Headquarters:

Charlotte, NC

Year founded:

2000

Number of employees:

nearly 6,500

Phone:

704 749 2700

Email:

webinfoamwins@amwins.com

Website:

amwins.com

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/amwins-group and amwins.com

“With less focus on textbooks, students now engage more in experiential and inquiry-based learning and have ample opportunities to work in collegial groups using various thinking routines”

Jay Halai, Minarah College

Sam Baig

President, Amwins Brokerage

Jeff McNatt

President, Amwins Brokerage

David Lewison

Executive Vice President and Professional Lines National Practice Leader, Amwins Brokerage

Leadership

Sam Baig serves as president of Amwins Brokerage and is responsible for the design and execution of the overall brokerage strategy while overseeing more than 400 specialty broker teams and various risk and industry practice groups. Additionally, he focuses on recruiting, training and developing the next generation of Amwins brokers, cultivating key market and retail client relationships and assisting in the growth and development of exclusive capacity and firm-wide proprietary products. Previously, Baig served as executive vice president and leader of the Georgia branches of Amwins Brokerage. Baig graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in finance and economics and holds a master’s degree in risk management and insurance from Georgia State University. He carries the professional designations of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and Associate in Risk Management.

President, Amwins Brokerage

Sam Baig

Jeff McNatt serves as president of Amwins Brokerage and is responsible for the design and execution of the overall brokerage strategy while overseeing more than 400 specialty broker teams and various risk and industry practice groups that share knowledge and solutions across the Amwins platform. Additionally, he focuses on recruiting, training and developing the next generation of Amwins brokers, cultivating key market and retail client relationships and assisting in the growth and development of exclusive capacity and firm wide proprietary products. Previously, McNatt served as executive vice president and leader of the Florida branches of Amwins Brokerage. McNatt graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in business administration, risk management and insurance.

President, Amwins Brokerage

Jeff McNatt

David Lewison leads the professional lines practice for Amwins Brokerage Group. This practice includes all types of professional liability, management liability, cyberliability, transactional risk, crime, healthcare and more. Lewison has over 20 years of experience as a wholesale broker with Stewart Smith West, Stewart Smith East, Colemont and Amwins. He was the executive risk practice leader for Commerce Insurance (now Conner Strong) on the retail side. His insurance career started when he became a D&O underwriter at Great American for hard-to-place risks. Lewison has spoken on over 50 industry panels for PLUS, Advisen, NetDiligence, WSIA, ACI and local insurance agent associations. He also authors white papers on coverage issues. Lewison has taught continuing education classes in multiple states on cyberliability, management liability and professional lines topics.

Executive Vice President and Professional Lines National Practice Leader, Amwins Brokerage

David Lewison

“With less focus on textbooks, students now engage more in experiential and inquiry-based learning and have ample opportunities to work in collegial groups using various thinking routines”

Jay Halai, Minarah College

“We will ensure students address meaningful real-world problems and use specific protocols [so that] all voices are heard. Project-based learning will be emphasised to develop key skills such as research, critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration”

Jay Halai, Minarah College

Leadership

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Jay Halai, Minarah College

“With less focus on textbooks, students now engage more in experiential and inquiry-based learning and have ample opportunities to work in collegial groups using various thinking routines”

Jay Halai, Minarah College

Leadership

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Benjamin Sloop

Chief Operating Officer

Benjamin Sloop currently serves as the chief operating officer of Amwins. Prior to taking on the role of COO, he had served as the president of the company’s small business division, Amwins Access, since its inception in January 2015. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Harvard, he began his career in management consulting at Bain & Company and then joined Parthenon Capital, a private equity fund, where he worked on the Amwins capital raise in 2005. The following year, he joined Amwins in an M&A role. He left Amwins in late 2007 to attend Stanford Business School. Sloop worked for Bills.com, a Silicon Valley start-up, until October 2011, before he joined Amwins once again.

