"Long ago (early 80s) on an island far, far away, insurance was struggling to emerge. The industry had been damaged by a soft market and in its weakened state was under attack by competing domiciles.'' These words scrolled up the opening screen to the Star Wars sound track in front of a room filled with insurance professionals at a business lunch yesterday. In what was expected to be a rather po-faced talk on "Selling Bermuda into the Next Century'', the insurance industry's very own Jedi Knight, Roger Gillett, aka Senior Vice President of ACE Bermuda, took the room by force. With light sabre in hand (he had one as a pointer) Mr. Gillett urged young people in the insurance industry to stop being R2D2s and join the ranks of the Jedi Knights. "Many people in the industry are like R2D2, automatons,'' Mr. Gillett told friends of the Bermuda Insurance Institute. "But you have the chance to be the Jedi Knights of the industry.'' He said that he once was an R2D2 in the industry, but saw the light and the force was with him. "The one reason I went into insurance was to buy a house,'' said Mr. Gillett. I was an R2D2 and I was bored out of my skull as a broker. "I was bored until I was joined at the desk next to me by an older man.'' This man, it transpired had been given early retirement at another company, before he had joined the younger Mr. Gillett at the office.

"He was more charged up than anyone I had ever known. He was in a way my mentor. He was so intense and definitely enjoyed everything he did. "And what he was doing, was playing a game. He wanted our brokerage to be the best in the whole company. "I wanted to have fun so I started playing. And I decided I wanted our brokerage to be the biggest. Now every time I go into work I play a game. And I play a game I want to win.'' And his career went from strength to strength. Now he is Vice President of ACE Bermuda, and is seen as one of the rising stars of the industry. He advised the gathering of insurance industry experts and students at the Bermuda Insurance Institute, to let the force be with them. "Find the game and play it,'' he advised. "I know it is corny, but happiness should be the journey, not the destination.'' He then urged students to find out more about the industry, read the industry publications and broaden their knowledge beyond their specialised field. PHOTO May the force be with you: Roger Gillett, head of the Insurance Advisory Committee, is calling for young insurance whiz kids to stop being R2D2s and transform themselves into young Jedi Knights. May the force be with you: Roger Gillett, head of the Insurance Advisory Committee, is calling for young insurance whiz kids to stop being R2D2s and transform themselves into young Jedi Knights.