Business protector

JASON Hammond began his career as a debt collector for Australia's State Revenue Office, a five-year stint he recalls as "difficult" and "kind of unsavoury". But today, as chief executive officer (CEO) of QBE Asia operations, he says the challenge of tax collection from struggling companies was a proverbial baptism of fire into the "mechanics of business", providing a trove of insights into what makes them tick.

"I started with about 50 other legal and accounting graduates in a pool, collecting money," he shares. "As you can imagine, in a recession that's tough." He graduated from Queensland University of Technology in 1990 with an accounting degree. "There were lots of businesses that were really struggling to cover their taxes. But you learn a lot about business in a job like that, particularly in difficult times. I was actually able to apply a lot of the things I learned in university. It wasn't collection on an individual level, but at a corporate level.

"Understanding what the drivers of businesses are, the financial performance . . . At quite a young age, to get exposure to lots of different aspects of business. Even, as you might say, on the wrong side of it, it's still a really good way to understand business."