Headquarters:

105 Adelaide Street West, Suite 700, Toronto, ON M5H 1P9

Year founded:

1996

Number of employees:

1,419

Phone:

1 855 620 6262

Email:

info@nbfc.com

Website:

northbridgeinsurance.ca

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/northbridge-insurance

“It’s our willingness to consider unique circumstances and offer innovative solutions where other carriers may not”

Christine Schneider, Arch Insurance

Holger Kormann

President and Chief Executive Officer

Ana Brtan

Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Craig Menzies

Senior Vice President, Client Service Delivery and Operations

Leadership

As president and chief executive officer, Holger Kormann is responsible for the strategic management, direction, and growth of Symcor’s operations across Canada. An innovative and hands-on change agent, Holger is a visionary with an exceptional track record of shaping successful business strategies and driving growth. Prior to joining Symcor, Kormann served as ADP Canada’s president for eight years, where he was responsible for positioning the company as the partner of choice in the HR technology and outsourcing markets. With over two decades of experience spanning technology, operations, and sales, he has held progressively senior positions at organizations, including Atos International and Siemens.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Holger Kormann

Ana Brtan oversees the resources, training, and strategy that empowers employees to follow Symcor’s north star of “Connecting for the Common Good”. In her role, Brtan shapes the company’s overall employee experience, advances well-being, diversity and inclusion, and champions cultural transformation. Her progressive talent strategy supports Symcor’s business objectives, as well as the growth and development of its employees across nine locations in Canada. Prior to joining Symcor in 2019, Brtan held senior positions in organizations across Canada and the UK, including HP and DXC Technology.

Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Ana Brtan

Craig Menzies leads the client services team to oversee the delivery, integration, and transformation of business services within the Symcor delivery network. He also leads a team responsible for client relations and operational excellence initiatives. Menzies joined Symcor in 2009 as vice president of operations for the Western region. His 20 years of global outsourcing operations experience includes serving as director of North America utility BPO operations for Accenture and, prior to that, as director of customer care operations at CustomerWorks LP.

Senior Vice President, Client Service Delivery and Operations

Craig Menzies

“It’s our willingness to consider unique circumstances and offer innovative solutions where other carriers may not”

Christine Schneider, Arch Insurance

Leadership

“It’s our willingness to consider unique circumstances and offer innovative solutions where other carriers may not”

Christine Schneider, Arch Insurance

Leadership

Aaron Sanderson

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Aaron Sanderson is responsible for overseeing Symcor’s financial and risk management operations in alignment with the company’s overarching vision and mission. He joined Symcor in 2016 as vice president of finance, bringing with him a wealth of experience in managing financial operations and a track record of successfully enabling growth and sales activities to deliver strong results. With over 20 years of expertise in functional finance spanning diverse industries, Sanderson is an exceptional leader with a razor-sharp focus on generating results. Prior to Symcor, he held roles at organizations, including Deloitte, Atomic Energy of Canada, and Brewers Retail/Brewers Distributor.

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Aaron Sanderson

Paul MacDonald

Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Paul MacDonald is responsible for developing and executing Symcor’s market-driven technology strategy and managing the technical support and core application teams. He began working with Symcor as a consultant in 2015 before being appointed to his current position in 2016. MacDonald has extensive experience as a business and information technology executive from his time as senior vice president and chief information officer at Farm Credit Canada, and as vice president at Ipsos-Reid.

Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Paul MacDonald

Northbridge Insurance is a leading Canadian commercial insurer. Working closely with its broker partners and leveraging its in-depth industry expertise, the company helps businesses operate more safely so they can worry less about risks and focus on opportunities. We claim differently Northbridge supports customers’ businesses and resolves their claims effectively and efficiently so brokers can focus on growing their own. What sets Northbridge apart? Industry expertise: Northbridge’s commercially focused claims adjusters have sector expertise and access to tools not available to independents. Their understanding of sector-specific complexities and challenges allows them to deliver tailored claims handling to help ensure a swift recovery of customers’ operations. Human connection: Northbridge treats customers with the empathy, transparency, and direct communication they need during a stressful time. The company makes sure they feel valued and not simply like a task to complete, guiding them through the claims process from start to finish, so they know what to expect and when to expect it. Outcome focused: Northbridge prioritizes doing what’s right for its customers. Through its service commitment and innovative solutions, it aims to provide the best possible outcomes for customers when it matters most to them.

