100 influential women in re/insurance


“People are my favourite part of the job and building strong working relationships is the biggest challenge, but also the most rewarding achievement.”


Name:


Maggie Westdale


Company: Aon Benfield Job:


Chief financial officer


Timeline: 2009—Joined Aon Benfield 2002—Senior vice president, corporate financial planning and analysis, CNA 2001—CFO, property casualty division, CNA


With her CFO responsibilities, Maggie Westdale oversees both the financial results of the business and also the global operations. Prior to joining Aon in 2009, she spent 10 years at CNA in a number of senior finance roles. With most recent roles as SVP corporate financial planning and analysis, and CFO for CNA’s property casualty operations, Westdale was also an associate of Waterhouse LPP in financial services.


What has been the highlight of your career so far? The highlight of my career so far has been the variety of people that I have the opportunity to work with, learn from and with whom I have built incredible relationships. I could never have accomplished what I have without the teams of talented people around me.


What has been the biggest challenge you have


encountered? People are my favourite part of the job and building strong working relationships is the biggest challenge, but also the most rewarding achievement. Learning to work and communicate effectively across all groups in a complex, matrixed organisation such as Aon Benfield is very important, as well as having the ability to create value across diverse physical locations and cultures, and ultimately to bridge what are sometimes competing priorities. To do this with apparent seamlessness takes no small effort. But when it works and we all come together to serve our clients and our shareholders, my pride in Aon and our team overflows.


What are your career aspirations now? I am very happy at Aon. It’s a fabulous firm where new opportunities


104 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | 2015


are constantly available if you’re willing to step up and embrace accountability. My strength as chief financial officer is a profound focus on the business, on creating value for our clients, on growth and on improving operations. I hope to continue to build on those strengths, to continuously add more value for clients and shareholders, and to have a long career with ‘CFO’ in my title.


www.intelligentinsurer.com


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