UP CLOSE: John Sullivan
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JOHN SULLIVAN
NEW JOB TITLE: London-based director of reinsurance, Cooper Gay & Co. Ltd.
PREVIOUS POSITION: London-based director of Global Re Specialty Marine, Aon Benfield
INDUSTRY CHALLENGES: Maintaining a symbiotic alliance with commercial partners and keeping pace with ever-changing requirements through innovative and competitive products.
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK: The marine sector of insurance is by nature a movable feast and, therefore, continually changing. However, technology is such that risk factors can be exponentially mitigated, which offers excellent prospects to serious and attentive participants.
FIRST MARKET EXPERIENCE: Filing clerk with marine reinsurance brokers Bell Nicholson Henderson Ltd. in 1975 before advancing through the company to holdings board director.
ADVICE: We all endure pressure and tension from time to time. The better we can control this, the less we are likely to suffer. Whether we miss a train, are stuck in a traffic jam, drop our sandwich "sunny side down' or lose an insurance deal, we should try to stand back and look at ourselves across the room and ask if this will be an issue in five years' time. In 99% of cases this is not the case, and we are worrying about nothing. The sooner this can be recognized, the healthier we feel.
OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY, A DREAM JOB: I love sports and think my ideal occupation would be a professional tennis player, traveling the world, following the sun, earning an enviable income, enjoying an adoring fan club, staying fit and enjoying what I do. If only I had the ability!
HOBBIES: Running, cricket, rugby, music and fine wine.
MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT: My family.
FAVORITE BOOK: The Holy Bible.
CAN'T-MISS TV SHOW: “Dexter.”
FAVORITE MEAL: Foie gras with Sauternes, medium steak with Barolo, banoffee pie with orange muscat, and cheese and biscuits with a vintage port.
ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Pub lunch, taking the kids to the park and watching a top game of rugby.
