Getting ahead in the insurance field is as much a matter of attitude as aptitude, according to one of the Island's most successful executives.

Self belief is key, says Fiona Luck, who was recently named 2003 Insurance Woman of the Year by the Association of Professional Insurance Women.

Being female is not an obstacle in Ms Luck's opinion. On the contrary, “women make great multi-taskers, which is a great attribute for a career in insurance”.

Asked why there are so few female executives in the industry, Ms Luck tactfully explains “in the US in particular, it doesn't matter what race, religion or gender you are. I think that in some of the more traditional markets, such as Lloyds, it will take longer for women to move through, but they will get there.”

The reason is obvious, she says: “Why would you shut off 50 percent of well qualified candidates?”

For her own part, a career which started out in captives management has led to an exceptionally interesting role. As executive vice president of Group Operations at XL, she oversees group strategic planning, business planning, global human resources, global IT, global marketing, internal audit and integration of acquisitions and start-ups.

It's a lot, she admits, but she thrives on the variety.

“I'm a generalist” she says. She was always good at maths and took sciences and maths at A-level, but also enjoyed English and the arts. Originally from the Isle of Man, she took Economics and Finance at Manchester University before qualifying as an accountant.

She says that insurance was a good fit for her because it combines her analytical strengths and financial background with people skills.

XL provides a very interesting working environment: “The most collegiate [environment I've ever worked in - it's low on hierarchy and high on mutual respect.” She says a lot of the corporate culture comes from chief executive, Brian O'Hara. “He's very comfortable with having extremely intelligent people around.”

It makes for lively meetings - “free thinkers welcome” - to borrow another corporate phrase.

“You can have your say, you can feel strongly about something... ultimately, once a decision is made you support it.”

Since Ms Luck joined XL in 1999, the company has been through several acquisitions and mushroomed to 3,000 employees worldwide. Having gone through the strategic planning process which defined the corporate structure of the company, they recently decided to pay some attention to the corporate identity of XL.

“We've seen that some companies have gone wrong by not focusing on that side.” says Ms Luck.

What strikes her most is that “people are our greatest asset.” Plus, despite all the changes at XL, they haven't lost some of the characteristics of a smaller company.

The definition of core values is not the end of the process, she adds. How you actually instil them also requires some thought. Are you going to instruct by model behaviour at the leader level? Will you pull people aside if they are not up to scratch?

Part of her vision for the human resources side of the company will be a strong focus on succession planning. “You are never going to create the bench strength and the talent pool unless you pay attention to who is coming up.”

She is also devising a graduate recruitment scheme, presumably to pick off the cream of graduates before the investment banks take them all.

Ms Luck also tries to find time to participate in XL's mentoring programme. Part of her advice to junior staff is to stress not only the technical skills, but the soft skills such as networking.

“I'm a great believer in knowing people' background, who they have connected with. In an industry this small, it really pays dividends.”

Her own experience underlines that insurance executives do not necessarily have to come up through the ranks as an underwriter: “Anyone with a strong financial background could make the transition.”

She came to Bermuda 20 years ago to work for Marsh & McLennan who were recruiting qualified accountants to run their captive businesses.

She says the captive business gave her a great grounding in the insurance business: “It was a great microcosm of what goes on in the industry.”

Significantly, her first boss at Marsh, Clive Tobin was a great supporter. “He promoted me above a lot of more senior guys, which was brave of him.” Their two careers have converged again and Mr. Tobin now runs XL's Global Risk management practice.

As well as her vast portfolio of responsibilities at XL, Ms Luck also has two young sons, Piers (11) and Tristan (eight). “It helps to have a good husband and great help,” she says.

Her husband, Nigel Kermode is headmaster of Saltus Grammar School and Ms Luck says that she enjoys his involvement in education and the arts, saying it brings balance to their lives.

She herself contributes to the arts by acting as co-chair of the capital campaign for Masterworks. It's a big commitment which involves a 7.30 a.m. meeting every two weeks. “I love the concept of bringing great pieces of art back to the Island so that Bermudians can enjoy them.”

It's just one of the charities which she supports and she clearly has a lot of causes which interest her: “It' s about trying to find the things that you are passionate about and also things that fit in well at home.”