Ardonagh celebrates its global superstars at Spotlight 2024

On 27 June, Ardonagh held its Spotlight Awards – its annual employee recognition awards – at the iconic Camden Roundhouse in London, bringing together close to 500 finalists and friends across our global group of companies to celebrate the achievements of our talented colleagues and very own Ardonagh superstars.

A record-breaking 1,267 high calibre nominations across our award categories were whittled down to 47 finalists, of which there were 11 winners on the night.

Meet Ardonagh’s Spotlight Awards winners for 2024…

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award

Abbie Davis – RiskSTOP Group

Diagnosed with dyspraxia and dyslexia at an early age, Abbie has not only made incredible progress in her career since joining the RiskSTOP team, she has also become their very own ‘Neurodiversity Champion’, supporting the business with an all-round understanding of neurodiversity. 

She has proactively educated herself and her colleagues to ensure best-practice approaches to accessibility, and supports the development of a positive workplace culture for both neurodiverse and neurotypical colleagues.

Sustainability Award

Camille Roux - Cooper Gay

Camille has not only been instrumental in designing and underwriting several sustainability-related parametric policies, but she has shared her significant knowledge and diligence to educate brokers in this fast-developing area of insurance and brings a new level of confidence and security to territories that have previously been blighted by catastrophic weather events.

By providing this additional cover, she is helping to provide greater stability, supporting in laying the foundations for their long-term economic growth. 

The ACT Award

Luke Eagle - Aviso Broking

At the centre of Luke’s passion to give back is his connection to RUN DIPG, a charity he which he co-founded with the parents of his niece who sadly passed away in 2019, aged just four.   

DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma) is a form of brain tumour which primarily affects children. A fast-growing tumour, there is currently no cure. Determined to make a difference to other children and their families, by leveraging his own connections and marketing background, Luke has tirelessly dedicated himself to the charity ever since.

Client and Customer Champion

Ewen Brown - Price Forbes

Ewen is the first port of call for many clients and however he is called upon to support, will provide first-class service. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the UK retail broker market, he will always look to go the extra mile for colleagues and clients alike, and he always delivers.  

Described by his clients as someone who always ensures their needs are met with the utmost care and attention, with a friendly, personable and approachable demeanour, Ewen is never one to shy away from the tough conversations and is always willing to go the extra mile to resolve issues or concerns promptly and effectively. 

Service Excellence

Saba Dhamyal - Ardonagh Group Functions

Saba is Group M&A Risk & Compliance Director, working with Ardonagh Global Partners management and the Chief Information Office function to ensure success at the leading edge of our M&A (mergers and acquisitions) strategy. 

A principal expert on areas of technical regulation, Saba supports teams on a number of projects, new initiatives and implementation of regulatory change which have a significant impact on Ardonagh’s operations.

Best Newcomer

Alban Gregory - Towergate Health & Protection

Alban joined the business in August 2023, bringing with him a wealth of health and wellbeing knowledge from his previous role, as well as a real energy and some impressive practices.

In his role, Alban has taken the time to get to know and understand his clients and their businesses at a deeper level, looking to provide solutions for any issues they may face. Because of his client-first approach to business, Alban has also managed to hit his targets since joining the business.

 Rising Star

Alina Suhail – Arachas

Alina oversees a broad spectrum of activity from building detailed financial models to support M&A activity, identifying opportunities for revenue enhancement, as well as driving the annual budgeting process for the business. 

Thriving in Arachas’ fast-paced environment, she demonstrates a fantastic work ethic, strong attention to detail and always considers the wider business context and her stakeholders who might be impacted by any decisions.

Alina has gained impressive commercial knowledge on a wide variety of key business lines for Arachas, enabling her to put her excellent financial analysis skills and business acumen to best use. 

Leader of the Year

Thiago Tristao - MDS Brazil

In his role as Vice President of Corporate Risks in Brazil and the CEO of MDS Re, Thiago oversees a team of around 100 people in Brazil, many of which nominated him for this Spotlight Award. 

In 2018 at the MDS headquarters in São Paulo, Thiago took over the Corporate Risks area. The evolution of the department has been described by his colleagues as remarkable, with an increase in both employee retention and client acquisition.

His strong relationships extend to the team, clients, prospective clients, and insurance partners and during his tenure he significantly increased the Corporate Risks department's contribution, which now accounts for a large proportion of MDS Group Brazil's total revenue.

Team of the Year

Learning & Development Team – Ardonagh Advisory

Starting with a team of just two in 2019, the team has grown and developed and now consists of 22 expert Learning & Development managers, consultants, training specialists, Insights practitioners, Hogans practitioners and Level 5 coaches, offering a range of unique skills. 

In 2023, this dynamic team delivered over 72,000 hours of classroom and virtual training to Ardonagh Advisory colleagues and have successfully educated and inspired stakeholders, while winning hearts and minds across multiple businesses.

One of the many programmes developed by the Learning & Development teams is the Emerging Careers Apprenticeship Programme (ECAP) which supports the strategy of attracting diverse individuals into insurance and growing talent internally.

Judges Choice

Gurpreet Collins – Footman James

Counterparty Contracts Team - Ardonagh Advisory.

It’s testament to all the amazing people that make Ardonagh a unique and incredible place to work that each year our judges have such a difficult task in choosing our Spotlight winners.

Which is one of the reasons we introduced the Judges Choice Award back in 2018, and it’s why, this year the judges brought it back and chose to give not one, but two Judges Choice Awards – one individual, and one team.

Congratulations to all our spotlight winners

We would like to congratulate all our winners, finalists and all their supporters who helped ensure Spotlight 2024 was another glittering success.