Q&A: Aon's Monique McGrath on the shared purpose behind our partnership

SLSNZ and Aon are incredibly proud to be finalists in the Commercial Partnership category at the 2026 New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards. 

From supporting initiatives that help Kiwis make safer decisions around the water to helping bring events like the Aon New Zealand Surf Lifesaving Championships to life, this is a purpose-led partnership creating real impact across beach safety, community engagement, leadership development, and surf lifesaving sport. 

As we celebrate this new achievement, we spoke to Aon New Zealand’s Head of Marketing, Monique McGrath, about how our work aligns, and what she’d like the Surf Life Saving community to know about Aon’s values and its people.

What made Surf Life Saving New Zealand the right fit as a partner for Aon?

When the partnership conversations first started, the alignment between our two organisations was obvious straight away and only became stronger as discussions progressed. We were already thinking deeply about risk, climate change, communities, and how we could show up to support positive outcomes for people across New Zealand with respect to those. The partnership came together at the right time and felt incredibly natural because the values alignment was so strong from the get-go.
Like many Kiwis, I spent every opportunity at the beach or enjoying life around the ocean. Surf Life Saving was always there, as a constant, keeping people and communities safe - and that’s at the heart of the partnership. It’s such an iconic organisation and such a big part of New Zealand culture when we think of the ocean, sport and safety, and community spirit.
As things developed, we started looking closely at the innate connection that New Zealanders have to the water and the ocean too. We’re an island nation with a strong connection to the sea and our water resources, and for Aon, supporting resilient communities relative to those, is a huge part of what we do.

What does this partnership mean for Aon beyond traditional sponsorship?

For us, it always came back to supporting communities into the future and helping people make better decisions today that positively impact tomorrow. That’s very aligned with what we do as a business. 
A big part of this partnership is that it’s actually one third of a collective group of organisations that we support (alongside Sustainable Coastlines and the Spirit of Adventure Trust), sharing common purpose across community, in different ways, but linked together by the ocean. This approach has brought with it some awesome opportunities for collaboration and cross-organisation partnership, like the beach cleans at Surf Nationals for example.
We deliberately brought those organisations together because there was such strong synergy around community impact, water, resilience, and future generations – and it was all brought together in such a unique way.

What stands out most to your team about the work surf lifeguards and volunteers do?

One of the things that stands out most is the pride and commitment the volunteers have in their communities – but also the incredible dedication to keeping people safe, in some really challenging conditions. Our people see the rescue statistics each week over summer, they see the impact volunteers are having, and they feel proud knowing Aon supports that mahi.
When we were considering who we wanted to partner with, we wanted something our people could genuinely connect with and feel proud of. That’s happened very naturally with Surf Life Saving. It’s hard not to, when you see the impact of SLS volunteers on the beach and in communities or hear the stories at the awards or talking to the clubbies. The way that the clubs work together, and the incredible skills and commitment of the athletes has been pretty inspiring to our people too.

What does the partnership mean to Aon staff around the country?

Our people are incredibly proud to support the SLS community. Across Aon we have surf lifesavers, parents with kids in nippers, and people from multi-generational surf lifesaving families - and the community spirit runs strong.
What’s also been really exciting, is seeing how eager our people are to get involved, whether that’s volunteering at events, attending awards evenings, or supporting activations around the country. Our people are eager to be involved, and I’d love to see the partnership encourage even more volunteers in the future. There’s also something really special about seeing Aon branding on the beach, on flag stands and lifeguard uniforms. Staff send through photos standing beside the flags or stories from weekends at surf events. It creates a real, emotional connection to the partnership.
The partnership is something we share constantly, in New Zealand, but also across the region and the rest of the globe (Aon is in 120 countries!). The response has been overwhelming, and the pride is obvious right the way from the boardroom to the beach.

What do you most want the Surf Life Saving community to know about Aon?

We genuinely want to continue strengthening relationships with the communities we operate in, and hopefully protect and grow those communities too.
Our office footprint stretches from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island, and helping people manage risk and protect their businesses is the work we live and breathe every day. Most importantly, our people are always open to supporting communities and getting involved wherever they can.
The partnership spans both frontline lifesaving and national sport events. Why was supporting both areas important to Aon?
We’ve talked a lot about how SLS manages risk, protects and supports communities. But from a sport perspective, there’s also such a clear link between the skills developed through competition and what happens during patrol season. If we weren’t supporting sport as well, we wouldn’t have been supporting the full story.
The events have also become a meaningful connection point for our people. Nationals and major events allow the Aon team to spend time with the surf lifesaving community, meet members from around the country, and genuinely feel part of it.
Surf Life Saving is such a tight-knit family, and over the past couple of years we’ve really felt welcomed into that through these amazing sporting events.

What does being named a finalist in the Sport and Recreation Awards mean to Aon?

It’s been really special!
When the awards were first mentioned to us, we were excited just to enter, so to then become a finalist has been an especially proud moment, particularly given the strength of the other finalists.
It’s also been a great story to share internally with our people. I think it’s a real testament to the work both organisations have put into building a partnership that is authentic, meaningful, and genuinely values-led.
We are so grateful to Surf Life Saving, for your partnership and collaboration – and for welcoming the Aon whanau into yours. 

A huge thank you to Aon New Zealand for standing alongside Surf Life Saving New Zealand and supporting our volunteers, athletes, clubs, and communities across Aotearoa.

Read about the Sport New Zealand 2026 Sport & Recreation Awards finalists here.
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