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It is a story many in the industry will be familiar with, but one incoming CEO has his mother to thank for his journey in insurance.
Incoming Aon CEO James Baum revealed his path to the top of one of the country’s biggest brokerages and said his mother was to thank for his start in the industry.
“I left university and had very little idea of what I was going to do but I was lucky enough to have a forceful mother who was not going to let me sit back and do nothing,” Baum told Insurance Business.
“By chance, we had a family friend that was involved in the insurance industry and my mother arranged for me to have a chat with him one day. I had a chat, not knowing what an insurance broker was, and I thought it sounded interesting.”
Baum took a role with Jardine Australia Insurance Brokers and moved on to Sedgwick for his formative years in the industry. From Sedgwick, Baum joined Marsh, where he spent six years as northern region manager – placement services before moving to Aon in 2005. A lot of hard work later, and he is about to take the reins as one of the biggest broker bosses in Australia.
It was the impact of the industry on a wider scale that saw him want to progress his career.
“It became really apparent to me, even though I couldn’t put the words to it at the time, that insurance was a really important part of the world, the economy and people’s day to day lives,” Baum said. “You actually did really get to make a difference in terms of being able to work with clients to solve issues that would otherwise stop them doing business.”
While his new role at Aon stands out as a highlight, Baum said the international opportunities the industry has offered have helped shape him.
“My first experience of London and being at Lloyd’s and seeing the breadth and depth of business that flows through Lloyd’s, and seeing how much insurance has touched the world on any given day was really impactful and set me on the path,” Baum continued.
