Meet The Board

Karen Graves

Chairman

+44 7793 472469
kgraves1@me.com"> kgraves1@me.com

Karen has been working in the Lloyd’s and London market for over 25 years, starting her career in the compliance arena, moving on to a COO and then a CEO role within the Lloyd’s market for an established Lloyd’s Managing Agency. She is also the Senior Independent Director for the USAA Limited and a Director of a Multi-Academy Trust, along with being a founding member and Chair of Green Kite Associates. SCOR SE was her first Global Reinsurance role and within scope fall operational matters, oversight and coordination of EMEA satellite offices (Madrid, Milan, Stockholm, Dublin, Moscow, Amsterdam, South Africa and Brussels), Internal Controls, Operational Risk Management, Regulatory Relationships, Property Affairs, Hub Compliance and working with the business divisions on new projects from a strategic perspective. Karen is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers and Chair of the Independent Women in Insurance Committee (iWIN). A Founder Member of European Council for the Advancement of Women in Leadership and addition to this a supporter of the Lloyd’s Military Network for senior officers leaving the Armed Forces. As a supporter of educational diversity Karen is a Director of the Burnt Mill Academy Trust, and as a keen painter a member of Lloyd’s Art Group. Age and educational diversity are of particular interest and she often takes part in presentations and conferences on these topics, along with being an Ally to LGBTQ colleagues.

Claire Bowler

Head of Insurance Sector, DWF LLP

Claire acts for numerous major UK and worldwide insurers in large loss and international cases. She set up and heads DWF’s International Claims Team and is regularly instructed in some of the largest and highest profile complex cross-border claims in the London Market, as well as for insurance companies and corporate clients all over the world. In 2011 Claire won the prestigious “Woman of Achievement Award” for the Insurance category in the Women in the City Awards, being named one of seven top female executives working in the City of London that year. She also features in the Women in the City book 'Project Diamond' as one of five selected women highlighted as a case study for success factors for women in business. Claire was made a Partner when she was 31 and a full Equity Partner at just 34. She has featured in The Financial Times and regularly appears in legal and insurance industry press. In 2016 Claire was elected to the Strategic Board of DWF, the first time a woman had been elected to DWF's main Board.

Sally Bramall FCII

Head Market Relations Governance, WTW

Sally is currently Head of the Market Relations Governance at Willis Towers Watson. Sally joined Willis in 1988 and served as Global Head of Market Security from 1998-2013. She additionally served as Chief Operating Officer of the GB Client & Business Development Group and Financial Institutions Group. Sally is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, holds a M.B.A. from the University of Hull, and is Vice President and Diversity Officer for the Insurance Institute of Ipswich, Suffolk & North Essex. She sits on the Lloyd’s of London steering committee for D&I (“Inclusion@Lloyd’s”), and the iWIN Committee, the women’s network of Worshipful Company of Insurers,.

Professor Paula Jarzabkowski

Professor of Strategic Management, Cass Business School

Professor Paula Jarzabkowski is an expert in insurance and reinsurance markets, having lead international teams in studying different aspects of the global industry for many years. She has released a range of industry reports, Masterclasses, academic papers, and a widely acclaimed book on “Making a Market for Acts of God” with Oxford University Press in 2015. Her current research examines how Governments and Markets around the world are working together to address the growing threat of natural and manmade disaster. She is Co-Chair of the Expert Advisory Group for the UK government’s Centre for Disaster Protection, and on the OECD High-Level Advisory Board for the Financial Management of Catastrophic Risks. Professor Jarzabkowski’s research frequently features in industry and business media, and is used to inform policy. Results from her most recent research may be accessed in her reports: Between State and Market: Protection Gap Entities and Catastrophic Risk; and Insurance for Climate Adaptation: Challenges and Opportunities.

Brendan McCafferty

CEO, Brightside

Brendan McCafferty is the current CEO at Brightside Insurance, one of the UK’s largest insurance brokers. Previously, he worked as CEO of Flood Re where he launched and managed an industry-backed initiative to make flood insurance more affordable and accessible for those living in flood-prone areas.

Claire McDonald

Managing Director HDI Global SE - UK

Claire has worked in insurance for over 30 years with Allianz in a mixture of underwriting and operations leadership roles, both on a local basis in UK and France and in more recent years in Global roles as Global Head of Operations (800 staff across the world – insurance operations, real estate, procurement and Business Continuity Management) and Global Practice Leader, Allianz Multinational (Allianz’s global program product). Earlier this year she changed to HDI Global where she now heads up the UK and Ireland branches. Claire is a Liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Insurers and on the Board of iWin as well as an Ambassador for the Insurance Supper Club. Claire’s passion for working for a more gender equal world comes from her core values around fairness, meritocracy and wastefulness – gender should never be a reason why someone is overlooked and what are the societal “norms” that mean that the playing ground is not even and how can we work to change them. Claire is an active mentor and supporter of young women.

