Our Team
MEET OUR TEAM
Chris Little – Country Manager
Chris is the Country Manager for Coface Branch in Australia and New Zealand, he joined Coface Australia in 2007.
Before being appointed as the Country Manager role in May 2019, he worked in several roles in the company including Risk Underwriting, Information Analyst, Head of Account Management, and Commercial Director. Chris also completed a 6 month role as Commercial Director for Coface Japan in 2018.
Chris’ key external focus is on client relationship management by promoting Coface’s products, brand and client solutions. Internally, Chris focus is working with all teams to promote a culture of employee engagement, continuous improvement and success.
David Meys – Commercial Director
With extensive experience in financial services and broking across a range on sectors, David has worked with Coface since 2016 as the New Zealand Exclusive Agent.
Based in Auckland and supported by a dedicated team of commercial and risk underwriters specifically to address the needs of our clients and prospects, David continues to work with a strong local network and to continually improve the customer experience with Coface as New Zealand’s Commercial Director.
David is highly regarded by colleagues and clients alike, for the passion he brings to putting the customer first and in working closely with businesses to help them maximize their policy as a tool to grow safety in New Zealand and globally.
John Hesse – Financial Controller
John has a Commerce degree majoring in Accountancy from the University of Wollongong (UOW) and also holds qualifications of FCPA (Australia).
Having more than 30 years of work experience in financial reporting, finance operations and corporate governance, his experience is across a number of industries such as, construction, higher education, oil and gas exploration and general insurance. As the financial controller of Coface Australia, he plays a key role in business planning & budgeting, stress testing, own risk and solvency assessments (ORSA), business continuity management & internal controls.
He is also responsible for management and regulatory reporting, investment and cash management & overseeing the finance operations, procurement procedures and matters relating to corporate tax laws & regulations.
Gary Li - Manager, Enhanced Information Center
Based in Auckland, Gary manages the Enhanced Information Center team that looks after the portfolio for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Gary has 25+ years experience in Corporate & Investment Banking along with four European and North American banks, where he has been looking after both local and multinational companies treasury, trade, lending and capital markets. He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Shanghai University.
Renee Cox – Manager Risk Underwriting
Based in Australia, Renee co-manages the Risk Underwriting Team and is in charge of risk underwriting and portfolio risk management for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Renee started her Underwriting career in trade credit insurance industry almost 20 years ago. She worked in Coface UK and spent 10 years in the UK before moving back to Australia late 2006 and started with Coface early 2007. Renee has worked for Coface for 16 years.
Yuthika Rao - HR Manager
Yuthika is appointed as Head of HR managing Australia and New Zealand for Coface Australia. She holds a bachelors’ degree in Arts, and a MBA from James Cook University, Australia. She has 20 years’ experience working as a HR leader within the Telecom & IT Industries, Medical/Clinical Research across Australia & New Zealand.
Experienced in all facets of HR - both strategic and operational including Employee Relations, Industrial Relations, Recruitment, Talent Management, Organizational Design, Change Initiatives, L&D, Compensation & Benefits and Work Health & Safety. She has worked effectively in both mature and emerging markets as a pragmatic, commercially focused leader with influencing skills. At Coface Australia, she is responsible for all aspects of HR within Australia and New Zealand with an aim of helping foster an engaging and high-performance culture with continuous improvement in the evolving market.