Rising Stars 2023

“I still make sure I am well prepared for any meeting, presentation, but [I’ve realised] that nobody is expected to have all the answers”
Alicia Rodriguez FernandezLiberty Specialty Markets

What does it take for young insurance professionals to excel?

During the 2023 Rising Stars awards nomination process, IBUK queried some of the best young insurance professionals in the country.

One question was: What traits are important to generate rapid advancement in your career?

Regarding the rankings, winner Alicia Rodriguez Fernandez, 33, says, “I would agree that hard work, emotional intelligence, and specific management training play an essential part in professional growth.”

And she adds, “I would rank ‘long career at the same employer’ as the least relevant of this list, purely because it entirely depends on your company’s culture.”

In addition, Rodriguez points out that – at many companies other than her firm, Liberty Specialty Markets – external hiring practices continue to drive high attrition rates.

For fellow winner Tendai Msipa, 24, the number one spot is a “no brainer.”

“When you join the insurance industry, you don’t quite realise the amount of work that happens in such short time spans – the typical renewal periods,” he says. “Hence, I see hard work as the quality that holds the utmost importance and one that I have exhibited throughout my working life.

“The British industry of insurance is heavily based upon networking and having your own personal network that you can lean on, and emotional intelligence plays a very big role in that. Understanding how the law works and how to read the contract is also very important.”

Immigrant winners with advanced degrees

Rodriguez grew up in Spain, is multilingual and has an MBA. She began underwriting at Chubb Spain over 10 years ago. After emigrating to London, she worked as a broker and underwriter in international business.

“Deciding to move abroad to gain international experience has been the most difficult challenge of my career, but also the most rewarding,” she says. “It’s been challenging not only because of the language barrier and cultural differences or clashes, but also because learning a new role in a language that is not your own requires additional effort and it can be exhausting.”

Detailing how she dealt with the change in environment, Rodriguez explains, “I still make sure I am well prepared for any meeting or presentation, but I’ve realised that nobody is expected to have all the answers. We all make mistakes, and that’s fine as long as we learn from them.”

She had a spell at Probitas Syndicate 1492 in directors’ and officers’ and general liability underwriting positions and moved to Liberty Specialty Markets in 2019. As of May 2021, she has been the crime product lead for Liberty’s UK and Ireland team.

What’s the secret to Rodriguez’s success? “First of all, pushing myself to leave my comfort zone and not letting fear or uncertainty hold me back,” she says. “Equally, persistence and resilience have also played an important part in my career as facing challenges or having to adapt quickly to different or new situations is something we all face at some point.

“I strongly believe caring for what you do and trying to do your best in every situation is crucial to high performance. And treating people with respect and trying to be fair and empathetic is vital since every decision and action you take will have an impact on someone else.”

In the late 2000s, Msipa’s parents emigrated from Zimbabwe to the UK as political refugees. He studied law as an undergrad and earned a master’s degree in computer science.

At Satinwood Underwriting, he’s an underwriting data assistant.

“At the start of my career, I didn’t want to lean on anyone and didn’t want to ‘network,’” he says. “So, I signed up for a mentorship program and found that through reaching out to my mentor and asking them more nuanced questions about difficult topics within work about my diversity, about responsibilities outside of work, [I was able] to articulate myself much better in those instances.”

Msipa offers an insight into his mindset.

“I’ve always been one who says I’ll try something new, and I’ll continuously try my best at any given moment,” he says. “I’m trying to perpetuate my career, but it’s more about immersing myself in the learning of the insurance industry, other cultures, and the importance of diversity and inclusion.”

Key insight from UK Rising Stars

In becoming one of the best young insurance professionals in the UK, Rodriguez explains that building a successful career takes time and dedication.

“Working in insurance can also be really fun and rewarding,” she says. “It can give you the chance to travel around the world and work with people from different cultures and learn from them. It’s enriching.

“There are many opportunities and roles available, which will give you the chance to explore which one better suits your strengths and further develops your career.”

And Msipa touches on his ‘golden rule’ of getting involved.

“There is an open secret about the insurance industry: you are the most valuable asset because of your network,” he says. “They want someone who can go out and meet brokers and who can do the technical pricing or work behind the scenes. But ultimately, it’s about how you manage yourself under stress and are you able to communicate effectively?

“Those relationships will last forever because everyone in the insurance industry is in the so-called ‘square mile’. Everyone moves around in the square mile, and one of the things I’ve learned is the industry never forgets.”

PwC’s Vohra highlights the building blocks for young professionals keen to make an impact in the UK insurance industry:

• Be curious and open to new projects and ideas.  
   

• Build networks internally and externally. 
   

• Have a continuous learning mindset and try to gain experience across various areas to find where their skill set really shines.  
   

• Seek out mentors who inspire and challenge.   

“There is an open secret about the insurance industry: you are the most valuable asset because of your network”
Tendai MsipaSatinwood Underwriting

Rising Stars’ thoughts on the UK insurance market

Rodriguez says the insurance market in the UK has undergone significant changes over the past year. She says it is characterised by:

• An increasing focus on digital transformation  
   

• The rising importance of sustainability and climate risk management 
   

• The recognition of the need for diversity and inclusion, in gender and ethnicity but also skill sets and backgrounds  

However, Vohra says, “There is greater representation in terms of diversity between the Rising Stars of today and a decade ago. This brings diversity of abilities and thinking. Young talent entering the workforce today are also digitally native, have been through a COVID environment, and are used to hybrid ways of working and utilising digital tools to collaborate and build relationships.”

