Rick Willis
Life and Health Insurance Adviser
My family hales from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, north of London. We emigrated to NZ when I was 7. I grew up in East Auckland, eventually studying law and economics part-time whilst starting my working career as a customs agent.
I have a passion for motorsport and soon found a niche within the motor industry working for an import company. A ten-year period in the automotive industry saw me working with some high-end marques like Lotus, Audi, Porsche, Fiat, SAAB, and Ferrari to name a few.
I worked with some interesting moguls of the time, like Colin Giltrap. I had varied positions, from marketing and finance to sales roles that took me to government contracts. During these years, I had opportunities to race both on the circuit and drag strips. At one stage, I held a New Zealand land speed record, albeit for a day.
I learnt a lot from that industry. My passion for helping people is what led me to the opportunity with AMP – Finance and Insurance. It taught me the skills to understand people better and listen to what is important.
Whilst at AMP I covered a variety of roles, from the new boy on the sales team to providing mortgage and investment advice for CEOs of major companies. The most satisfying outcome was, and will always be, helping clients to better understand their goals and how to protect their future.
Helping younger advisers in our industry to be successful is very important to me. Being part of a Global Organisation called MDRT has allowed me to share knowledge and mentor the younger minds. Some of them are challenging but there is no denying they are very clever and uniquely passionate in their ways to make a difference for clients.
A good friend of mine and fellow MDRT member, likens the MDRT annual conference as the Olympics of the Global Financial Industry. He is not wrong. The MDRT is for advisers at the top of their game, who attend to, learn and further their skills and knowledge, just as do our sports Olympians.
I have a keen interest in the outdoors. A standout for me in my early years was tramping, climbing, and caving around the Ruapehu National Park and rafting down the Tongariro with Sir Graeme Dingle and Sir Edmund Hillary. I do not know which was scarier, being taught how to climb by Sir Ed or rafting with Sir Graeme Dingle down a Grade 4 river on a raft made from only 6 tractor innertubes!!
I cannot get away without sharing my passion for sport, playing and coaching cricket up to under 18’s with my son Jaime and travelling the world following some key All Black Games.
I have had two highlights. One being at the game of the century in 2000, the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney, when Jonah Lomu scored the try in overtime to take a last-minute win. The second being in Soweto, Johannesburg, seeing the All Blacks take a 34 Nil win against the South Africans.
I have always believed that empowering clients with knowledge in a simple straight forward language is the key to long term connections and friendships.