Profile
“I will continue to empower and encourage my staff to perform at their best as I have done for the last decade. I will continue to advocate for my clients, embracing new technology and being open to business and industry changes”
Ken Dixon,
Dixon Insurance Services
Rekha Skantharaja is the CEO of Tangram Insurance Services. However, she didn’t get to be the captain of the ship overnight.
Skantharaja started out as an assistant at a management liability brokerage in San Francisco. “In those early years, I learned so much being in the room with brilliant people,” she says. “It wouldn’t take long for me to realize that this industry is vast and full of opportunity. After those first years, I was motivated to experience the wider world of insurance. I leaped from the brokerage to the carrier side – both of which prepared me to lead an MGA intermediary.”
Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown, and Skantharaja takes the CEO role seriously. Each day, she faces new challenges and opportunities and is determined to make the most out of them to help herself and her colleagues succeed in their careers.
Of her many accomplishments, one in particular stands out – building a strong culture.
“My single biggest achievement to date has been building a world-class team of people and a culture that would be the envy of any CEO,” she says. “You can have enormous profits, effective processes, and massive amounts of capital, but if you don’t have the right individuals to accomplish big things – none of it works.
“Your culture is the ultimate advantage and allows you to move with urgency, freedom and creativity – because people trust each other without getting hung up on the small stuff. I have been here close to 15 years, and it has taken a lot of time, work and energy to create and maintain this culture. And while it feels like an achievement, I am never done because it’s a living organism that needs nurturing every single day.”
In addition to being a natural with people, Skantharaja excels at articulating an inspiring vision for Tangram and executing that strategy – switching directions and pivoting when necessary to run an agile MGA. She puts her heart into her work.
“My overall approach to this role is bringing gratitude and hustle every day,” she says. “I have been doing this long enough to know that a gig this good doesn’t come around often. I run an independent and diverse company – brimming with smart people.
“I don’t have outside investors to make happy, and I have a boss and board that trust me implicitly. I can see that Tangram is just at the beginning of our journey to the moon, and I believe we are unstoppable. Our company exists to leave its mark on the industry and be a symbol of the enormous success that’s possible when you challenge the status quo.
“As Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has said, ‘The best way to make a dream come true is to wake up and get to work.’ That’s what I’m doing.”
140 2nd Street, Suite 230, Petaluma, CA 94952
707 781 7381
rekha@tangramins.com
linkedin.com/in/rekhaskantharaja
tangramins.com
Rekha Skantharaja
Chief Executive Officer and President
Tangram Insurance Services
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Milestones
“To be able to give back to the community is rewarding and fulfilling. I am honoured to be in a position where I can raise funds for those less fortunate and in need”
Ken Dixon,
Dixon Insurance Services
2001–05
2005–09
2009–present
2018–present
2019
2022
Broker at Carpenter Moore
2001–
05
Vice President, Business Development at OneBeacon
2005–
09
President at Tangram Insurance Services
2009–
present
Chief Executive Officer at Tangram Insurance Services
2018–
present
President, Specialty Casualty at QBE North America
2022
Assistant Vice President and Senior Broker at MJ Hall & Company since 2018
Present
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
How does he distinguish himself among fellow brokers?
“I believe all brokers are working very hard in a difficult market,” he says. “However, I have demonstrated continued growth, advocacy and performance on my client’s behalf, which is now recognised [for 10 consecutive years] in the Elite Broker awards.”
In 1990, Dixon got started with FAI, working in claims and as a team leader. From the late 1990s up until 2003, he worked at FAI and Suncorp in underwriting and as an area manager at VACC, CGU (South East Queensland). From 2003 to 2012, he got into broking and eventually started Dixon Insurance in 2013. Since then, he’s accumulated numerous acccolades, including Elite Broker, Diversity and Equity, and Fast Broker awards.
During the pandemic, Dixon challenged insurers over the Quarantine Act application to insurance wordings. His argument was that the Quarantine Act does not apply as an exclusion, as the Biosecurity Act was invoked by the Morrison Government, and this was not a subsequent amendment to the Quarantine Act. The test case in the Appeals court was won for Dixon’s client with a unanimous five-judge verdict.
He remains focused on transport, manufacturing, motor trade, engineering and large farm clients.
What are his plans for the future?
On a business level, “more of the same. I will continue to empower and encourage my staff to perform at their best as I have done for the last decade. I will continue to advocate for my clients, embracing new technology and being open to business and industry changes.”
On a personal level, Dixon invests significant time, effort and funds, along with his GT3, to support many charities through his passion for motorsport. From participating in and sponsoring the Thunderbolt Run (which provides tens of thousands of dollars in support for Beyond Blue and Prostate Cancer), to organising and running the Track Knights for Amira charity night where 28 Exotic Supercars raised funds through passenger laps in wet conditions, Dixon states “this is our time to give back to the community and those in need. My friendships and association with those seeking to do the same, allows us to contribute to those less fortunate and raise funds and awareness”.
He adds: “To be able to give back to the community is rewarding and fulfilling. I am honoured to be in a position where I can raise funds for those less fortunate and in need.”