Behind the Desk...

In my sixth episode of Behind the Desk with Mark Thomas, I'm joined Chief Information Officer (CIO) at The AA, Ollie Holden.

Ollie has been a technology leader for over 20 years and started his career over 15-year stints at Accenture, before several roles in insurance and most recently leading the major top to bottom technology transformation, the well-known household brand the AA.

In this episode, we hear all about Ollie's journey from consulting, moving from capital markets to insurance and his journey into the AA, where he found an under-invested technology estate and has now spent the last four years sorting that out. Ollie's journey has been a real step-by-step rise to the top with some brilliant pieces of advice for those looking to do the same. A really charismatic and genuine guy with some impressive brands and achievements to match.

Let's get behind the desk with Ollie Holden.

Connect with Ollie on LinkedIn.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn.

In my fifth episode of Behind the Desk with Mark Thomas, I'm joined by INSHUR COO and Co-Founder, David Daiches.

David and his co-founder Dan started INSHUR nearly six years ago to solve the problem of Uber drivers getting insurance quickly in New York. Since then, the company has expanded rapidly, going from 20 to over 150 employees in the last two years and now operating out the UK and Netherlands, as well as the US.

I loved speaking to David about his journey and the ups and downs of startup life. We discussed these views and where insurance needs to adapt and evolve and his vision for INSHUR over the coming years.

A truly inspiring conversation with a forward-thinking tech leader who started life in retail and is ended up changing the face of private hire career insurance.

So, without further delay, let's get behind the desk with David Daiches.

Connect with David on LinkedIn.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn.

In my third episode of Behind the Desk with Mark Thomas, I'm joined by RSA Chief Information Officer (CIO), David Germain.

In this episode, David and I talk in detail about his career, from starting out as a developer to his move into leadership and being one of the only black men in his organisation. David gives some incredible insight into his career path and offers up some great advice for those looking to do the same. We also talk about David's life away from work as a family man with three young boys and how he wished he could have made it as a pro rugby player.

Let's get behind the desk with David Germain.

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Connect with me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/markthomas0/

Connect with Mark at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcgermain/

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This podcast is powered by Eames Consulting.

In my second episode of Behind the Desk with Mark Thomas, I'm joined by former Digital Partners (Munich Re Group) Chief Information Officer, Joanne Safo.

Joanne left her role (in July 2021) at Digital Partners, part of the MunichRe Group, where she spent the last two and a half years as their CIO. In this episode, we talk about the early years of her career in banking, the transition to insurance and being one of the first people in the startup, which was Digital Partners.

It's clear from this interview that Joanne is undoubtedly an inspiring young tech leader and a true example of how you can progress in this sector given the opportunity!

Let's get behind the desk with Joanne Safo.

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Connect with me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/markthomas0/

Connect with Joanne at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-safo/

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This podcast is powered by Eames Consulting.

In the first episode of Behind the Desk with Mark Thomas, I'm joined by Lloyd's of London Chief Information and Change Officer, Rebecca Bunyan.

Rebecca has been at Lloyd's for just over a year and has a 20-year career history that started in telecoms and has evolved into leading tech and change at one of the most iconic and rapidly evolving organisations in the UK insurance sector.

In this episode, we talk about Rebecca's journey in project and change management, and getting into the insurance sector, onboarding at Lloyd's completely remotely, working in the US, her views on female diversity in insurance and much much more.

Let's get behind the desk with Rebecca Bunyan.

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Connect with me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/markthomas0/

Connect with Rebecca at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-bunyan-a825254/

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This podcast is powered by Eames Consulting.

Find out more about our upcoming podcast 'Behind the Desk... with Mark Thomas'.

I’ve worked in the insurance and technology sector for over 15 years and I’m looking forward to bringing you closer to the inspiring stories of people making waves in our industry.

It would be great to connect with you on LinkedIn where you can find out more about me, upcoming guests on the podcast and be the first to know about new episodes.