AMIGA MONTESSORI

Max Bergh

Chief Executive Officer

Karen Mills

Head of Operations

Claire Young

Head of People and Culture

Leadership

Max Bergh is the chief executive officer of AMIGA Montessori and a strategic leader shaping the organisation’s long-term direction. With deep sector insight and strong commercial acumen, she combines analytical thinking with values-based leadership to drive sustainable growth. Max is adept at navigating complex regulatory, financial and operational environments, turning complexity into clear, decisive action. She serves on the board of ACA Victoria, actively contributing to sector conversations on quality, sustainability and reform. While rigorous on performance and governance, Max leads with genuine care, consistently prioritising child safety, educator wellbeing and strong organisational culture across AMIGA’s network of centres.

Chief Executive Officer

Max Bergh

Karen Mills leads operations at AMIGA Montessori, overseeing centre performance, service quality and sustainable growth. With extensive experience in early childhood management, she drives operational excellence across multiple services while coaching centre managers to meet financial, compliance and occupancy targets. She is adept at turning strategy into practical, on-the-ground outcomes, strengthening systems and building a culture of accountability at every level. Karen’s collaborative leadership style empowers teams to deliver consistent, high-quality experiences for children and families while maintaining strong alignment with AMIGA’s values and authentic Montessori practice.

Head of Operations

Karen Mills

Claire Young is head of people and culture at AMIGA Montessori, leading strategy across workforce development, compliance and organisational capability. Holding a diploma in human resources and bringing extensive experience in people leadership, she champions psychologically safe workplaces where educators feel supported, heard and empowered. She has designed strong performance frameworks, reinforced governance processes and led large-scale workforce initiatives in response to legislative reform. Claire is passionate about balancing commercial outcomes with genuine care for people, ensuring AMIGA’s growth is guided by integrity, clarity and strong leadership capability in every centre.

Head of People and Culture

Claire Young

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Stella Mandas

Head of Pedagogy

Stella Mandas leads pedagogy at AMIGA Montessori and is deeply committed to authentic Montessori education. A highly experienced early childhood professional, she holds a Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies and a Montessori 3–6 Diploma, grounding her leadership in both academic knowledge and traditional Montessori philosophy. Stella is passionate about protecting the integrity of the prepared environment, nurturing respectful educator–child interactions and maintaining uninterrupted work cycles that build independence and intrinsic motivation. She mentors educators to embody Montessori principles in everyday practice, ensuring classrooms remain calm, purposeful and truly child-led. Stalla’s leadership upholds the authenticity and educational excellence of Montessori practice across all AMIGA services.

Head of Pedagogy

Stella Mandas

Tony Truong

Chief Credit Officer

Tony Truong is Bizcap’s chief credit officer – APAC, bringing extensive experience in credit risk and lending strategy. He joined the company in 2021 as head of credit, supporting SMEs during the post-pandemic recovery period. He has since played a key role in strengthening Bizcap’s credit capabilities, including leading initiatives that expanded loan sizes from $1 million to $7.5 million. Prior to Bizcap, Truong worked as an underwriting manager at Moula and spent a decade with Serco as a senior evidence assessment officer, as well as 10 years with BP as a senior credit risk analyst.

Chief Credit Officer

Tony Truong

AMIGA Montessori is a proudly female-led early learning organisation grounded in the principles of Montessori education and a deep commitment to child safety. Founded by the Bergh family and now led by second-generation leadership, it has grown into a values-driven network of centres that places children, families and educators at the heart of everything it does. Its approach is guided by the Montessori philosophy, fostering independence, curiosity and respect within carefully prepared environments. AMIGA Montessori believes children thrive when they are empowered to explore at their own pace, supported by knowledgeable, nurturing educators who understand the importance of balancing structure with freedom in the classroom. Child safety is not simply a compliance requirement for AMIGA Montessori; it is a non-negotiable priority embedded in the organisation’s culture, policies and everyday practice. It upholds high standards of governance, supervision and professional conduct to ensure every child feels secure, respected and heard. Led by a strong team that champions quality, inclusion and continuous improvement, AMIGA Montessori combines heart with high standards. It creates environments where educators feel supported, families feel confident and children feel inspired to become capable, confident learners for life.

“Monarch E&S has the products, talent, expertise, and reputation to get deals done with our strategic partners and clients, which is essentially table stakes”

Yiana Stavrakis, Monarch E&S Insurance Services

Vaughan Ludlam

Head of Leasing

Jonathan Lockyer

General Counsel and Company Secretary

Christopher Welty

Chief Human Resources Officer

Simon Williams

Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955

Vaughan Ludlam joined Oyster in 2003 as a leasing executive and has led the leasing team since 2007. He oversees retail leasing across our managed retail portfolio, owned by institutional and private clients. Previously, he worked at Retail Solutions, gaining expertise in shopping centre leasing, tenancy mix planning and property development. Ludlam’s leadership drives Oyster’s leasing success.

