Steadfast CEO John Phillips has announced his decision to retire from the group at the end of the year. Speaking to the broker group’s convention in Perth yesterday, he said he’s “proud of the great journey we’ve taken together”.

The 45-year insurance veteran has been CEO of Steadfast for 12 years. “We started with a small serviced office, and today we have 24 staff and provide many different services to members,” he said.

Mr Phillips will go on pre-retirement leave on July 1, and officially finish work on December 31. His emotional farewell address ended with a sustained standing ovation from the packed opening session of the convention.

Steadfast Executive Chairman Robert Kelly told insuranceNEWS.com.au the group will “restructure internally” following Mr Phillips’ departure.

“Replacing a person of John’s calibre isn’t easy, and the management team will meet immediately after Easter to discuss how to move ahead,” he said.

“It’s possible that we may allocate more responsibilities to people in the senior management team.”