The 5th winner of the Valerie Baker Memorial Award is James Dunk of Dunk Insurance in Regional NSW.
The announcement was made at a special event hosted by Lloyd’s on 11 September in Sydney attended by senior executives and leading lights from throughout the industry.
The Valerie Baker Memorial Award recognises excellence in professional practice in the General Insurance Intermediary sector across Australia and New Zealand. Dunk who was the 2017 NIBA NSW Broker of the Year said, “I am really impressed by the entire process of this award and super excited at the opportunity it represents to fast track my career. The fact that the award is tailored for professional development makes it so much more special because there is a tangible end result to it.”
NIBA CEO Dallas Booth said, “As a previous NIBA Broker of the Year for NSW, we know James is a highly professional and dedicated insurance broker based at Young in Regional NSW. This is a very generous award and I am sure James will get great benefit from his visit to the London market.”
Congratulations to James Dunk of Dunk Insurance, the recipient of the 5th Valerie Baker Memorial Award pic.twitter.com/IMpW7xiEMK
— NIBA (@NIBA_Australia) September 11, 2018
Sheila Baker, Managing Director Gold Seal said, “I know James will be another winner of this award who will be a standard bearer for our industry in London. I can’t wait to see what he will bring back to help his business and community from his time over there. The finalists, and indeed all the nominees, this year represented all the things that are good about Australian and New Zealand intermediaries. I find their achievements quite humbling.”
Award nominations were shortlisted and the finalists interviewed by the judging panel. The panel consisted of Chris Mackinnon, General Representative Lloyd’s Australia, Jim Rudkin, Chairman of Steadfast Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd and Steadfast Underwriting Agencies Pty Ltd, representing the Steadfast Group, Martin McAvenna, representing the AIMS Group and Sheila Baker, Managing Director of Gold Seal.
The nominees were judged on criteria that centred around – ethics and values, business success, client relationships, teamwork, innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry contribution.