A local executive has been nominated for a prestigious British business honour.

Lorene Phillips, founder and chief executive of Clarendon Wallace, is one of two people shortlisted for the Insurance Supper Club’s Mentorship Excellence Award.

The Insurance Supper Club is an organisation dedicated to closing the leadership gap for women in insurance and presents the award annually.

The group has more than 10,000 members and more than 100 corporate partners worldwide.

Ms Phillips told The Royal Gazette she has been a lifelong proponent of mentorship.

Her executive coaching and leadership consulting firm teaches the benefits of it.

“It can help people do better in their jobs and creates a sense of belonging,” she said. “A mentor is invaluable. We can tell them what those unwritten rules are and we can support them.”

To be nominated, mentees had to submit a case saying why their mentor should be considered.

Ms Phillips said she has had many mentees over the years, some for a few minutes and others for decades.

One of her own early mentors was Cathy Lord, former vice-president of Johnson & Higgins Bermuda, a large broking firm later bought by Marsh & McLennan.

“She was the only Black Bermudian female professional that I had met in the insurance industry,” Ms Phillips said. “I had never met anyone like her before.”

Working with Ms Lord made the young Ms Phillips see that there was space for her in the insurance industry.

The winners of the Insurance Supper Club awards will be announced at a black-tie awards dinner in London on September 22, a networking event attended by senior figures and sponsors from across the insurance world.

Ms Phillips will not be able to attend the awards ceremony, so she is sending her youngest son, Connor Phillips, in her stead. He is 25 and works as an underwriter in London.

“They have kindly indicated that they will make sure they place him at a table where he can get good networking,” she said. “He can meet some amazing people.”

Ms Phillips said just being shortlisted was a significant achievement.

“Winning would be the cherry on top,” she said.