• Emily Johnstone
  • Stuart Elliot
  • Temi Omonubi
  • Miles Staples
  • Luke Reeve-Tucker

Stuart Elliot


Studied Economics at Reading University

Joined on the 2009 Graduate Programme and is part of the GMI Terrorism team within London Market Wholesale

What team(s) have you worked in at Willis?

In my first year on the graduate programme, I worked in Willis International, the department that manages Willis' Global offices. Specifically within this team, I was involved in change projects through an initiative called Shaping our Future, in which I worked with countries to improve their service and reduce their costs by analysing processes. After a year, I moved into the insurance broking side of the business, and joined the Terrorism Practice - a specialist team that places terrorism, political violence and war risks for a range of clients from around the world. My time is split between broking risks to Underwriter's in Lloyd's and servicing existing accounts. Terrorism and Political Violence is a particularly interesting class of business because it is so topical; events in the news affect our business, which makes every risk different and brings different challenges.

What have been your career highlights so far?

When I joined Willis, I was given lots of responsibility at an early stage and have had great exposure by working with senior people in the business. Probably one of the highlights so far was the opportunity to travel to Brussels to present a tender proposal to a very large prospective client; something I didn't expect to be doing after just 6 months in my new team.

What do you feel is the one best thing about Willis?

If you are looking for a career in insurance, then by joining Willis you will be joining one of the largest and most respected insurance brokers in the world. As it is such a large organisation, headquartered in London, there are so many opportunities and interesting classes of business. The people also play a huge part in what makes Willis a great place to work; there are so many subject matter experts that are always eager to share their knowledge to help you develop. Everyone is passionate to see Willis succeed in becoming the best broker in the world and this means that you are working with a really dedicated group of people.

Miles Staples

Studied Business Management at Oxford Brookes University

Joined Willis on the 2007 Graduate Programme and is part of the Reinsurance Aeorospace team


Can you give an overview of your career so far and how you have progressed at Willis since joining on the Graduate Programme in September 2007?

After joining Willis on the 2007 graduate scheme I was quickly integrated into the Aerospace Reinsurance team. Rotations around the business unit were timetabled which saw me being introduced to our analytics, wordings, claims broking, placement brokers and support team. This gave me a structure for the first 8 months. This tuition was interspersed between short term projects in the Business Unit, broking minor changes to contracts and the ACII exams. I then started to pitch client’s reinsurance programmes to ‘following reinsurers’ and was given the Account Executive role on two small accounts. The client demand on the analytical side of the business was (and is) growing and therefore I took a secondment to the financial modelling team for 5 months. When I returned to the team I became the conduit between the Actuarial team and the Business Unit from where we started to develop further tools and models to help clients optimise their reinsurance. As a result of this I am now involved in many sales pitches and have become the Account Executive on larger accounts on top of being involved in a ‘number 2’ capacity on the biggest accounts.

What advice would you give a new Graduate joining the Willis Graduate Programme?

Involve yourself in as much as possible. The ‘informal network’ is just as important as those who you deal with on a day-to-day basis. Colleagues enjoy sharing knowledge and listening to ideas from enthusiastic people.

Temi Omonubi

Studied Business from Warwick University

Joined Willis on the 2010 Graduate Programme and currently works in GMI within London Market Wholesale

When I first joined Willis my general tasks were to support the Account Handlers in my team in dealing with the technical aspects of meeting clients’ needs. This involved preparing the various documents we use, understanding their purpose and also knowing when they needed to go to the client. This gave me a good understanding of the process of our business. My tasks gradually evolved to include shadowing Account Handlers in the placement process and now to looking after my own accounts

What is the graduate training like?

The graduate training is very good. It is structured in a way that enables a smooth transition from what could be a somewhat rocky journey from University to the professional work environment. A lot of support is provided to ensure knowledge is developed about the business and the industry as a whole, something I have found to be very useful. As well as business knowledge it provides networking opportunities with people in the industry, senior people in the organization, and also other with other graduates – past and present.

What are your plans for the future?

I hope to continue learning and growing within the Facultative division; to become an experienced Account Handler with a good understanding of the business and my clients’ needs and see what happens from there. I also look to complete my ACII exams and gain the qualification which is supported and funded by Willis.

Luke Reeve-Tucker

See a video of Luke Reeve-Tucker's experiences of working at Willis on the Discover Risk website

http://www.discoverrisk.co.uk/opinion/case-studies.aspx

Emily Johnstone

Studied Engineering Design at Bristol University

Joined Willis on the 2010 Graduate Programme and is part of the Global Specialties Marine team


Your Programme is a rotational one, how have you found this?

The length of time that I am spending in each department is not fixed rigidly nor is the path that I am taking through the department. I am encouraged to voice my opinion and give feedback on the rotational scheme.

Since I joined Willis in September, I have spent three months in Shipowners Claims, five months in Protection and Indemnity and I am currently two months into a six month placement with Cargo - Americas team. Each placement has taught me something different, and in this department it is so much more beneficial for me to be able to know how the department works as a whole rather than just one area. The accounts are invariably spread across teams and understanding how both sides of the account are run and who runs them is of great use.

It is a great learning experience, and I feel that at the end of the two years I will be able to say with confidence which areas appeal to me more than others when I am finally placed into my permanent role.

What activities have you been involved in outside of your day to day role at Willis?

Within the first three months of joining I found myself in the Willis Choir and performing to 500 people at a Christmas Carol Service, on the Willis Charity Events Committee and joining an exciting new project that has involved me working with graduates from all over the world and with some of the most senior executives at Willis. I am also part of a group of graduates who are organising a series of fundraising events for the Willis Charity of the Year, culminating in a sponsored cycle between our London and Paris Offices.

Willis is such a diverse organisation that if you are so inclined, there is always another opportunity around the corner - although you might have to be proactive in making it happen.

What are your plans for the future?

Over the next two years I am going to continue with the Marine rotation moving back into two more departments within the Shipowners business of Marine. The projects that I am currently involved in outside of my day role will come to an end in December this year and having discussed how much I enjoy working on them with my line manager, I am now aiming to become involved in some new departmental projects. From December, I will also be joining the Marine Sales team for one day per week for the forseeable future. This is such an important part of the business that it will be an invaluable experience.

Some more long term goals for me will be to pass my CII exams within three years and to try and develop my project management skills with a view to doing more project-based work in the future.

Willis In History

Did you know Willis was the construction broker for the Hong Kong Airport at Chek Lap Kok, one of the world's largest reclamation operations of its time where the surrounding waters were filled in to form a new man-made island?