Saba Shariff

Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy, Product and Innovation Officer

Elisabeth Demone

Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

Kevin Kim

Director of Finance  

David Badurina 

Director, General Counsel  

Saba Shariff oversees multiple teams responsible for designing and launching innovative products that address industry-wide challenges, along with a mandate for charting Symcor’s corporate strategy toward continued growth. She joined Symcor in 2002 and held progressive senior positions thereafter. Prior to joining Symcor, Shariff had preceding experience in both start-ups and telecommunications sectors. Named one of Canada’s Top 50 Women in Fintech, Shariff is a sought-after public speaker who shares insights on topics such as open banking, innovation, and women in technology in the Canadian financial industry.

Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy, Product and Innovation Officer

Saba Shariff

Elisabeth Demone oversees the company’s legal, contractual, and regulatory functions in addition to guiding governance matters as secretary to the Board of Directors. She joined Symcor in 2010, holding progressively senior positions. Prior to joining Symcor, Demone worked at John Deere Credit and Stikeman Elliott LLP. She earned her LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University and holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario. She previously served as a director on the board of the Canadian Technology Law Association.

Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

Elisabeth Demone

Kevin Kim is responsible for providing leadership and strategic guidance to the finance team (accounting, planning and analysis, tax, financial reporting and extended warranty and internal audit and financial controls), ensuring compliance with company policies and all financial and government regulations, influencing high-level management decisions, and ensuring accurate and timely financial reporting, forecasting, and planning. 

Director of Finance  

Kevin Kim

David Badurina is the director of general council at Hyundai Canada, where he is responsible for the direction of all legal matters pertaining to the company, including providing legal advice to management. He is also responsible for the risk management function, such as advising on all risk-related issues pertaining to events, consumers, and team members. 

Director, General Counsel  

David Badurina  

Director, General Counsel  

David Badurina

Director, General Counsel  

David Badurina  

Sarah M Stewart

Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations

Karen Bannister, CM

Vice President, Marketing

Dave Longbottom

Chief Technology Officer

Alex Ventura

Head of Marketing

Damian Palovick

Senior Vice President of Underwriting AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America

Dr. Mary Lavoie

Head of Risk Management and Senior Vice President AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America

Mark Bernacki

Chief Underwriting Officer

Ryan Armijo

Chief Operating Officer, Underwriting Division

Bob Petrilli

President, Underwriting Division

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Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

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BDM support

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Overall service level

BDM support

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Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

Medal

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

“We value technical expertise, fact-based and data-driven analysis, communication, and collaboration”

Francine Minervini, Arch Insurance

“We value technical expertise, fact-based and data-driven analysis, communication, and collaboration”

Francine Minervini, Arch Insurance

“We value technical expertise, fact-based and data-driven analysis, communication, and collaboration”

Francine Minervini, Arch Insurance

social services fuel oil and propane distribution janitorial services security guard services animal welfare organizations adult residential care facilities and more

Tangram’s experienced team is constantly surveying the landscape and creating ways to add value through broader coverage, elevated service, and competitive pricing. They continue to move with independence, diversity, and responsibility to serve their customers and partners. The Tangram team looks forward to working together.

technical excellence portfolio management data analytics focusing on communication collaboration

These factors are actively and routinely reaffirmed by senior vice president and chief technical claims officer Francine Minervini. She says, “We value technical expertise, fact-based and data-driven analysis, communication, and collaboration. Our process incorporates communication throughout the life of the claim and encourages communication with insureds, brokers, claims management, and our underwriters and actuaries.” Eager to develop and become better, Arch has a raft of future plans to boost its offerings amid the rapid pace of technological change. “We are in the midst of a system transformation that will modernize our claims system; we are also working with Strategic Analytics to introduce AI into the claims mail process,” shares Shiva Altadonna, senior vice president, claims shared services. “As a starting point, it will allow us to identify and route First Notice of Loss even faster to our claims professionals for handling and give quicker peace of mind to our customers that we are fanatical about responsiveness.”

