What is your current role, and how did you end up in it?
I am Chief Risk Officer (CRO) for AXA Insurance UK, that is the Retail (motor and home) & Commercial insurance business in the UK. This is a role I was promoted into five years ago from AXA UK Head of Insurance Risk. Within the Profession, I currently chair a cross-practice working group, sharing information between the Practice Boards (e.g. General Insurance, Life, Sustainability). This role has developed from my liaison role between the General Insurance and Risk Management Boards that I took on 5 years ago.
What is the defining moment of your career to date?
There are three notable moments in my career that have led me to be a CRO. The first was a three-month secondment opportunity, that turned into one and a half years, when RBS Insurance was preparing to transform into Direct Line Group. Having been at PwC for 14 years, since being a graduate, this gave me a taste for “life on the other side”. The second was my move into Risk Management when I left PwC. Risk management hadn’t been my career plan as I’d not worked on many risk management jobs at PwC, but the role at AXA felt right and gave me the opportunity to use my consultancy skills inside an organisation. The third was when my mentor encouraged me to apply for my current CRO role as I had nothing to lose by going through the process! I got the job and I haven’t looked back, becoming the only woman on that Executive team (which I’m pleased to say is now up to c1/3).
In your opinion, what prepared you best to take on your current role?
I think the skills I developed at PwC really prepared me for my current role. My role is very varied, on any given day I could be dealing with a wide range of topics, from new product developments to assessing reserves or company investments. So I have to be agile in my thinking and effective in my time management, all of which I learnt from balancing multiple projects at PwC. I also did a lot of audit support at PwC which involved asking the right questions to different stakeholders from across the business, which again I put to good use in my current role. Now I’m 5 years into my CRO role I know that having supportive people around me, such as my boss, my mentor and peers to ask questions and seek advice from are vital. Along with the importance of the skills I’ve learnt over the years to manage and motivate a strong team.
What is the biggest challenge you face in your role within this market?
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