Chief Operating Officer

Benjamin Sloop

Kristin Downey

Chief Administrative Officer

Kristin Downey is the chief administrative officer at Amwins. She joined Amwins in December 2002, initially serving as the director of human resources. She now leads a team responsible for developing and implementing the people strategies to support Amwins’ business objectives. Downey also directs the management and operations for compensation and benefits, human resource systems and payroll, employee relations and assistance, talent management, training and development and marketing and communications. She leads the company’s philanthropic efforts, including the recently formed Amwins Foundation. Prior to joining Amwins, Downey was employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she spent five years in the assurance and business advisory services (ABAS) practice and two years as the recruiting manager for the Carolinas ABAS and tax practice.

Chief Administrative Officer

Kristin Downey

These prestigious awards are testament to Ormiston College’s ongoing commitment to innovation and 21st century pedagogy. The college delivers teaching and learning programs that develop learners who think flexibly, work independently and collaboratively, take risks, solve real-world problems and demonstrate higher-order thinking skills. Recognition in these national awards provides an opportunity to showcase the progress made each year and to celebrate the people and teamwork at the centre of Ormiston College’s operations. A unique, award-winning teaching and learning framework provides a common language which students, teachers and parents use to communicate and share their understanding of quality teaching and learning at Ormiston College. The college believes that a strong emphasis on using technology to improve learning outcomes encourages students to embrace new ways of thinking for the 21st century.

Jay Halai, Minarah College

Donna Hargrove

General Counsel

Jacqui Zervos

Executive Director, Educational Innovation

Rebecca Campbell

Head of Middle School

Inma Beaumont

Executive Director Advancement and Community Relations

Since 2008, Donna Hargrove has served as the general counsel of Amwins and is responsible for identifying and managing all legal risks for the company. She advises executive leadership and the board of directors on a range of business issues, including corporate governance, risk management and regulatory compliance. Prior to joining Amwins, she served as the corporate in-house counsel for BB&T Insurance Services. Earlier in her career, she served in private practice with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, concentrating in mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters. A noted expert in her field, Hargrove has been recognized as an Outstanding Woman in Re/Insurance by Intelligent Insurer magazine, named an Elite Woman by Insurance Business America magazine and received a First Chair Award in 2018 for her contributions to the legal community. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a juris doctorate from the University of South Carolina.

General Counsel

Donna Hargrove

Jacqui Zervos joined the School in 1995 as a teacher of geography and history, having completed her initial teacher qualification at The University of Queensland in 1987 and then spending seven years teaching with Education Queensland. She is well known as a passionate and exemplary teacher of geography and took on the position of head of year in 2001. During the following five years as head of year, Jacqui completed her Master of Education at UQ with a major study into boys’ education. She was appointed head of middle school in 2006. In 2018, she was seconded to her current position and in 2020 was confirmed as executive director, educational innovation on a permanent basis from 2021.

Executive Director, Educational Innovation

Jacqui Zervos

Rebecca Campbell joined BGS in mid-2013 as the School’s first head of Years 5 and 6. She has spent the past 15 years working in GPS boys’ schools. A dedicated educator, she is committed to creating a positive learning culture that supports the holistic development of each student. Rebecca is a graduate of the University of Newcastle, where she completed a master’s degree specialising in educating boys. In recent years, she has attained a Professional Certificate in Instructional Leadership through the University of Melbourne. Rebecca fulfilled the head of middle school role in Term 1 2017 and from 2018 to 2020. She was appointed to the position of head of middle school in 2021.

Head of Middle School

Rebecca Campbell

Inma Beaumont joined BGS at the beginning of 2020. She is an experienced advancement professional, having implemented fundraising and engagement operations for three different units over six years at The University of Queensland. Inma led the fundraising campaign to renovate the Forgan Smith Building, home to the TC Beirne School of Law at UQ. She subsequently spent three years as director of advancement at the UQ Faculty of Health, where she conceived and delivered a major gifts program. Her fundraising experience follows a 15-year career in finance, including as CFO of Citibank Australia. She is a non-executive director of UN Women Australia, Speech Pathology Australia and Women’s College at UQ.

