After deciding to move into the insurance industry as a 28-year-old university graduate, Heather Ritchie took control of her destiny.
It’s a rare and wonderful thing for a university graduate, having completed their new employer’s 12-month graduate program, to develop and negotiate their own unique role within that business.
But that’s exactly what Heather Ritchie, 29, did with a little help from a mentor friend.
“I was completing the graduate program at Jardine Lloyd Thomson (JLT) when I became part of the NIBA mentoring program,” Ritchie explains.
“I was paired with Gabriele McDonald who’s on the executive management team at Vero, part of Suncorp. I don’t think they could have found a better match for me and it came at a perfect time. For 12 months I had worked across different areas of the business and I had recognised an opportunity to work with a team that I greatly admired.”
You can’t be afraid to get out there and talk to people. It’s through conversations that you find out what the clients’ real needs are.
That opportunity involved a new role, that of Business Development/Consultant, which Ritchie now fills in JLT’s Sydney office. As she developed the idea of the role she was able to bounce thoughts off her mentor, who constantly challenged Ritchie’s assumptions and taught her to view the function from various perspectives.
Ritchie’s pitch to JLT management was ultimately successful and she now works within the business development team, as a dedicated resource for Echelon, the risk consulting arm of the business, in a job that involves providing innovative marketing solutions, sales pipeline management, tender development, networking and relationship building.
“I was told on day one that this industry is all about relationships and that has proven itself again and again,” says Ritchie, who outside work enjoys running, socialising and travelling.
“You can’t be afraid to get out there and talk to people. It’s through conversations that you find out what the clients’ real needs are.”
A new direction
For Ritchie, the insurance and risk management industry is a new one. She originally worked in sales after moving to Australia from New Zealand as an 18-year-old. She also held a position for several years within the Minus 5 Ice Lounge Franchise Group, which saw her working in Sydney, on the Gold Coast and in Portugal.
Three years ago, Ritchie tossed it all in to complete a two-year accelerated business degree with a major in management. When she emerged at the other end she found her ultimate match in JLT.
“Coming back to study later in life is naturally a good thing, because you want to be there and you want to learn,” she says.
“I have landed in what, without a doubt, is the perfect organisation for me. JLT guide me in the right direction and management offers a lot of support.
“I have always been ambitious but I’m also very aware that I have to learn as much as I can to get where I want to be. The next 12 to 18 months will be all about building on my existing skills and experience and soaking up as much as I can.”
Longer term, Ritchie says her goals will be about flowing her business development role into a national one. In the meantime she’ll continue to revel in a role that she thoroughly enjoys – a role she built herself.
“The culture and the people at JLT, and the direction the company is heading in, are all very positive,” Ritchie says “It’s a very proactive place and when I changed careers at the age of 28 that’s exactly what I needed.”
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