“Of course a lot more of us work in Lloyd’s today than did when I started 25 years ago, but they still remember me as the lady from Lloyd’s, especially in America.”
Name:
Sarah Mendola
Company: Advent Job:
Head of property binding authorities
Timeline: 2014—Head of property binding authorities, Advent 2013—Portfolio manager, international binders, QBE European Operations 2011—Senior underwriter, QBE European Operations 2002—Class underwriter, Chaucer Syndicates 1994—Underwriter, Travelers 1990—Underwriting assistant, Octavian Syndicate MGT 1989—Claims department, Eagle Star
Sarah Mendola joined Advent in September 2014 as head of property binding authorities. She has been in the Lloyd’s market for over 24 years, always working in the property arena and predominantly with delegated authorities in North America. Mendola joins Advent from another London Market business where she was portfolio manager of International Property Binders. She is deputy chair of the Lloyd’s Delegated Underwriting Committee and holds the ACII, Chartered Insurer status and the CPCU.
Why did you choose to work in this industry initially? Insurance chose me! I’d always planned a career in financial services, but I was probably thinking about banking. After my gap- year jaunt to Australia, I was offered a three-year contract at Eagle Star, through their graduate programme. Then a City opportunity came up, and I leapt at it. I love my insurance career, but I think, like me, a lot of people come into the industry by chance, not out of any great love for it. That’s why I give career talks at schools, to encourage young people to get involved in the industry.
What has been the highlight of your career so far? That’s easy: being the first woman in my company to run a
www.intelligentinsurer.com
portfolio. It was the North American property binders book at Chaucer, back in 2004. It’s an ongoing highlight: when I moved to Advent to establish the account here, I was overwhelmed by the support from brokers and cover-holders. Most of them came with me. Being a woman may have been an advantage. Of course a lot more of us work in Lloyd’s today than did when I started 25 years ago, but they still remember me as the lady from Lloyd’s, especially in America.
What has been the biggest challenge you have
encountered? Personally, it was proving I am serious about my career, which I did by getting both my British ACII qualification, and my US CPCU. I think there’s only one other non-American in Lloyd’s who has achieved both. Then there’s the relentless challenge of balancing work and family life. Professionally, it’s been the tough markets and major losses which
inevitably have come along over the years and created challenging environments. My confidence that our strategy is the right one, and will carry us through, helps me navigate them. I meet both the personal and professional challenges with the same characteristics. I am determined and competitive, but I like people.
If you had chosen a different profession/career path, what would it have been? On a realistic level, international banking of some description, although I am really happy to have landed in the insurance world. Perhaps less realistically, I would have liked to get involved in interior design. The two careers have some parallels, although they might not be obvious. I like perfection, and I’m willing to put in the effort to achieve it. I also like research, especially when it leads to the delivery of a goal. And both insurance and interior design, when they are done well, require a keen and creative focus on the end product, and making sure that the output is exactly what the customer wants.
2015 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | 67
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