Profile
“No matter how many clients I have, I make sure to call each one personally every quarter. It’s a chance to not only update them on their portfolio, but also check on how they’re doing personally”
Kelvin Rampersad,
Carte Wealth Management
Kate Gardner is a leading light in the world of communication and engagement. As a senior manager at Markel International, she is driven by a sense of purpose and a desire to make a positive impact on her colleagues and the industry as a whole.
Gardner’s leadership in employee experience and diversity and inclusion (D&I) has earned her many accolades, including being named one of Insurance Business UK’s Elite Women of 2023.
Gardner takes her duties and responsibilities to heart, and when she started her new role in 2020, she overcame a steep and intense learning curve brought about by the unprecedented pandemic-related lockdown. She is most proud of how she supported the business through that period by demonstrating her adaptability, resilience, organisational and leadership skills.
With a servant leadership style, Gardner actively seeks out opportunities to make a positive impact on those around her. She is dedicated to fostering an environment where everyone feels free to be their authentic selves and counts several initiatives that have moved the needle forward on D&I among her recent successes.
As co-leader of Markel’s Inclusion Network, Gardner has been instrumental in introducing pronoun guidance and rolling out the company’s first employee D&I data survey.
Gardner played a pivotal role in hosting the “Fit in or get out” dive-in event at Markel’s London headquarters and is also the communication lead for the Insurance Cultural Awareness Network. She has represented Markel during the dive-in festival over several years and organised watch parties for employees and company leaders to discuss and debate D&I topics.
Her commitment to promoting a fair and inclusive workplace is evident in all that she does, from engaging with colleagues to address concerns around LGBTQ+ issues, reviewing family leave policies and obtaining Clear Assured accreditation, to celebrating the cultures of Markel’s over 3,500 employees throughout the year.
Working in the demanding communication field requires high-level skills, and Gardner excels at finding the balance between competing needs among stakeholders. She considers this an imperfect art, but her pragmatic, practical and action-based approach has earned her the respect of her colleagues.
Outside of work, Gardner is equally committed to making a difference. She seizes opportunities to promote the insurance industry to ethnically diverse young people and was a member of Camden Giving’s funding panel for their pathways into employment fund, helping to assess and allocate funding opportunities for young people.
At the core of everything Gardner does is a genuine care for the well-being of others. She believes that supporting and empowering people is incredibly important, and she is determined to make tangible changes within Markel and the industry for years to come.
20 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 3AZ
0777 187 4399
kate.gardner@markel.com
linkedin.com/in/gardnerkate
markel.com
Kate Gardner
Senior Manager – Communication and Engagement
Markel International
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Milestones
“I strongly believe in working smarter, not harder. I think it’s one of the keys to living a great life, and I want to share that with as many people as possible”
Kelvin Rampersad,
Carte Wealth Management
2010
2013
2018
2020–present
2019
2022
Account Broker at Insurance House Group in Sydney, Australia: Gardner’s first professional role after university, where she learned a lot about the world of work but was not sure insurance was for her.
2010
Development Manager at Bell Shakespeare in Sydney, Australia: Garner wanted to pursue a career aligned with her passion for the arts. Over time, she became responsible for managing community and philanthropic programs nationally across Australia and running large-scale events at venues including the Sydney Opera House.
2013
Assistant General Manager at Markel – Marine and Energy: Gardner returned to the UK after living overseas and took on this role as maternity cover to get back into the UK workforce and to pursue a career in the corporate sector. Although Gardner was not sure where the role would lead, she was interested in learning about D&I and CSR.
2018
Senior Manager – Communication and Engagement at Markel International
2020–
present
Joined the partnership at Wynn Williams in the property and commercial team
Appointed to the Property Council NZ Retail Committee
Invited to sit on the judging panel for Lawyers Weekly’s Australian Law Awards
2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones