What is your role and where do you work?
I am the Customer and Partnerships Manager in the Customer and Distribution team at Zurich Municipal. I look at the changing landscape our customers operate in and work with them and our partners to make sure Zurich Municipal is ready to respond and help manage risks.
My team includes specialists in the areas of public procurement and social value, people development and safeguarding. We cover all UK public and voluntary sectors. We have strong links with the wider Zurich UK and global Zurich teams, so we can bring in the right expertise and make the most of synergies.
What is your expertise, specialism or main area of interest?
I am a risk professional; I love working in risk management and I am proud to be a risk geek. I am also a huge advocate for the UK public and voluntary sectors and the incredible work they do.
I truly believe in the value of risk and insurance as enablers of innovation and best practice across organisations and systems and as key tools in underpinning resilience and sustainability. My current role enables me to work with people to make this a reality in more places across the UK public and voluntary sectors.
Is there a particular aspect of your work you are interested in or passionate about?
I’m passionate about showing people the value of risk management and how it can be a dynamic, proactive tool. Risk management helps people make better decisions by highlighting what’s important, so they can weigh up their options. When used this way, it leads you into some really interesting areas and conversations.
I also want to shift the conversation about insurance from being just transactional to focusing on the good it can do. Every day, insurance helps organisations and communities prepare, build, rebuild, recover, and rehabilitate. How we identify, manage, mitigate, and transfer risk directly impacts our ability to improve resilience, sustainability, and success. Getting it right makes a fundamental difference.
What are you working on currently?
Alongside my usual work, I'm involved in some exciting projects with customers and partners.
Currently we're looking at:
- Scaling natural flood management and nature as an investable asset class
- Raising awareness of lithium-ion battery risks and how to manage them
- Increasing community resilience to acute and chronic threats
- Creating meaningful social value propositions
- Preparing for new legislation government is consulting on or launching.
My job is wide-ranging and varied, and it constantly challenges me - in a good way!
What topics and trends are emerging?
We are working through fascinating times with a wide range of risk topics and trends evolving and emerging.
Currently, three key areas for me are:
- Sustainability and resilience: Building resilience against environmental and economic shocks is crucial. However, it’s hard to keep a long-term view, given day to day pressures. When it comes to environmental resilience, the conversation is moving beyond property and there is increased understanding of the risks to business continuity and employee and community wellbeing too.
- Technology: As digital transformation accelerates, the risk of cyber attacks increases, meaning we need even better data protection and ways to respond to incidents. AI, automation and other emerging technologies improve efficiency, but governance, ethical considerations, and management of unintended consequences can struggle to keep up.
- Workforce: The UK public and voluntary sector must tackle talent shortages, focus on workforce well-being, and keep up with changing skills requirements to remain able to serve their communities.
