2024 BIBA Journalist & Media Awards – Judges Biogs

20th June 2024

Journalist and Media Awards

We are delighted to showcase the work that journalists, broadcasters, publications and other influential media providers do to increase the understanding of insurance at the BIBA Journalist and Media Awards.

See full shortlist here;

Judges Biogs:

Jane Kielty LLB ACII, Chief Executive Officer, Aon UK and Head of Commercial Risk UK
Jane is Chief Executive Officer of Aon UK, with over 20 years of experience in risk and insurance. She also leads Aon’s Commercial Risk business, playing a pivotal role in ensuring Aon consistently offers best-in-class service to clients and the market. Jane has served as Deputy Chair of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and Chair of the Insurance Broking Standards Committee since 2023, representing Aon and its clients’ interests on many key matters.

Karen Weir, Managing Director, Weir Insurance Brokers Ltd
I started my career with Norwich Union (Aviva) in 1990, in Newcastle and then Norwich. In 1999, I transitioned to the brokerage side. After setting up a finance company, my husband and I took over his family firm, along with two other local acquisitions. Three children (now grown up) later, we are still running that firm, originally established in 1972, meaning we will be celebrating our 52nd year of trading. I served as Newcastle Insurance Institute President in 2008-2009 and am currently a BIBA board member. My hobbies are Pilates and walking my two dogs, although they don’t require much walking as one is a sleepy 12-year-old and the other is disabled! When I grow up, I hope to own my own kennel-free rescue for dogs no one wants.

Peter Blanc, Group CEO, Howden UK Brokers Ltd
Peter Blanc ACII is Head of M&A, Howden Group Holdings. He is based at Howden’s head office at One Creechurch Place in London. Leading Howden’s mergers and acquisitions strategy allows Peter to fulfill his ambition of making Howden the world’s leading independent (re)insurance broker, employee benefits advisor, and MGA. With over 100 acquisitions of insurance broking and MGA businesses during his career, Peter is an industry veteran with decades of experience. Notably, after starting his career in motor underwriting and then building his own commercial insurance brokerage, Peter has led three successful private equity exit events, totaling over £1.5 billion. As CEO at Oval, he led the sale for £210m to Gallagher in 2014, and as Group CEO of Aston Lark, he led a round 1 sale for £325m in 2019 to Goldman Sachs and Aston Lark’s final exit to Howden for £1.1 billion in 2021. Alongside these leadership roles, Peter has served as Non-Executive Chairman of Hastings Insurance Services Ltd, as Chairman of the Large Brokers’ Advisory Board at the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), and in 2022 he served as President of the Chartered Insurance Institute. Peter has recently been reappointed to the BIBA Large Broker’s Advisory Board. Peter is a passionate advocate of expert-led insurance leadership, employee-owned businesses, and the Early Careers Programme; in short, using his own experiences and expertise to help make a difference to those around him. Peter lives in Colchester, Essex, where he is a proud husband and the father of three grown-up children. He can often be found keeping fit on a bicycle, going to the gym, or mucking out his daughter’s horses.

Caroline Barr, Non-Executive Director, BIBA Board
Caroline Barr has been a Board member of BIBA since 2019. She established and chairs the industry’s Access to Insurance Committee, which monitors the Age and Protection agreements. Caroline is also a Non-Executive Director of BlackRock Life, where she chairs the Investment Policy Committee, and of the Business Banking Resolution Service. She is a member of the Consumer Advisory Panel of Fairer Finance and was previously a member of the Financial Services Consumer Panel. Caroline was a senior civil servant in the Treasury, where she ran the Science and Industry team and was a senior policy adviser in retail financial products. She also worked in banking and served in the armed forces. She is a graduate of Somerville College, Oxford, and holds an MBA from the University of Warwick.

