Mike Fisher, recently promoted to Managing Director and Head of Office at Marsh Global brokering Bermuda (Marsh), says he is constantly learning and keeping up with trends in the insurance industry to be the best leader he can be for his staff.

"Every aspect of my job is a learning process if I want to keep on top of the game," says Mike. "There is always someone waiting in the wings to take your position. This is a highly competitive business where people no longer have loyalty but are looking for the biggest and fastest break."

Mike is the first Bermudian to head up Marsh Global Brokering, Bermuda. He says he got to where he is today by learning to be humble while gaining the respect of his peers.

Mike graduated from Warwick Academy as head boy and spent a year in New Mexico as a rotary exchange student. He then attended the Bermuda College for two years prior to enrolling at Acadia University in Canada where he obtained a Bachelor's of Business Administration.

Mike's first job after university was in the Treasury Department at the Bank of Bermuda where he managed foreign portfolios for many clients including captive managers. He became intrigued with the international insurance scene and expressed his interest to his clients. Because Mike had fostered good working relationships with many of his clients, he was offered the opportunity to work with Reed Stenhouse, now known as Aon.

After gaining experience at Reed Stenhouse, he decided he was more suited for brokering because he liked the high profile of working with international clients. He expressed his interest to the brokering team, who at that time consisted of Bob Barclay and Joe Rego (now head of Aon, Bermuda).

Unfortunately at the time, the brokering team was fully staffed. However, Joe told Mike of a brokering opportunity at NBA, now known as Marsh Global brokering, Bermuda. Joe introduced Mike to the right people and in January 4, 1988, Mike began his long career with Marsh Global brokering.

He says from the day he walked into the Marsh office, his goal was to become Head of the Office. It took him nearly 13 years working under five different office heads to achieve his goal but he did it and is proud.

When Mike started at Marsh there were only 12 employees. He couldn't have started at a better time, just after XL and Ace had commenced operations on the island bringing a new level of excitement to the industry. Things were helter skelter because submissions were coming in faster than they could blink. With little formal training, he was thrown into the deep end. He was given accounts to handle and told here's Jack Korzelius or Al Holzgruber, seasoned account executives brought in from overseas, to guide you through what needs to be done. His training was purely on the job.

Mike responded so well to his trial by fire that his superiors recognised him as someone worth exposing to more of the organisation. So in 1990, Mike was sent to work in London for 6 months. He gained invaluable experience there. One of the most exciting highlights of his career was having the opportunity to broke a property account to Lloyds. He says at first he was intimidated by the chaos and prestige of Lloyds but soon found himself fitting easily into the London brokering scene quite easily.

His mentors over the years have included the senior account executives he had to rely on early in his career. Once those guys left, Kathryn Winter, Head of the Casualty Department and Fiona Luck, Head of Office, were instrumental in preparing him for his future head of office duties. Once Kathryn left the island after training Mike, Mike assumed her position as Casualty Manager. Joe Pieser was then brought in as the new Head of Office under the condition he trained Mike to assume his role. While under the tutelage of Joe, Mike was able to learn about all of Marsh's lines of business. Mike says his desire was to do whatever it took to get the job done.

Two and a half years later, Mike became the first Bermudian to head up the Marsh Global brokering Office. He now oversees 40 people, a testament to how much the organisation has grown since Mike first joined in 1988. He says his lifestyle has changed considerably since assuming his new role. He travels more, visiting New York on a monthly basis for management meetings. He spends significant amounts of time entertaining clients even though he does not directly handle individual accounts anymore.

With Marsh acquiring J&H and Sedgwicks, Mike has had to get to know new members of staff and the new clients they brought with them. He says he is extremely busy and does not see much of his wife, Sheila and their two young daughters during the week. He says Sheila is tremendous and supports his work ethic to do what needs to be done to excel at his job. He jokingly says his two daughters on the other hand don't understand why he has to be away so much. He added in a serious tone that they worry about him going to New York now because of the World Trade Center tragedies. So he is more sensitive to their concerns and makes sure he hugs and kisses them before he leaves and calls home at least once a day when he is travelling.

Mike says he got to the top because of hard work and he was the best person for the job. Mike spent 13 years working his way up from a junior broker to the Head of the Office by constantly learning and adapting to the changing facets of the international insurance arena. And as a tribute to his success, Mike has newly been promoted to the prestigious position of Managing Director of Marsh Global brokering Bermuda.

He says Marsh has plenty of opportunities for professional people to do well because of its global network. Currently there are several Bermudians working overseas.

He hopes one day to entice them home with their worldly experience and who knows one of them may be in a position to take his place one day. He says his major challenge is to make sure there is someone behind him who can step into his shoes.

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Cathy Duffy is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and is now a freelance writer. She is a former executive of Zurich Global Energy and has 15 years experience in the insurance industry. She writes on insurance issues The Royal Gazette every Monday. Feedback crduffyibl.bm.