“It’s our willingness to consider unique circumstances and offer innovative solutions where other carriers may not,” says Christine Schneider, senior vice president, casualty claims. “Also, strategically executing on opportunities based on market conditions has continuously supported Arch’s growth.” Leadership encourages all segments of the business to be bold, take calculated risks, celebrate accomplishments, and learn from mistakes. The focus is placed on the goals of each initiative, along with the necessary specific strategies. A key factor in Arch’s success has been the implementation of a new claims system that interlinks with the firm’s ‘North Star’ of placing employees in a position where they can add value on a daily basis. Senior vice president, financial and specialty claims Brian Kristiansen says, “We segment claims by line of business and hire employees with experience in those lines. We provide them with additional training and mentoring to ensure the continued development of expertise in those lines.” Another driver of Arch’s market-leading performance is its investment in data analytics and data transformation, increasing its ability to utilize business intelligence to improve product offerings and the abilities of its claims department, with a strong emphasis on claims handling and claims excellence. In addition, the firm continuously seeks feedback from the broker community on any areas where they would like to see potential improvement, particularly in claims service. Arch Claims specifically has done considerable work around communication with brokers over the past year, including an extensive survey to solicit feedback on the claims experience. Schneider says, “Through their commentary, we strive to be able to build even more trusting, respectful, and responsive relationships with all of our partners.” The claims department underscores the importance of:

Recruitment • Updated job descriptions to be inclusive with gender-neutral language along with highlighting Symcor’s commitment to an inclusive process • Focus on external partnerships to post to diverse job boards and attend career fairs for specific groups • Bias-free screening in HRIS with structured interviews • Set hiring goals to look for underrepresented groups Training • DEIB training and leadership development with courses on unconscious bias, accessibility, and anti-harassment, discrimination, and violence in the workplace • Udemy company-wide platform for self-directed learning, which has an extensive catalogue on DEIB courses

“Over the years, we have seen greater emphasis within the industry, where businesses are developing DEIB strategies and interest from employees who want an employer who has a focus on DEIB,” adds XXX. A second focus of the DEIB framework extends to how Symcor educates clients about its identity. This is achieved by:

• Refresh its DEIB strategy with short- and long-term goals • Enhance its training and development programs • Enhance its metrics and accountability

“We strongly believe that when our employees succeed, we all succeed,” comments XXX. “This spirit of excellence and collaboration flows through every facet of our organization.”

• Showcasing the firm’s culture on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor • Dedicated careers page on Symcor’s website highlighting the commitment to diversity and inclusion • Providing information around Symcor’s DEIB-related activities in response to questions related to diversity and equity in RFPs from potential clients • Regular reporting on DEIB statistics provided to Symcor’s Board of Directors

All the DEIB initiatives relate to creating an environment where their people can thrive. XXX says, “We developed a people strategy with three key pillars intricately woven in all our employee programs: fostering an environment of belonging; supporting the well-being of our employees; and attracting, retaining, and developing the best people.” This extends to Symcor’s Employee Value Proposition, offered to all employees, guided by the company’s People Strategy, which takes a holistic approach encompassing both tangible and intangible benefits. In addition, the firm formed the EMERGE group with a purpose to focus on DEIB in the workplace by helping to expand, support, amplify and connect Symcor employees. Another key objective was to drive the development of Employee Resource Groups of which there are now five. Committed to continuing their equity and inclusion journey, Symcor plans to:

[CEROS OBJECT]

• Refresh its DEIB strategy with short- and long-term goals • Enhance its training and development programs • Improve its metrics and accountability

“We strongly believe that when our employees succeed, we all succeed,” comments XXX. “This spirit of excellence and collaboration flows through every facet of our organization.”

• Refresh its DEIB strategy with short- and long-term goals • Enhance its training and development programs • Improve its metrics and accountability

“We strongly believe that when our employees succeed, we all succeed,” comments XXX. “This spirit of excellence and collaboration flows through every facet of our organization.”