" Erin Hanson
WHO WE ARE
Imalia is a group of women who are changing the way we create, manage, consume and experience financial services. We’re a social-minded business, set up to provide financial services, support and advice to women… and the men who love women...
Even though our focus is on women, we don’t exclude anyone from our community. Men are as welcome as women, young and old, straight or gay, married or single. The only thing we ask of you is open-mindedness, kindness and an unwavering belief that anything is possible when we decide to work together.
WHAT WE DO
We use life’s everyday challenges and opportunities as a lens through which to create our offerings.
Our goal is to connect you with the products you need around the life that you lead.
We have designed them to be accessible and easily understood - to help streamline your life, ease your stress and reflect your changing needs. We want you to take a deep breath knowing that we’ve got you covered.
Imalia is changing the way financial and insurance services are developed, delivered and packaged.
Imalia Pty Ltd (Imalia) ABN 41 147 857 878 holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (451867) which is issued by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
We are licensed to provide the following services:
- Provide general financial product advice for general insurance products; and
- Deal in a financial product, general insurance products
Our current offerings are just the beginning.
WHY CHOOSE IMALIA
We’re a company created by women for women, with a range of products and services that are relevant for women at different stages in their lives and careers. We’re inspired by women who are taking control of their lives to enjoy more financial independence and… we want to inspire the women who aren’t there yet…
We believe that society needs to change, at every layer, to redress the imbalance that has been allowed to develop between men and women.
Financial independence for women is a critically important foundation for equality.
We believe that by working together we’ll achieve change faster, and make the effects of this change last longer and be experienced by more people.
"To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." R. Buckminster Fuller
WHAT IF?
Imalia was born from a desire to create a new way forward for all women. We believe that our society needs to change, at every layer, to redress the imbalance that has been allowed to develop between men and women. Financial independence is one way to start to address that imbalance.
When Carole-Anne Priest met Helen Wiseman at a Sydney Community Foundation BBQ in 2010, Imalia took shape.
"I want to start a revolution,” stated Carole-Anne, out of the blue. Startled at such a big audacious dream, Helen immediately leaned in and said quietly, "So tell me more."
The revolution is about transforming the financial services sector. We all buy a range of insurance products, and we all have superannuation, banking accounts, debit and credit cards, loans and or mortgages. And yet for many women they will not have enough superannuation to see them into retirement and for many women their financial challenges prevent them moving forward from disempowering relationships. What if we created a new kind of financial services company: a company that is run by women for women, with a clear social agenda? One that entertains the possibility of doing things differently and gives women a voice and a way to be heard.
OUR BRAND
Our name 'Imalia' is inspired by the Native American Indian word 'imala' meaning strength.
The Imalia tree and the wolf are our symbols of strength.
Our tree symbolises strength in its roots and trunk; interconnectedness in its branches; protection through its canopy; and rebirth in the new season and its life stages.
Our Wolfpack symbolises belonging, co operation, and cohesion.
Imalia is about individual and collective security.
Our brand reflects our ideals of strength, responsibility and care on a personal and a global level.
Imalia is about enriching the lives of all women – we believe this is essential if we’re going to live in an equal society that has equal rights for all people.
Meet Imalia's Founding Directors
Carole-Anne Priest & Helen Wiseman
CAROLE-ANNE PRIEST
Carole-Anne is a lawyer, director, CEO, entrepreneur and innovator.
After studying law at the University of Sydney, she worked for a time for the Director of Public Prosecutions and also worked as a lawyer in London. A Texan company chairman gave Carole-Anne her big corporate break, making her president and chief operating officer of Swire Blanch Australia and Asia, a US publicly listed insurance and reinsurance intermediary.
During her tenure, Swire Blanch became one of the first brokers to obtain licenses in China and Vietnam, before being sold to the Benfield Group in 2001. Carole-Anne returned to Australia and was head-hunted to lead Altiora Insurance Solutions, a retail broker and underwriting agency which was facing a number of challenges with respect to licensing. She led a dedicated team to rebuild the company which was then successfully sold.
In 2007, Carole-Anne won the Hudson Private and Corporate Award and the Telstra NSW Business Woman of the Year Award.
In her role as Director and founding partner of Imalia, Carole Anne is creating innovative financial services’ products that empower women to take control of their financial future.
In her personal life, Carole-Anne has taken a tree change and spends her spare time running a busy farm and caring for lots of beloved animals.
In her community life, Carole-Anne is Deputy Chair, Director and Honorary Legal Counsel of Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway and a Director Sydney Community Foundation and Sydney Women’s Fund.
HELEN WISEMAN
Helen’s core driver is to inspire and empower people and organisations, so they can achieve positive outcomes and effect positive change.
