Tasmanian not-for-profit health insurer St.LukesHealth has welcomed its newest board member, prominent Hobart futurist and DisruptiveCo Founder and Managing Director Katy Cooper.
Ms Cooper was officially appointed at the November 2022 board meeting. She takes on the role in addition to her position as Director City Futures for the City of Hobart, where her team is focused on engaging, creating and planning around future stories, strategic plans, urban design and mobility.
She is a certified Futurist, trained through Institute for the Future, POLI-Design at Milan Politechnik and Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies. She has also studied Disruptive Innovation at INSEAD.
“I’m thrilled to join the St.LukesHealth board because it’s an organisation willing to examine itself, the needs of its members and the whole Tasmanian community, and challenge the status quo,” says Ms Cooper. “The minute I heard St.LukesHealth’s ambitious vision to make Tasmania the healthiest island on the planet, I was sold.
“I firmly believe that no idea is too big, and by working through partnership we can achieve great things: values that St.LukesHealth shares. I’m looking forward to bringing my background in business strategy to help realise the company’s vision and goals.”
The appointment came as St.LukesHealth celebrated 70 years as Tasmania’s own not-for-profit health insurer, while setting its sights firmly on the future.
“We’re shaking up the health insurer business model: you shouldn’t have to be sick to get value from us,” says Mel Lukianenko, Chair of the St.LukesHealth Board. “We’re collaborating across the health and community sectors, helping to empower Tasmanians with the knowledge they need and finding new and different ways of motivating people to take control of their own health and wellbeing.
“We are so excited to welcome Katy to the team, because she brings a unique background and way of thinking to make sure we stay fresh and relevant going into the next 70 years.”
In addition to joining the St.LukesHealth Board in November 2022, Ms Cooper is a board member of Tasmanian Leaders Inc and Inclusive Innovations Tasmania. She is Program Director of FutureFest Tasmania and Founder and Managing Director at DisruptiveCo. She has 20 years’ experience in retail, customer experience and strategic management, human resources, financial services, tourism and hospitality and technology industries.
Ms Cooper’s appointment caps off an exciting few months for St.LukesHealth. In November the organisation launched the concept for a new health and wellbeing hub and customer care centre in Hobart, inviting the whole community as well as sector stakeholders in to consult on the service offering and program of activities in the space.
St.LukesHealth is also opening a new Rosny store to meet the needs of the growing eastern shore community and has launched an inspiring new brand campaign to challenge conventional thinking and drive generational change around health.