5 minutes with Samantha Norton, Executive General Manager, MLCOA

In this ReB edition we spend 5 minutes with Samantha Norton, Executive General Manager at mlcoa. 

mlcoa is part of the MedHealth Group.  MedHealth has grown to be Australia’s largest provider of independent medical advisory services. MedHealth’s expertise spans all major medical specialties and allied health disciplines, plus rich experience in all Australia personal injury, disability, health and employment schemes. It works with insurers, Government, lawyers, employers and other stakeholders.

Samantha Norton, Executive General Manager, mlcoa. She has over 20 years’ experience in the health industry in Australia and the UK. Sam is a qualified Pharmacist specialising in oncology before progressing into an Executive role for the Care Quality Commission UK responsible for the regulation of the quality and safety of care offered by healthcare within the UK. Sam then moved to Australia where she worked as a Senior Executive for the Health Quality and Complaints Commission (former HQCC) now Health Ombudsmen in QLD.



A day in the life of Samantha Norton is…….  
I am an early riser at 5:00am, I feed and rug my horses, buy a coffee and commute to the office by train to start my day. I was once told that in this job no two days are ever the same and I can say that this is very true! Most of my day consists of communication including meetings, seminars, emails, lots of phone calls, always making time in my day to chat to staff and clients. I also spend a lot of time talking to our doctors which is always interesting. I leave the office around 6-7pm most days and travel home to feed my horses.

How and why did you get into a career at MedHealth/mlcoa…. I have been working for MedHealth/mlcoa for just over 6 years, previously I worked for the Queensland Government as a senior executive. Initially I commenced at mlcoa as the General Manager for Queensland – the role interested me as I was looking for a challenge, I also wanted to diversify my skill set and broaden my exposure to other industries.

The biggest challenge for you at mlcoa is…. WOW! This a hard one as each day brings different challenges. If I had to pick one I would say trying to continuously reprioritise my tasks for the day, in the medico-legal business there are always new products or services being developed and operationalised which keeps me busy! I also try and remember to fit lunch into my schedule.

What most excites you about being a services provider in Australian Life insurance… I believe that now is the time for change and this gives mlcoa a great opportunity to partner with our Life insurance clients; listen to their challenges and work closely to reengineer the way mlcoa’s diverse capabilities are made available to support a better future for the life sector. We understand the need for customer centricity with the requirement of fast and fair decision making and transparency.

What excites you the most about mlcoa… the uniqueness and pace of the business, the endearing culture, the passion and commitment of the staff to ensure each of our clients receives the best customer experience.

Four words to describe the culture at mlcoa…. Passionate, innovative, loyal and hardworking (plus one for luck ….caring).

Four words to describe you… Passionate, thoughtful, ambitious, humorous.

Most passionate about….  Doing anything I do well. And being the greatest supporter of my daughter in her quest to be in the QLD dressage squad and ultimately represent Australia. I am also passionate about providing guidance and support to my son in completing his Chiropractic degree.

What most annoys you…..  Delays on my commute to work and not finding a car park at Woolworths!

A little-known fact about you that not many people know… I worked for 15 years as a medical trainer for an international airline.

What makes your job interesting… the diversity of work, the range of clients we provide services to, the amazing staff and of course our expert panel of specialists.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career and why… I am inspired by Richard Branson who in the face of adversity became a business magnate and entrepreneur. One of his quotes is my mantra: “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees they will take care of the clients.”

Your proudest career achievement to date is….. I have always followed my passion; each career move I have made has resulted in achievements big and small and I am proud of every single one of them.

5 years from now mlcoa will be… utilising the breadth and depth of all the MedHealth brands and our partners to be an industry disrupter, delivering innovative solutions to the life insurance industry.

Your best advice for young life insurance professionals looking to work in a medical advisory business…… Do what you do well. Be true to yourself, your ideas and focusing on the essentials.

If you were Chair of ALUCA, name one thing that you would love to do … Ensure that we don’t lose sight of the purpose of the life insurance industry which is to look after people in their time of need.