People: John Drabble
AMP general manager

Dramatic changes are unlikely under at AMP under John Drabble's stewardship.

Monday, November 15th 1999, 12:00AM

John Drabble's middle child wasn't fazed when he learned they were moving here from Australia.

Aged 8 at the time, his heart was set on playing for the Wallabies. However, he told his parents it would be a good chance to study how the All Blacks play, so he could use that knowledge when he finally did play for the Aussie team.

After an hour's interview with his father, it's not hard to see where that positive spirit comes from. Drabble, 40, has been in the top job at AMP New Zealand since April, taking over from Rodney Cook

Cook had been at the helm when AMP underwent a major demutualisation and listing process, and also spearheaded a major management and cultural change at the company.

In recent times, the transformation has continued from insurer to broader-based financial services provider. Drabble says AMP is now firmly associated with savings and investment products "and supplementing that with banking (through AMP Banking) will accelerate the transition in people's minds".

Dramatic changes are unlikely under Drabble's stewardship.

"We’re not about to demutualise again! But we do need to make sure that we maintain the momentum of the past couple of years, to improve sales growth and productivity. We're also looking to achieve a more holistic approach to existing and new customers."

He admits that AMP's strategy is not that different from its competitors.

"But we do have certain core strengths and we'll play to those strengths. Our brand is a great asset, our capital strength is pretty handy to have available, we have a large customer base (and many of those customers are very loyal) and we have a strong adviser distribution channel."

Drabble believes that there are still some tremendous opportunities in the New Zealand marketplace.

"It's interesting because of the relative lack of regulation, barriers to industry are relatively slim by global standards and it's very competitive.

"Because it's a microcosm, you get the opportunity to try things that are more difficult to achieve in larger markets and to achieve them relatively quickly.

"I think there are opportunities for us to do things here that the rest of the AMP Group can leverage from. For example, we're looking at some systems at the moment that we'll potentially use for some of our major funds and risk products and we could run with New Zealand first."

He says AMP General's online insurance service was first developed in New Zealand earlier this year and the set-up is now being used by the rest of the group.

Another example of a New Zealand first is the recent conversion of AMP Banking (which originated 12 months ago with the purchase of Citibank's New Zealand banking business) and Ergo to one core platform. That platform has now been adopted in Australia.

AMP Banking also illustrates the company’s willingness to use a range of distribution channels. Ergo was set up a few years ago to distribute unit trusts, mortgages and term deposit-type products over the telephone. However, rather than move away from that approach (which had limited success with the more complex products), Drabble says AMP Banking is supplementing that with the use of mortgage brokers and AMP’s own advisory force.

"Citibank provided the catalyst for dealing with brokers," he says. "As for using AMP advisers, it made sense to holistically satisfy our customer needs.

"Mortgages were initially very new to many advisers and we're doing a lot of work with them giving them clues as to how they can best address (the business). Advisers are increasingly working with accountants and real estate agents to make a package presentation, and there's certainly a lot of interest in the marketplace.

"A mortgage also leads on to general insurance for the home and, guess what, we're asking the question... Many people would also like to have protection associated with their mortgage, so we can sell mortgage replacement insurance.

"We're providing a range of access opportunities for people: they often want to do things in a range of ways, not just one. Another mode is work-site programmes in conjunction with an employer. We're now providing seminars and information to employees in corporate superannuation products and the response we're getting from employers is very enthusiastic."

As head of AMP in New Zealand, Drabble is responsible for all retail financial services including personal protection (traditional life insurance, term life, trauma and disability), superannuation and managed investment services.

"The beauty and challenge of this role is its depth," he says. "There’s the opportunity for a broader range of disciplines in one market, which is positive from my perspective.

"A country-based operation is difficult in the UK, for example, where the trend is to separately branded companies.

"In New Zealand, it's one AMP."

Originally from Britain, Drabble spent around six years with AMP in Australia in a whole bunch of roles, most recently as head of AMP’s Superannuation and Retiree Services (a $27 billion portfolio of corporate and retail superannuation products). He also headed managed the unit trust business as well as the two financial planning subsidiaries, Hillross Financial Services and AMP Financial Planning.

Before joining AMP, he was national marketing and distribution manager for Advance Asset Management and held marketing management positions in Unilever and Mars Corporation both in Australia and the UK.

"I started work in the financial services industry on September 21 1987 and a month later was thinking, oh, was that a good move?!

"The industry appealed because it was dynamic and fast growing, but it didn't appear as customer-oriented as it could be. I thought selfishly that I could make a difference with my marketing background."

On a personal level, Drabble says the New Zealand job appealed as both he and his family had decided it was "a very positive thing" to work overseas.

"This position and New Zealand made a delightful combination, and the transition to NZ (from Australia) was a relatively straightforward one.

"One of the real risks that people run, and we have quite a few friends that do it, is to compare this with that. Each place has got its own benefit bundle and then you leverage off that."

One of the issues that Drabble is getting his teeth into while he's here is superannuation. AMP is now actively supporting the debate through its sponsorship of www.supertalk.co.nz, developed in conjunction with Good Returns.

"Why do we care? It's not purely philanthropic: we're in the business, so it's a natural thing to attract both my attention and that of the organisation. But we believe there are some skills and experience we can bring to the debate.

"The thing that encourages me is that activity is underway (through the Super 2000 Taskforce) and it is an issue that people are increasingly becoming aware of. In broad terms, we need to get some consensus and then some certainty," he says.

"Looking at superannuation in Australia, the UK and then models which are less familiar, there's almost invariably some combination of incentive or compulsion. It's not necessarily about saving more.

Drabble says New Zealanders do save, but it tends to be in residential property "and you can't eat a house".

"With the combination of a general belief that there will be something there for people (when they retire) and a lack of incentive - even a disincentive - it's no wonder we have the situation we have today."

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