Nick Hobbs, Chief Distribution Officer, Allianz UK
Nick is the Chief Distribution Officer for Allianz Commercial in the UK. Nick has been with Allianz for over 20 years in various trading, distribution, client management, and operations and leadership roles in North America, the UK, and Europe. Nick was formerly Chief Distribution & Regions Officer for the Allianz UK commercial business. Nick is a competitive kayaker and paddle sports enthusiast, ultra-runner/walker, and extreme gardener with a penchant for ferns and hostas. He is also an avid reader of press and magazine articles and likes to be amused, surprised, and enriched by what he reads. This judging exercise suited him perfectly.

Jonathan Evans, BIBA Chair
Jonathan is a solicitor specializing in insurance law and was Director of Insurance at the City of London office of Eversheds. He also acted as a consultant in the London Market. Jonathan served in Government in the 1990s as Corporate Affairs Minister at the Department of Trade and Industry. Following a period in the European Parliament, he returned to the House of Commons in 2010 and chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Insurance & Financial Services from 2010 to 2015.

Dawn Miller, Commercial Director, Lloyd’s of London
Dawn joined Lloyd’s in 2022 and oversees Lloyd’s global network across the Americas, Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa (APMEA), and European Regions. She is responsible for global network governance, market development, strategic engagement with key trading partners, and new entrants into the Lloyd’s Market. She also leads on Strategy & Innovation at Lloyd’s, including the Lloyd’s Lab. Dawn has over 25 years of experience working in the global insurance industry with oversight of underwriting, distribution, clients, and strategy, including leadership positions at CHUBB, AXA, AIG, and WTW. Having started her career in Washington D.C., Dawn has since taken on senior positions in London, Houston, New York, Paris, Dubai, San Francisco, and Zurich. Dawn is Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation UK (IICF UK), sits on the Steering Committee for Maths4Girls, and is a member of the Executive Council of the International Insurance Society (IIS).

Kelly Ostler-Coyle, Head of Communications & Stakeholder Engagement, Flood Re
Kelly is Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement at Flood Re. Previously, she worked in communications and public affairs roles at the Association of British Insurers. Kelly has extensive experience working in government both in Whitehall and in Parliament for Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP. She is an award-winning communications, public affairs, and campaigns professional with a background in financial services, experienced in developing and delivering strategic integrated public relations, policy, and public affairs initiatives, and delivering tactical media campaigns.

Chris Croft, Chief Executive, London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association
Chris Croft became CEO of LIIBA in January 2016. Prior to that, he was head of the London Market Group’s Secretariat. He began his career as a Government economist and spent 10 years in financial services regulation. He is a Director of BIPAR (European Federation of Insurance Intermediaries) and sits on the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Insurance Intermediaries. He is a past Vice President of the Insurance Institute of London.

Sue Coffey, Personal Lines Director, Covea Insurance
With over 30 years in the industry, Sue is now Personal Lines Director at Covea Insurance. She is responsible for the personal lines business, overseeing the performance of the account. Previously, she worked as the Director of Personal Lines Distribution, leading the distribution of products through the intermediary network. Sue’s experience extends to product development and underwriting for personal lines. Prior to joining Covéa Insurance, Sue worked at Zurich Insurance, predominantly in personal lines roles in sales management and distribution, but she also spent some time in underwriting and commercial. Sue is married to her husband Mark, who is also in the insurance industry, and they have three children. The youngest, Grace, is now also working at Covea, so it was a real family affair at this year’s BIBA!

Ant Middle, Chief Executive, Ageas Insurance Ltd
Ant Middle has been Ageas UK’s Chief Executive Officer since June 2020. Ant has 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, holding senior positions in the general, health, and life insurance sectors, including working at Aviva and AXA. With Ant at the helm, Ageas UK won Personal Lines Insurer of the Year at the British Insurance Awards for three consecutive years (2021, 2022, and 2023), Personal Lines Insurer of the Year at the Insurance Times Awards in 2021 and 2023, Institute for Customer Service ‘Service Mark’ accreditation, and Top Employer status every year since 2022 from the Top Employers Institute.