A close and harmonious relationship between insurance brokers Long Burroughs and the construction industry has now broadened, with the Keystone Trust being a significant beneficiary.
The niche Parnell brokerage has become a new Keystone sponsor for 2025 – furthering its scope and achieving its aim of contributing to the education and development of future industry leaders.
It wasn’t without a long search, says Long Burroughs partner Geoff Long. He and fellow partner David Burroughs had been looking for a worthy organisation to sponsor for some time. Their deep and lengthy working connection with long-term Keystone sponsors and key scholarship partners RCP helped cement that decision.
Says Geoff: “We had established a level of trust with RCP, and when [RCP managing director] Jeremy Hay rang us and said Keystone was looking for sponsors, we realised a lot of our clients were already there.
We could see th
e impact sponsorship has on these [Keystone] kids. We see our role as risk advisors as educational, and this is an opportunity for us to further that. We realised this was the right fit for us.”
Long Burroughs general manager Gemma Lord elaborates.
“One of our points of difference is that we are very much people-focused and we have an educational bias towards the way we do business.” Becoming a Keystone sponsor, she says: “gives us an opportunity to connect with students, and it’s of massive value to our company.”
There’s potential to offer internships at a later stage she adds.
Unlike Geoff, who seemed destined to be in the insurance industry, Gemma did not originally see herself in that career sphere. Geoff’s father worked in insurance and Geoff worked part-time for him while studying commerce at the University of Auckland. He has worked for the big 3 international broking firms, both locally and in London, and transacted property and construction business across the globe.
In 2010 he returned to New Zealand from London and established Long Burroughs in 2015 with David Burroughs. They knew there was a niche spot for their experience within the industry and they drew up a business plan that defined this strategy – today the company has offices in Auckland and Wellington and employs 15 staff.
Gemma, meanwhile, originally completed her Bachelor of Education. It didn’t take her too long to reassess her goals. “I met Geoff and it was the perfect alignment.” Gemma – a passionate cricketer with a drive to support women in the sport – was the first employee at Long Burroughs; now she is the company’s General Manager.
With its strong people-focused approach to business, and its educational drive, Keystone is a perfect investment: in students and the industry, says Geoff. “It’s a very collegial relationship and we look forward to its continuation.”
