Rising stars
“It’s different every day; we work with a lot of different clients and markets and it’s an ever-changing, exciting and growing business.”
we work with a lot of different clients and markets and it’s an ever- changing, exciting and growing business.
Name: Mark Braithwaite
Company: Willis Re North America Job:
Senior vice president
Timeline: 2013: Senior vice president, Willis Re North America
2010: Vice president, Willis Re North America
2007: Assistant vice president, Willis Re North America
2005: Analyst, Willis Re North America
2004: Summer internship, Willis Re
2002: Summer internship, Guy Carpenter
Describe your career so far and current role. Since interning with Guy Carpenter and then moving to Willis Re, over the past seven years I have quickly progressed from a supporting broker to becoming a senior member of the Willis Re North America team, handling casualty and professional liability reinsurance transactions and the main contact for some of Willis Re’s largest global clients.
Why did you choose the re/insurance industry? I come from a family of actuaries. I majored in mathematical decision sciences in college with the intention of pursuing a career as an actuary. However, after an internship at Guy Carpenter, I actually found it more interesting to be involved in the transactions and providing advice to clients, as opposed to being the one calculating the figures. I then went on to intern at Willis Re and I’ve been here ever since. I really enjoy my work. Here at Willis Re it’s different every day;
Do you think the industry is attractive to young professionals? I personally think it is. It’s an industry that presents a lot of opportunities for young professionals. You’re put in situations with opportunities and responsibilities at an early age. If you’re interested in circumstances where you have to think quickly, the opportunities are endless. Re/insurance is also a global industry. From a relatively young age I’ve had the opportunity to travel and conduct business in Bermuda, London, Germany and Hong Kong.
Do you think the re/insurance industry offers good opportunities and career development to young professionals? I think a lot of effort is being made across the industry in this regard but it could be doing much more in terms of formal graduate training programmes. At Willis Re I’ve been provided with the opportunity to progress and I’ve made the most out of that. You get out what you put in. It’s very entrepreneurial. In addition to graduate training programmes, I think the industry as a whole could have more structured management development programmes as well.
What are your aspirations for the future? I certainly see myself at Willis Re. I enjoy working with the team here and the opportunities I’ve been given, so I don’t see myself moving anywhere soon. Within Willis Re I’m based in New York and I am part of the professional liability segment. In the future I’d like to have the opportunity to either lead the branch one day or lead the segment, but I’m taking it one step at a time.
If you had chosen a different profession/career path, what would it have been? In high school I was a golf caddy, which was a great job at the time but not the plan B. As I said, I came from a family of actuaries so in a way, reinsurance broking was the plan B. The only other profession of interest to me is equity sales. It sounds like a fun and challenging career, combining financial analysis of companies with personal relationships. But I really do love my work and have no regrets about my career choice; I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
May 2015 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | 15
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