Alison Quinlivan International insurance leader

Google Inc.

London

Alison Quinlivan has been a fighter for equality throughout her career, bumping her head against a glass ceiling for years before a chance opportunity took her out of the United Kingdom and to work with a female boss.

“I was always a first: the first female graduate to join a scheme with a broker; the first woman in a meeting; one of the first female inspectors,” she said. “So right from day one, I felt passionately that there was a need for greater diversity in the insurance business.”

It was hard to make her way upwards, until she moved to Bermuda in 1998 and worked for her first female boss at Marsh. From there she eventually joined Aon Risk Solutions as captive growth leader for the Americas where she met her now boss. He moved on to Google Inc. and, after returning to work in the United Kingdom, she joined him at the company in 2018.

She still fights hard for diversity in all its forms and established a group of young talent to air their issues. “We found the same bad names cropping up again and again and realized that the only way to drive change was if we, as clients, started making demands for change. It is not just about flying the flag for diversity, but it is a good business decision: A more diverse team will produce better results.”

Loren Nickel, director of business risk and insurance at Google, said, “Alison is one of the most accomplished insurance professionals I know. In addition, her ability to communicate clearly and become a true trusted adviser is a very unique skill. Finally, her dedication and passion for supporting women in the insurance market is the best demonstration of how she is making the insurance world a better place.”

Ms. Quinlivan’s attitude is reflected in her home life where she and her husband support numerous charities, adopt battery hens and foster dogs. She said none of it is possible without her husband Nick’s support as a stay-at-home dad looking after their two sons.