Mat Page
Managing Director
I was born in Palmerston North and lived there until I was two when we moved as a family up to Auckland. A few years later, when I was eight, we moved to Australia, where we lived for 11 years.
I started playing Aussie Rules football as a kid, then got into Rugby League, playing throughout High School. In later years, I played Rugby and enjoyed snowboarding as well as scuba diving. I later became a qualified scuba instructor.
Just as I was finishing High School, my Dad got offered a job back in New Zealand. I decided to come back to Australia at the age of 18, where I started working in hospitality. I worked as a barman, I managed bars, restaurants and I even owned a cafe.
After a little while, I took a year-long course to become a Scuba Instructor. I worked in Cairns, Australia, on the great barrier reef, as well as in New Zealand, teaching people to dive before I went back to study.
When I was 25, I decided to go to University. After spending some time living in America and working in the ski fields of Colorado, I decided to come back to New Zealand looking to get into something.
I was working for an insurance advice business doing some appointment setting and studying part-time when I was asked to become an adviser. Thinking it through, at the end of 2007, I decided to take a year away from my studies to try being an insurance adviser. I never went back to Uni but did complete a certificate in business management.
Working in hospitality taught me how to work with all sorts of different people. I get a real buzz from helping people get the outcomes they desire.
In more recent years, I have become involved with MDRT, which is an industry association for the top 5% of advisers from around the world. I have attended the annual meeting since 2014, which hosts up to 15,000 attendees from all over the globe. It is sort of the Olympics for financial advisers.
We meet together to learn from each other and can bring our learnings back to our businesses across the globe. These gatherings help us to offer better outcomes to our clients. MDRT has also allowed me to serve on various committees, where we volunteer our time and contribute to making our association better for our members.
As this event is usually held in North America in the middle of the year, I have been able to fuel one of my greatest passions, which is travel. I enjoy going somewhere new, usually before or after the conference, exploring the place I am visiting and take in the sights.
My favourite places so far have been New York, Germany, Rome, Hawaii and Vietnam. I look forward to heading off on more adventures in the future.
I have a passion for MotorSport especially Formula 1 racing. I have been lucky enough to attend several races around the world. One day, I would love to attend every race in a season.