Risk People Update

Graham “Bear” Stevens passes away

Graham “Bear” Stevens has passed away on Friday May 6. Stevens was the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) member of 15 years, and Edgewise Insurance Brokers head, being a respected veteran of the industry.

Synchron farewells chair

Synchron’s chair, Michael Harrison, is retiring after a long history with the company. Harrison was chair of the company since 2011, but has been with the firm since 2007. Synchron was purchased by WT Financial Group in March 2022. Synchron director, Don Trapnell, succeeds Harrison as chair.

Aviva CEO says sexism in finance is alive and well, even at top levels

Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of Aviva, posted on LinkedIn about her experiences with sexism in finance, saying it has gotten worse and more blatant as she’s risen through the ranks. Blanc was the first female CEO of Aviva, starting the job in July 2020. She said that some shareholders said offensive things at the annual shareholder’s meeting recently, including comments that she was ‘not the man for the job’ and perhaps should be ‘wearing trousers’.

Blanc has worked in the industry for over 30 years, and while she said she’s used to the sexist and derogatory comments, things have not been getting better over the years, but worse the more senior she got. Now comments being made in public was a new low, as they were only previously made in private.