Suneeta Padda

Founding Director, Padda Consulting

Padda Consulting was founded by Suneeta. She has extensive experience in assisting firms meet their regulatory requirements is grounded in her time at the Financial Services Authority (now the Financial Conduct Authority) Her experience is borne out roles within the FCA covering Supervision, Risk and Regulatory strategic planning. Additionally Suneeta has been engaged in providing risk and operational support to a number of FCA-wide projects. Suneeta's recent experience has included roles as Head of Group Compliance and Risk at Howden Broking Group, head of Compliance for Amlin in the UK, and various lead Compliance roles at Ernst and Young, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Willis and Marsh both in the UK and Internationally. Padda Consulting was established to help both domestic UK and global insurance intermediaries and insurers achieve evidence and maintain compliance with the FCA's principle-based regulatory framework, Lloyd's Minimum Standards and the PRA- PSM's, SIMR, Corporate Governance and Solvency

Vivine Cameron BA (Hons) Assoc CIPD

Education Partnerships Manager, CII

Vivine was appointed in January 2018 as Education Partnerships Manager for the Chartered Insurance Institute. Her role and remit is the creation and management of CII partnerships within Higher Education to expand the range of education options available to insurance and personal finance professionals – both existing and future professionals. 2008 American Express Regent’s Club Award Winner - recognizing outstanding top performing 3% of employees globally for their goal achievements and leadership behaviours. A highly skilled Project Manager with a real passion for individual personal and professional Learning and Development. Skilled in interpersonal relationships with a wide range of internal and external clients and stakeholders. Management of Projects, Programmes, Learning & Development (Training) interventions for Private, Not for Profit, Education and Legal professions.

Elisha St Hilaire

Project Manager, Aon Retirement Solutions

n May 2017 I moved into the Aon Hewitt Global Retirement and Investment Practice PMO where I am currently project coordinating the General Data Privacy Regulation Project for Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland and UK alongside a Senior Project Manager. I am also supporting the Global PMO Leader and EMEA Investment Chief of Staff in defining the operational governance and efficiency of our department. Aside of my current role I also Chair the Women’s International Network (WIN) Committee and have done so since 2013. I got involved in Diversity organically and quickly became a staunch ambassador as I am driven to make change. Not only am I a driver of Gender Diversity, I am also committed to the D&I agenda in general and working across multiple business resource groups (BRGs) to support them in their formation and how to raise awareness for their respective BRG. As an highly experienced Executive Assistant who has worked in a variety of different industries including legal, engineering, architecture, public sector and financial services, I bring a wealth of knowledge together with my extensive network to my new team. Besides the above, It has been a very exciting journey and was pleased that I was able to further empower our female colleagues at Aon back in 2014 to realise their true potential by implementing a signature event in celebration of International Women’s Day at Manchester United's stadium – an idea that was born in the small confines of the WIN Committee and in which I played an integral part. I had to approach various business leaders and stakeholders to get their support and assistance. The WIN – Empower your Career conference welcomed 90 colleagues from all over the UK to Old Trafford, where our CEO and business leaders shared their career journeys and answered guests’ questions on the day. The conference was a huge success and so proud of what we achieved.

John O'Connor

Head of Inclusion HRD, Ageas

John has held many significant and senior HR roles spanning over a 25 year period, at leading organisations such as AXA, Subsea 7, Lloyds Register, Shell International Trading and Shipping Company in the UK and previously spent a significant part of his career in Australia for organisations such as Bayer and Coles Myer Limited. John also ran his own consulting business for a period of time, before deciding to join Ageas as their Head of Talent and Development and more recently moving in to the role of Head of Inclusion and Diversity. John has led significant HR programme initiatives, developed leading-edge HR and Talent Management solutions, working in complex global matrix environments and has a real passion for transformational change, but in particular has a passion for driving change across the diversity and inclusion space.

Sarah Griffiths

Director of Communications, Gallagher

Sarah is Director of Communications for Gallagher’s UK broking and underwriting business. She joined Gallagher in 2013 and is responsible for internal and external communications across the 5,000-strong business along with UK corporate partnerships, including Gallagher’s Title Partnership of Premiership Rugby. Sarah moved into the insurance industry seven years ago, initially out of curiosity, after spending 15 years in the telecoms and technology sector, latterly as Head of Communications for BT Wholesale. She is a passionate advocate for working parents and has an eight year old son who she is (desperately) trying to teach the Welsh language in an attempt to keep her homeland roots alive in London.

Irem Yerdelen

Client & Business Development Director, WTW

rem is an experienced and forward-thinking senior insurance & risk management professional with excellent educational background and 14 years industry experience, starting her career in Marsh before moving to Willis Towers Watson in 2012. Irem has held various roles throughout her career including; placing wholesale business into the London Market for large & complex risks, producing and broking Facultative Reinsurance of UK & European insurers, managing team of brokers and dealing with insurance carrier relationships. In her current role Irem is supporting Willis Towers Watson clients to manage their access into different areas across Corporate Risk & Broking segment and expand connections; promoting cross-class opportunities and innovative solutions intersect between risk and human capital. Irem demonstrates fantastic interpersonal skills, coupled with creativity and determination to find the right solutions to challenges. A highly motivated, curious, result driven leader and team player with track record and strong insurance market relationships for over a decade. Her passion for Inclusion and Diversity is keeping her busy as the Co-chair of Willis Towers Watson's Gender Equity Network in the UK. Irem has been awarded 'Freedom of The City' in 2018 by City of London Corporation as a recognition of her outstanding contribution to making City diverse place to work. Irem is a Liveryman of Worshipful Company of Insurers since then and contributes to promoting excellence and exceptional ethical behaviour within insurance industry, helping to the City Civic in London and the wider community. Outside the day job, Irem is a significant contributor to various charity organisations that are determined to help others in need within under-represented societies and drive positive vision & mission forward globally in today's changing world. She is an environmentalist and loves conserving nature, walking and foraging.