Closing the pro'TECH'tion gap

Mark has been in insurance and banking and for over 20 years having worked at HSBC, Aviva and now Zurich. Mark currently heads up Innovation for Zurich in the UK and has a wealth of experience of working with start-ups, new technologies and testing new propositions. Mark was Insurance Post’s Digital and Insurtech “Insurance Technology Leader of Year” in 2018 and his team have won numerous awards since the Innovation Foundry was established just over 3 years ago.

Phil began his career as a clerk for a national building society before qualifying as a financial adviser and mortgage broker. Since moving away from customer facing roles, he has held a number of high-profile roles representing some of the most innovative and exciting brands in the life insurance sector including Direct Life, Vitality Life, UnderwriteMe and, since 2019, as Director of Corporate Strategy at the UK’s largest directly authorised broker, Reassured.

Phil has built three businesses in the insurance sector, the last of them becoming the largest white-label supplier of general insurance in the UK. He went on to invest (and Chair) a number of business’ from music, to sports clothing to the insurance sector, and worked with a range of private equity houses in their insurance-related investments such as Simply Business, winner of 'Best Company to Work For' two years running. In 2017, Phil stepped back into the front line setting up DeadHappy to take on Life insurance is aiming to completely change the customer experience and purpose of the product.

Garry Partington, CEO of mobile technology business Apadmi LTD, founded the company in 2009 with the aim of building world-class engineering teams and creating long-lasting partnerships through mobile transformation. Garry is a seasoned business leader and entrepreneur with experience in media, research, crypto and technology businesses and advertising.

Sam Shaw has been a financial journalist since 2005, having held senior editorial positions across the business press, including editor of Financial Times Business's flagship investment title. She now works as a freelance writer, editor, content producer and presenter, across trade and consumer media.