Ardonagh recognises the best and brightest talent across the Group at 2022 Spotlight Awards

The Ardonagh Group hosted the 2022 Spotlight Awards ceremony last night– its annual employee recognition awards programme – with 450 colleagues united under one roof for the first time in three years at one of London’s most iconic venues, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Celebrating the superhuman efforts of colleagues across all corners of the Group, this year the Spotlight awards received a record breaking 860 nominations, from which 61 individuals and teams were chosen as finalists, with 13 winners crowned on the night.

Meet Ardonagh’s 2022 Spotlight Awards winners…

Collaboration Award – Towergate Southampton, Compass London Markets and Geo Specialty

The three brands across the Group placed a large, complex case of business together – working as one to ensure the needs of the client were met and they had adequate insurance in place.

They are a shining example of how when multiple businesses within the Group come together and utilise different skills, resources and connections, everyone can benefit and perhaps most importantly, so too does the client.  

Innovation of the Year – TradEd Algorithmic Underwriting, Ed Broking

TradEd is Ed Broking’s front and middle office system on which in 2021, the team launched various algorithms within the market to deliver more value to clients, underwriters and brokers.

The judges praised the team for their ingenuity and forward-thinking and being at the forefront of the market.

Customer and Client Champion – Adam Marlow, Geo Underwriting

Adam took on a completely new role in 2021 and very quickly looked at ways his team could be more efficient to create an enhanced journey for the customer. He introduced improvements which impacted the team’s ability to meet client service level agreements targets, which as a result, has ensured that customers are now  able to reach advisors far quicker than before.

He has an innate passion for customer service and improvement, but he also holds the qualities of a leader who wants to build positive morale and a culture that drives his team forward to deliver real and tangible results for the business.

Service Excellence – Kirsty Elwell-Tilley, Footman James

Kirsty  stepped into a seconded business support role in 2020 and took on the position for longer than anticipated. She was praised for taking on a new role and throwing herself into it, using her past experience to enhance processes and reporting, and delivering tangible benefits for the business whilst bringing people together and embracing change.

Ultimately, she left the team in a better position than she found it.

MGA Excellence – Stewart Croker, Thames Underwriting

Stewart is one to watch according to the 2022 judging panel. Having been a primary lead on many projects, he has used his technical understanding of binding agreements and contracts to ensure the business and customers have always had the best outcome.

His expertise, natural leadership and work ethic have been commended as that of a winner, and he has delivered impressive business growth over a 12-month period.

Broker of the Year – Commercial and Retail Lines – Chris Brady, Towergate

Chris is known as being a shining example of collaboration and expertise not only within his business, but the wider Group. Having an impressive knowledge of broking, he has been at the forefront of some of Towergate’s most tricky business cases – always delivering unique and complex risks for clients.

His client-first approach and appetite to collaborate with others to get the best outcome for clients didn’t go unnoticed by our judges.

Broker of the Year – Specialty and Wholesale Lines – Lee Rogalski, Ed Broking

Lee is known as a details guy, with an innate ability to always make sure his clients have the correct terms and coverage in place with all the I’s and t’s dotted and crossed.

While his strong technical ability and passion for delivering new business opportunities was commended, he is also viewed as an excellent role model to his colleagues and peers.

Best Newcomer – Phillip Liu, Atlanta

Phil joined Atlanta as Head of Data Services, taking on a role that had previously been managed by multiple people and required niche expertise. A year into his role and he has seen his team flourish, in addition to being at the heart of delivering the new Atlanta Data Warehouse on time and to budget.

He has made an immediate and invaluable impact to his colleagues.

Rising Star – Jenny Howell, Legal, The Ardonagh Group

Jenny is a trusted expert and natural leader across a hugely diverse cross-section of stakeholders and has been involved in a number of the finance and M&A deals across the Group.

She is always the first to embrace change, championing others to achieve bigger things and has been commended for taking everything in her stride and delivering exceptional value to Ardonagh in a hugely transformative period of growth.

Leader of the Year – Celine Green, Capital Insurance Markets, Ardonagh Europe

Celine joined Capital Insurance Markets – a subsidiary of Arachas – at the end of 2020 and very quickly won the confidence and support of her team thanks to the collaborative culture she has fostered.

She has personally overseen huge growth for the business and her infectious attitude, decisiveness and long-term vision has culminated in a highly connected team, one where everyone has the same end goal and operates as a well-oiled machine.

The Ardonagh Community Trust Award– Mark Parker, Ardonagh Advisory

Mark has played a key role in creating a platform to drive change within Ardonagh.

Chairing the Ethnicity Steering Group in Ardonagh Advisory, he has been instrumental in driving forward the diversity and inclusion agenda – not just in Advisory but the wider Group, working towards a collective goal to have a workplace where everyone can thrive.

The impact of Mark’s actions will have real longevity as we collectively continue to embrace the unique needs, perspectives and potential of all colleagues.

Team of the Year – Finch Aesthetics Health & Beauty team, Ethos Broking. Ardonagh Advisory

The Aesthetics Health and Beauty team in Finch are part of a fast-growing, niche sector, brimming with potential.

Despite their sector being impacted by multiple lockdowns, they worked hard with clients in challenging circumstances to offer solutions to protect their businesses. This client-centric attitude elicited the trust of their clients and also as a result, saw their book of business grow rapidly.

This, coupled with the work the team has done to build a reputation within the industry to become a well-known insurance brand is why they scooped the award this year.

The Resilience Award – Towergate Travel

While many parts of our lives have returned to normal over the past 12 months, the reality is many businesses are still navigating the impacts of the pandemic. Towergate Travel has had to overcome huge hurdles over the last two years while travel businesses have been significantly impacted by Covid.

Despite this, they have shown resilience, tenacity and spirit and have continued to work with clients on their requirements.

Special recognition

During the awards ceremony, acknowledgment was also given to various teams across the Group for their supreme efforts.

In both the Collaboration Award and Innovation of the Year categories, the Group had finalists across Ardonagh Specialty, Price Forbes, Equinox and Ardonagh Portfolio Solutions for the General Aviation, Cross Class Capacity Follow Solution and Edge Collaboration projects. The teams behind these efforts received special recognition.

Following The Ardonagh Community Trust Award last night, a special recognition went to Ride4Life. The award itself is given in memory of Andy Coles – former Managing Director of Ardonagh MGA’s Lutine business. Andy founded Ride4Life, an annual charitable bike ride, raising funds for causes close to the hearts of its riders. Andy tragically lost his life while training for the event in 2020, but his legacy and community spirit has carried on through Ride4Life. In 2021, the ride grew with colleagues from across the Group taking part.

Last year’s ride raised over £25,000 for Samaritans and to acknowledge their incredible achievements the Ride4Life team received special recognition and a huge round of applause from everyone in the room.

Congratulations

We would like to congratulate all our winners, finalists as well as nominators who helped us uncover and recognise so many great achievements.