Head of Leasing

Vaughan Ludlam

Jonathan Lockyer is general counsel and company secretary at Oyster, with over 25 years of experience in corporate, legal, and investment sectors in New Zealand and the UK. His expertise in investment transactions and robust understanding of the operational, regulatory and legal environment in the New Zealand property sector supports Oyster’s operations and leadership team.

General Counsel and Company Secretary

Jonathan Lockyer

Christopher Welty is dedicated to aligning employees with Brown & Riding (B&R)’s vision and values, fostering mutual growth for all. During his tenure, B&R has more than quadrupled in size. He has helped successfully integrate the company through two mergers and has been a strong advocate for many of the company’s important benefit plan enhancements and development programs. He excels at collaboration and has been a key contributor in establishing and promoting the company’s culture and offering programs and opportunities to help employees build a rewarding career. Welty joined B&R in 2007 as an HR assistant. His dedication and talent earned swift advancement, culminating in his appointment as the firm’s chief human resources officer in 2019.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Christopher Welty

Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.

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Kimi Shah

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Kimi Shah

Partner

Kimi Shah

maintaining an in-house team of more than 20 programmers to facilitate fast improvements direct bill options to streamline the payment process for the agent and the insured providing IVANS policy downloads that enable up to 30 percent labor savings to independent agencies delivering online capabilities including rating, policy documents, payments, and claims reporting

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“We will continue to strengthen our service proposition and customer experience as a key differentiator, as we build on the momentum we have achieved to date across multiple business lines and territories,” says McLean. “Our im is to continue to grow our market relevance and strengthen our partnerships with our strategic brokers as we expand our leadership position in key sectors. “We will also continue to invest in talent. We are committed to drawing from the broadest pools of talent, and to creating an environment that attracts and retains stellar employees. We recognise the importance of building teams that are diverse, collaborative, and innovative and are dedicated to cultivating a supportive and inclusive workplace culture in which all our employees can thrive.”

Monarch’s sister company, Capitol Special Risks, is now part of the Monarch umbrella to provide retail broker customers with expertise and markets in the professional, management, and cyber liability space. “I am very proud of our young and dynamic leadership team,” says Derek Borisoff, chief executive officer of Monarch E&S. “Stefanie McLeod, vice president of personal lines, and Devon Borisoff, vice president of commercial lines, are led by Yiana Stavrakis, our very capable president. All three are known standouts in our industry who lead by example in both work ethic and desire to solve problems. Our firm’s outstanding performance is a result of their positive communications with our people, superb carrier relationships, and proactive management style.” As a full-service MGA and wholesale brokerage, Monarch gives retail insurance brokers access to many different lines of business through its commercial lines, personal lines, professional lines, transportation, mining/energy, CAT property, earthquake, and flood departments. “Monarch E&S has the products, talent, expertise, and reputation to get deals done with our strategic partners and clients, which is essentially table stakes,” says Yiana Stavrakis, president at Monarch E&S. “How do we go above and beyond? We aim to work on every deal, regardless of size, as if it were our personal account and provide our retail brokers with problem-solving competencies to handle hard-to-place risks. Most competitors do not provide the same level of service for smaller brokers and risks as they do for larger ones. Monarch thrives when it comes to providing solutions for small to mid-market risks.”

relationships and teamwork embracing and driving change holding teammates accountable pursuing excellence with humility giving back to the community

Furthermore, talent acquisition and retention pose a significant challenge and are at the forefront of most business leaders’ minds during this unique time. The insurance industry has been aware for years of a looming talent shortage caused by the Baby Boomer generation’s retirement and is now experiencing a war for talent. “Monarch has been able to overcome this talent acquisition challenge by staying true to who we are, a family environment with national resources, which is something we will continue to encourage and promote,” says Stavrakis. “When working for a team like ours, you are not another cog in the wheel but have the opportunity to make your mark and grow with us as we build out Monarch 2.0.” Monarch E&S Insurance Services is licensed in every state and is continuously finding ways to enhance its team, client, and carrier partner experiences. Get ready for the royal treatment as Monarch 2.0 expands digitally.

“I am very proud of our young and dynamic leadership team. Our firm’s outstanding performance is a result of their positive communications with our people, superb carrier relationships, and proactive management style”

Derek Borisoff, Monarch E&S Insurance Services

Yiana Stavrakis, Monarch E&S Insurance Services