Msipa says the insurance employment market offers plenty of opportunity for young people.

He adds, “I do believe that going on forward in the next year, there will be a massive amount of opportunity for young people within the insurance industry.”

The ABI’s Antola echoes this. “Our sector has made great strides on improving diversity, but there’s always more that can be done. The leaders of tomorrow will need to continue this work and also look to where we can learn from other industries.”

Meet the judges

• 
  Ajay Mistry
  Co-Founder and Co-Chair
  iCAN  
• 
  Amy Green
  President
  The Insurance Institute of Sussex 
• 
  Kishan Mangat
  Founding Member and Co-Chair
  iCAN 
• 
  Maxine Goddard
  Senior Vice President, Strategic Distribution and Development
  Sompo International
• 
  Michael Keating
  Chief Executive Officer
  Managing General Agents’ Association
• 
  Steve White
  Chief Executive
  British Insurance Brokers’ Association

Rising Stars 2023

• 
  Ellie Saunders
  US and Canada Healthcare Team Leader
  CFC
   
  
• 
  Julia Soong-Leblanc
  Product Development Manager
  CFC
   
  

• Adobea Atsrefi
  Senior Claims Operations Lead
  AIG
• Alexander Gowing
  Vice President, FINPRO Specialty
  Marsh
• Alicia Rodriguez Fernandez
  Senior Underwriter, D&O
  Liberty Specialty Markets
• Alina Jipa
  Chief of Staff to the CEO
  RSA
• Alpesh Tosar
  Chief Operating Officer, Marsh Specialty & Placement UK
  Marsh
• Alvertos Fiorantis
  Lead Data Scientist
  MS Amlin Corporate Services
• Alycia Thomson
  Director, London Region
  PIB Insurance Brokers
• Amie Studholme
  HR Operations and Reward Coordinator
  The Jensten Group
• Andrew Corbin
  Partner
  Gallagher
• Benji Avro
  Cyber Client Director
  Aon
• Cameron Wallace
  Commercial Property Adjuster
  Sedgwick
• Chiku Tambala
  Senior Claims Consultant
  Marsh McLennan
• Dan Pirozzolo
  Casualty Broker
  WTW
• Daniel Wells
  Partner, Marine and Cargo
  McGill and Partners
• Echaunti Swan
  Operations Manager
  iCAN
• Ed Ventham
  Co-Founder
  Assured
• Eilidh Green
  AR Specialist
  Beazley
• Elena Lobacheva
  Head of Corporate Finance
  Beazley
• Elliott Wallis
  Senior Marketing Manager
  Arch Insurance
• Emma Chapman
  Head of Conference
  British Insurance Brokers’ Association
• Ethan Godlieb
  Cyber and Tech E&O Broker
  Aon
• Fadwa Aboulhorma
  Risk Manager
  MS Amlin
• Fatima Rehman
  Investment Specialist
  Aviva
• Gaia Corbetta
  Senior Actuarial Analyst
  Arch Insurance International
• Himesh Patel
  Director
  Mantra Insurance Brokers
• Jake Nunn
  Employee Benefits Consultant
  Aon
• Jasmine Shell
  Innovation and Engagement Manager
  EDII
• Jason Cohen
  Head of Business Development
  Hamilton Leigh
• Jon Marsh
  Managing Director, Partnerships and Transformation
  Aviva
• Katie Mackie
  Digital Communications Coordinator
  British Insurance Brokers’ Association
• Ken Kittoe
  Diversity and Inclusion Manager
  AXA
• Komal Quintieri
  Technical Team Leader
  Allianz
• Layal AlHarahsha
  Commercial Property Loss Adjuster
  Sedgwick
• Leah Church
  Distribution Strategy Manager
  Hiscox
• Lorraine Ekong
  Senior Cyber Claims Adjuster
  CFC
• Louis van der Lande
  Assistant Vice President
  Lockton
• Markus Mohr
  Strategic Business Development Manager
  Pen Underwriting
• Maxim Cook
  Co-Chair
  Link (LGBTQ+ Insurance Network)
• Megan Brett
  Client Service Executive
  WTW
• Midhin Joy
  Risk and Compliance Director
  Aon
• Morgan Davidson
  Account Manager
  Ki Insurance
• Pelumi Ojo
  Business Analyst
  Aon
• Philip Robertson
  Team Leader
  RSA
• Sebastian Prosser
  Head of Account Management
  VIPR
• Shannon Adams
  Head of Service Delivery
  WNS
• Tendai Msipa
  Underwriting Data Assistant
  Satinwood Underwriting
• Tharshika Sivanesan
  Manager, Deal Operations
  PwC
• Thomas Pereira
  Underwriting Assistant (Energy)
  Sompo International
• Tom Murray
  Senior Partner
  NFU Mutual Yorkshire Central (Murray, Morrison & Knowles)
• William Hone
  Development Executive
  Higos Insurance Services

Insights

As part of our editorial process, Key Media’s researchers interviewed the subject matter experts below for an independent analysis of this report and its findings.

Deepti Vohra
Partner
PwC

Liisa Antola
Policy Adviser, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Association of British Insurers (ABI)