Ana Franco de Sarabia | Age: 56 Country manager, Iberia

Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc.

Madrid

A career outside insurance stood Ana Franco de Sarabia in good stead when she entered the world of loss adjusting.

After graduating with a law degree, she worked in real estate, handling contracts for an international property consultant. “That experience in international projects and operations gave me a different insight when I joined a Spanish loss adjusting firm,” she said.

After a series of acquisitions, she became country manager, Iberia, for Sedgwick Claims Management Inc. in 2018. Ms. Franco de Sarabia is fluent in French and English, in addition to her native Spanish, which has helped her work in an international environment, she said.

She enjoys working in the loss adjusting field and is keen to encourage more young people to enter the sector

“The average age in our office is 40, so we have managed to attract more youngsters,” she said. However, it is difficult to find female engineers because they are still under-represented in Spain’s engineering sector, she said.

That might change in the future, she hopes, not least because her own daughter has just graduated with an engineering degree. “I am determined not to try and dictate her future direction,” Ms. Franco de Sarabia said, “but I do know that loss adjusting offers a really good career choice for anyone, including women.”

Her former boss, Juan Garcia-Cubillana, said that in a sector still led by men, Ms. Franco de Sarabia has helped promote family-friendly policies at Sedgwick. “As a father of a large family, I can note the marked difference of this company concerning the facilities and support provided,” he said. 

In what has been a tough year for everyone in Spain, Ms. Franco de Sarabia has been determined to find time for recreation and enjoys hiking in the mountains around Madrid.

“It clears my head and allows me to relax,” she said.