The Insurance Business Global 100 list celebrates those who have made and continue to make an impact in the insurance industry across the globe.
Among this year's Global 100 winners are Drew Schnehage and Gillian Davidson, female insurance leaders in Australia who were recognised for innovating and advancing in the industry and championing causes and promoting education.
Schnehage is the managing director of Innovative Group Australia. She entered the insurance industry in South Africa after finishing her year 12, working in claims and then joining two insurers and a broker before joining a third-party administrator.
With 30 years of insurance industry experience in South Africa, Schnehage is known for building and strengthening client relationships. She has also built and grown two businesses from the ground up.
Schnehage became a director at 32 years old and soon joined an underwriting agency to develop a new niche insurance product for high-net-worth individuals. In 2008, she started an underwriting agency, growing the high-net-worth portfolio.
In 2016, Schnehage's company won the Underwriting Agency of the Year award. After seven years, Schnehage sold her underwriting agency to Hollard Insurance in South Africa and joined its personal lines division, assisting with the development of its new personal lines' product offering.
In 2019, Schnehage uprooted herself and her family to join Innovation Group Australia, where nobody knew her, to lead the Australian operations in her capacity as managing director.
Davidson is a partner at Sparke Helmore Lawyers and the chair of its diversity and inclusion advisory committee.
As a senior partner and market-leading expert specialising in general commercial insurance, Davidson leads the firm's national liability team of over 50 partners and lawyers. She advises many of the largest Australian and international insurers, the London market, underwriting agencies, brokers, claims managers, third-part administrators, and insureds and manages complex multi-party claims that require an additional layer of sensitivity and proactive response (including advising on Royal Commissions).
Passionate about innovating, Davidson develops transformative solutions in collaboration with her clients and industry that respond to a rapidly evolving insurance environment. She also drives innovative diversity and inclusion strategies within the workplace and in the broader community.
Learn more about Schnehage and Davidson and see the rest of this year's Global 100 winners by reading the Insurance Business Global 100 Insurance 2023 special report.
