Ep205 Serene Davis & James Orchard of QBE: Stars aligning for Innovation

How do you get big, globally diversified insurance companies to
innovate? It’s something that we all know is way easier said than
done.


That’s what today’s podcast is really all about.


Today I’m joined by two senior executives who are working
together to implement change, improve efficiency and do new
things at global insurer QBE.


Global Head of Cyber Serene Davis has been tasked with creating a
global offering for cyber at QBE, where up to now development has
been patchy, with different strategies playing out in various
markets across the world.


And CEO of QBE Ventures James Orchard runs a small team whose job
it is to assist senior executives like Serene in realising their
vision through the partnerships and strategic investments that
will build up the tech providers that will help them achieve
their goals.


It’s a fascinating conversation and one that embodies QBE’s
relatively new CEO Andrew Horton’s plan to imbue a culture of
innovation across the group globally.


Indeed Mr Horton may not be on the show himself in this Episode,
but his presence never seems to be far from the surface.


It’s clear from this lively chat that if you want to instil
change and a culture of innovation you have to lead from the top
and you have to resource it and be strong enough to accept that
there will be many twists and turns on the road to eventual
success.


Listen for yourself – for anyone who is grappling with the
challenge of keeping a large insurance business up to speed and
relevant, without throwing out the parts of its culture that have
already got it to where it is, this will be a valuable listen.


NOTES


I let the abbreviation KPI through. It stands for Key Performance
Indicator.


LINKS


We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo:


https://www.advantagego.com/