FIRST STEPS
Starting out with Arch
Juliette Oatley and Stephanie Rego are rising stars at Arch Bermuda. Fast Track talks to them about how they forged successful careers with the company.
again, at Arch in Bermuda—Stephanie in the excess casualty department and Juliette in professional liability.
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Stephanie didn’t become interested in insurance until quite late. “I went to school in Nova Scotia, and I did a major in sociology and minor in Spanish,” she says. “I had no interest in insurance when I was younger. If I could do it all again, I’d defi nitely have focused earlier on insurance.”
While at university, she spent the summer and Christmas vacations of her fi nal year as an intern for Allied World Assurance (AWAC). When it offered her a full-time position after graduating during her Christmas internship, she jumped at the chance. She worked at AWAC for 18 months before being persuaded to move to Arch by a manager who had made the move.
Juliette’s academic background and experience was more obviously geared towards a career in fi nance. She did a BA in economics and an MBA in fi nance in Northern New Jersey. “I began interning in 2001 at the age of 19 with Marsh, the brokerage fi rm,” she says. “I interned with them for four years. Then during my master’s degree, I worked for the company in New York. I worked for about nine months before moving back to Bermuda following my master’s degree.”
She worked for Marsh Bermuda for three years, before moving to Arch in search of a new challenge. “I started talking to respected people in the market. After a few months talking to Tony Hay, Arch’s professional lines manager, and a few interviews, Arch hired me. It’s been phenomenal.”
Preparing for a career
Stephanie and Juliette agree that taking steps to prepare yourself for a career in insurance during your study is useful.
“I would say even for students who don’t want to major in business, make sure you have at least a course or two in business-related things, so you get a good understanding of how the business world operates,” Juliette says. “The corporate world is very different from the rest of society. I think having a better understanding of the terminology, the way you carry yourself and the way to speak is very important to get along in the corporate world.”
Stephanie underlines the importance of attitude and drive to success. “You have to be prepared to work very hard, whatever your background,” she says.
Social whirl Bermuda, for all its strengths, just isn’t as big as somewhere like New
12 FAST TRACK / Careers module / 2010-2011
tephanie Rego and Juliette Oatley have known each other since attending the same primary school. But since then, their paths have diverged. Now aged 28, they are working together
Stephanie Rego
York. This has implications for the social lives of young professional Bermudians, and is something to take into account when deciding on where they base themselves.
Stephanie says: “I think it’s always great to get out and see the world. In Bermuda, when you’re socialising, you do run into people you’re working with or who you’re negotiating with, so there is that reputational aspect to consider. You have to be mindful of your actions.”
In an industry where your reputation is everything, Bermuda can be limiting. “I would say everyone needs to go out and know what it’s like to go and fi nd a $50 concert, or to have fun with your friends, and not worry about what people think or that other people might care what you’re doing,” says Juliette. “I think everyone should have an opportunity to do that, but Bermuda has a good social scene for a small island.”
Both have spent time abroad—experience that has enriched their careers in Bermuda.
Opportunities for everyone
Stephanie and Juliette attended the same public primary school, so benefi ted from the governmental education system. Juliette moved to a private high school with a scholarship, while Stephanie did three years of public high school before going to private high school and then getting a scholarship to university for three out of four years.
Neither come from wealthy families, but nor did they grow up poor. According to Juliette, the opportunities are there regardless of background. “I think there are a lot of people in the industry that come from all kinds of economic backgrounds and varied living conditions growing up,” she says. “In fact, those that come from less affl uent areas tend to work harder and do better.”
Stephanie agrees: “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter where you start as long as you’re putting the initiative in. I will add that Bermuda provides a great opportunity for people of all economic backgrounds, because there are great foundations and funds to support the development of young people and to assist eager students with fi nancing to attend university.”
Indeed, there is more money available in Bermuda to fund education, in the form of scholarships and awards, than is taken up. The message is, if you want to be successful at Arch, you need to be hardworking, dedicated, have some sort of business knowledge and be able to get along with others. That’s it. There are opportunities for everyone as long as the attitude is right.
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Juliette Oatley
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