In her role as Director and founding partner for Imalia, Helen is changing the way financial services are developed, delivered and managed, primarily for women, but also for men who want to experience a fresh approach.
She is making her mark as a leading woman in the Australian business and not-for-profit community, and is in demand for speaking engagements across the country. She offers her time, insight and experience in her various board roles most notably Chairwoman of SHINE for kids, Director of Sydney Community Foundation and its Sydney Women’s Fund, Choice and War Widows Guild of Australia NSW.
Helen also chairs the Bidvest Asia-Pacific Audit Committee.
In her role as mentor she advises people who are taking very different career paths and are at different life stages. Helen is also a former crisis telephone counselor and foster carer, and is Mum to Beautiful Miss Gloria.
Collectively, through different roles and responsibilities, Helen is redefining the role of women in the workforce and in the community as a whole, and empowering the lives of people who are typically unrepresented in society.
Piglet "How do you spell Love?" Pooh "You don’t spell it, you feel it." AA Milne (Winnie the Pooh)
WE BELIEVE
In the power of kindness.
We believe in the power of love.
We believe that compassion is the foundation for how we treat all beings.
We believe there is beauty to be found in everything on this earth.
WE BELIEVE
That everyone matters.
We believe in judging no-one.
We believe in protecting each other.
We believe it is every human’s right to be treated equally and with gentleness.
WE BELIEVE
In the power of each individual to make a difference.
We believe that groups of people can change the world.
We believe in the circle of giving and helping others.
We believe that fun and laughter make the world a nicer place.
We believe in the power of dreaming big.
WE BELIEVE IN YOU
What do you believe...?
“You have always had the power my dear… you have had it all along." Glinda The Good Witch
Here, we recognise and celebrate the beauty, power and intrinsic value of women.
Imalia is for women and… it is also for the men who love and respect women.
Imalia is for the woman who has reached the heights of her career, it’s for the woman who is moving up life's ladder with confidence (and a little bit of fear), and it’s for the woman who has decided she is going to put her great ideas to the world and start her own business, it’s for the woman who doesn’t know where to start, what to do or how to protect herself or her family.
The Imalia women are all of us.
WHY IMALIA WOMEN
Our aim is to provide a completely new approach to financial services that leverages itself on what women want and what women need from a financial and insurance services perspective.
We want to engage Australian women in a way no other financial services company has done before.
We offer women a different client experience.
A new way to engage with money and insurance that capitalises on the values of connectedness, people and community, building the financial security of women both individually and collectively.
We truly believe that when a woman empowers herself, she empowers others around her.
"“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
GIVING BACK
Imalia believes that small acts of kindness and generosity combine to create lasting positive change.
The Imalia Wolfpack embodies this ripple effect and is at the heart of our brand. We help women and children who experience disadvantage by empowering them financially.
We established The Imalia Fund, a sub-fund of Sydney Community Foundation's Sydney Women's Fund for this purpose.
We invest in kindness and we invite you to join our Wolfpack and give support to our chosen charities below or let us know a cause you would like to support.
SYDNEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
We believe in the power of Community Foundations to engage communities to support local causes. For example, Sydney Community Foundation aims to lessen the divide and provide all Sydneysiders the opportunity to thrive. It encourages local giving, to fund high impact, grassroots projects in the greater Sydney area. Its mission is to help close the increasing gap between those who enjoy all the advantages of a great city and a growing number of people in poverty. Sydney Community Foundation is an independent not-for-profit fund that actively encourages philanthropic investment from individuals, government and business for Sydney and its people now and for the long term.
SHINE FOR KIDS
SHINE for Kids works with and for young Australians affected by family member involvement in the criminal justice system. SHINE supports them and helps create hope, inspires them to reach their potential, nurtures their growth and empowers them to succeed.
Current estimates are that there are over 14,500 children affected by their parents' imprisonment in NSW in any one year. There are many more in Victoria, ACT and the rest of Australia.
These children are hidden in the community and can feel very isolated and stigmatised. SHINE for Kids assists and supports children of prisoners to develop coping mechanisms and provides opportunities for these children to support each other.
Building futures where kids can "shine".
KOKODA TRACK MEMORIAL WALKWAY
The Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway covers more than 800 metres from Rhodes Station to Concord Hospital in Sydney's inner-west, and runs along the mangrove-studded shores of Brays Bay on the Parramatta River.
It is a unique tribute to the bravery of Australian troops who fought through atrocious conditions and against vastly superior enemy numbers in the Papua-New Guinea campaign of July 1942-January 1943. With US support the Australians inflicted on the Japanese Imperial Army its first defeat.
The Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway is a community project involving Concord Council, Department of Employment, Education and Training, Concord Rotary, Returned and Services League of Australia (New South Wales Branch), Department of Urban Affairs and Planning and Concord Hospital.