Executive Director Advancement and Community Relations

Inma Beaumont

Diana Godfrey joined Fidelity in 1995, and is currently the senior vice-president, human resources and corporate affairs. She has 27 years of industry experience and has driven innovation and transformative changes to employee benefits, talent development, charitable and diversity and inclusion programs, which have strengthened Fidelity Canada’s position as a top caring employer. She championed the implementation of Fidelity Canada’s value proposition, committed to improving the employee experience to meet their individual needs and the community at large. Fidelity Canada has been recognized with multiple employer awards and designations, which celebrate its work culture and atmosphere, corporate philanthropic initiatives, and health and benefits, to name just a few.

Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs

Diana Godfrey (she/her/hers)

Cameron Murray is the senior vice president, client services and CIO for Fidelity Investments Canada ULC. In this capacity, he oversees both technology and operations for the organization in Canada. He joined Fidelity in December 1999 as Vice President, Systems Operations. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors for FundSERV, where he has been an executive committee and board member since 2002. He is also on the board of directors for Fidelity Investments Canada ULC.

Senior Vice President, Client Services and Chief Information Officer

Cameron Murray

Sarah M Stewart has more than 15 years of strategic leasing and customer care experience in residential property management. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Centurion’s national leasing platforms, residential lead generation, and overall customer experience excellence through operation of the company’s internal customer service department.

Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations

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

“The focus now is on differentiation and development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). There is documented planning on differentiation to ensure the students who are struggling are being catered for and those who are above average are being challenged to do better,” he says. “Furthermore, staff now engage in making data-driven decisions to make programs and learning sequences. Lessons are no longer based on ‘one hat – fits all’, each lesson now has differentiated tasks.” Halai says the syllabus outcome is now achieved through differentiated tasks that are aligned to the student capabilities and learning needs. “Lessons are delivered through interactive smartboards; hence, teachers have the opportunity to cater for visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners,” he says. “With less focus on textbooks, students now engage more in experiential and inquiry-based learning and have ample opportunities to work in collegial groups using various thinking routines.” Halai says staff development is highly focused on enhancement of ICT skills through regular professional learning with Microsoft Teams. “The success stories on Deep Learning from classrooms were shared by the staff as part of professional development, and these presentations were well received by the teachers, and seen as a learning opportunity, and peer appreciation.” As for what’s next for Minarah College, Halai says the process is in place for changing the learning environment with collaborative learning places for all students. “The shift is from students just learning the knowledge to authentic application of this knowledge to the wider world. The focus at Minarah College is for teachers to equip students with the tools to navigate their learning process and improve their expertise in developing efficacy,” he explains. “We will ensure students address meaningful real-world problems and use specific protocols [so that] all voices are heard. Project-based learning will be emphasised to develop key skills such as research, critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration.” Halai says the college will also be using appropriate data analysis and interpretation of data to make informed decisions that positively affect student outcomes. “The proactive stance will enable students to be committed to advocating essential values, reflect and develop critical thinking and communication skills to develop their characters and become valuable and active members of the community.”

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Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations

Alexis Hill

Chief Information Officer

Alexis Hill joined BGS in April 2022 as the School’s first chief information officer to lead the Digital Transformation Program, which aims to use technology and data to enhance student outcomes. As a senior executive with over 14 years of experience in commercial and government industries, she has substantial experience in digital transformation leadership. Alexis has held CIO and director roles that focused on driving technological and organisational change in complex environments. She holds a Bachelor of Business degree and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Chief Information Officer

Alexis Hill

Amwins is focused on building a 150-year company that is strategizing for success today, tomorrow and years from now. It is the largest global specialty insurance distributor that brings decades of experience and an expansive global network to deliver creative solutions to its retail broker clients’ complex insurance challenges. Amwins’ over 6,500 employees place $29 billion in premiums with more than 500 insurance carriers and markets. Amwins has a worldwide reach and is comprised of five specialty divisions, 13 industry and risk specialty practices and more than 90 underwriting programs. The company’s dedicated brokers and underwriters have the expertise, knowledge and relationships of the firm at their fingertips – giving retail insurance brokers a competitive advantage.

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