Consultants
Affinity Initiative-Business-Strategy

BUSINESS
STRATEGY

Affinity Initiative-Product-Selection

PRODUCT
SELECTION

Affinity Initiative-Change-Management

CHANGE
MANAGEMENT

Affinity Initiative-Go To Market Strategy

GO TO MARKET
STRATEGY

Affinity Initiative-Corporate-Mentoring

CORPORATE
MENTORING

Affinity Initiative-Staff-Team-Mentoring

STAFF/TEAM
MENTORING

We very much believe in the adages that “People buy from People”, “People learn from Experience” and that “People who listen and apply good advice tend to succeed more often than those that don’t”. At Affinity we have Advisors who have successfully applied these beliefs on both sides of the spectrum. They are now focussed on helping our Clients to benefit from their experience by bringing the right technology, people and proven approaches to whatever project our Clients are looking for them to address.

Insurance sector

Charlie Davies Consultant

Charlie Davies

Advisor

Charlie has spent his entire career within the Lloyd’s Insurance market focussing primarily on the Broking side of the business, but more recently he has applied his knowledge to assist two boutique Headhunter’s. His experience within the market covers Reinsurance, Specialty, and Carrier Management although he has also worked in other sectors, in all cases this has primarily been at a very senior management level.

With more than 40 years in Lloyds and due to the diversity of roles he has held he has built up a large network of contacts. As a well known and trusted person in the market he now focusses on assisting businesses by acting as a “Connector” and putting people and companies in contact with one another where he feels there could be mutual benefit.

In addition to working with Affinity Initiative as an Ambassador he is currently working with a cross section of organisations, helping them grow their business and where possible expand their network and client base. These additional roles currently include being a Senior Advisor to Dun & Bradstreet and working closely with QOMPLX, Kene Partners and Turner Smith Partners.

Dan Fiehn Consultant

Dan Fiehn FBCS CITP

Advisor

Dan is a seasoned technology leader with over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. He has a proven track record of success in developing and implementing innovative solutions that achieve growth and efficiency for global brands such as Aon, HBOS, LTSB, and Covea Insurance.

As Group Chief Operating Officer at the Markerstudy Group, Dan was responsible for the digital strategy and over 30 M&As, including the successful acquisition and integration of the Co-op Insurance business. He has been recognised as a CIO TOP 100 Leader three times; he is a governing body member of the UK CIO Executive Summit, holds a BA(Hons) in Law with Financial Services, and is a Chartered IT Professional and Fellow of the BCS.

Today, he continues to use his expertise to help organisations unlock their full potential with innovative solutions tailored to their specific needs.

Mark Huxley Consultant

Mark Huxley

Advisor

Mark has over 40 years experience in the Lloyd’s Insurance Market with a very varied and proven background primarily at Senior Management or Board Level. He has an extensive understanding of front line carrier claims and operational management. He was the founder of a brand leading third party administration company that pioneered outsourced Claims Management with a variety of clients including Lloyd’s Underwriters and has most recently been at the sharp end of developing Marketing and Tech delivery focussed businesses. He is also an acknowledged mentor of individuals and Insurtech start ups.

A committed Entrepreneur who has created a number of businesses himself during his career, he is currently on the pathway to becoming the Master Entrepreneur at the Company of Entrepreneurs, one of the City of London’s aspirant Livery Companies.

In addition to advising Affinity Initiative he is a Co-Founder of Cognitive Risk a digital change consultancy focused on connecting smart solutions and reimagining existing working practices through the successful adoption of technology.

David O'Reilly

David O'Reilly,

Advisor & Chartered MCSI

David has worked as a corporate financier in the Financial Services sector for over 20 years at banks such as UBS Investment Bank, Bank of America and Dresdner Kleinwort, in sectors such as Technology, Media, Telecoms and Business Services. He is the London Director of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, a chartered member of the CISI and a Fellow of the RSA.

Tim Kershaw Consultant

Tim Kershaw

Advisor

Tim is a leader who in a 40-year career has held several senior roles in the London insurance market, both at Broking and Underwriting firms and often with a global brief.  Most recently he held the positions of Head of UK Middle Office at AXA XL,  COO UK Legal Entities and Head of Middle Office UK & Ireland at XL Catlin and COO of the UK hub at Catlin.

Tim has a wealth of operational management experience at senior executive level, with an ability to formulate strategy and then lead the tactical solutions through to delivery.  He is a culturally aware problem solver with a flexible and innovative approach, who successfully delivers in both ‘business as usual’ and “change” environments.

Tim has worked across numerous disciplines and classes of business from front to back office.  He is a pragmatist and a respecter of legacy but is never limited by it and always seeks out new opportunities and innovation.  At Affinity Initiative Tim will be a key leader in our mentor program, an area he has committed a lot of time to during his career and is now taking forward professionally.

Charles Rowley

Advisor

Charles has 26 years of Delegated Authority Experience and founded the bespoke consultancy DA Strategy in 2015. DA Strategy is a leading London Market consultancy delivering commercial delegated authority solutions for Carriers, Brokers and MGAs.

Prior to founding D A Strategy, Charles was Head of Delegated Authority at Catlin for 13 years where he led the team that grew the Delegated Authority portfolio to GBP 1 Bn, expanding the Coverholder client base alongside Underwriters from 120 to over 800.

Whilst at Catlin Charles chaired the LMA Delegated Authority Operations Committee leading the Market Initiative which helped develop the vision and key priorities which are incorporated within the LMG TOM and Lloyd’s Blueprint 2. He has presented at numerous Lloyd’s events including the CEO Strategy evening on the Ease of Doing Business, on Coverholder Data standards, Conduct Roadshows and was a member of the ITC London Panel.

Charles studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, rowed for the University Lightweight Rowing team and, more recently, completed the Lloyd’s London Business School – Executive leadership programme.

Ed Slade

Advisor

Ed is a London Insurance Market specialist with nearly 30 years of C-suite experience in technology and operational functions across broking, underwriting and MGAs including significant M&A transaction experience. Ed is well known on the conference circuit providing insightful thought leadership across all links of the insurance value change including Market Modernisation, Regulatory Frameworks and Audit Controls.

Ed came originally from a legal background before building a career focussed on delivering technology and operational excellence to a number of large brokers, including Tysers where he was Group CIO. In that time Ed also helped create 8 startup MGAs across North America, Europe and Asia as well as in London. Ed has always been an active member of the wider insurance community with lengthy stints on many of the Market’s committees and boards. Having been at the forefront of Market Modernisation for nearly 30 years Ed is extremely well placed to advise London Market organisations on Blueprint2 strategies and implementation models to maximise return on investment.

More recently Ed has spent the last 4 years with Pega building and leading an advisory practice with a global team, helping some of the world’s largest global insurers with their Digital Transformation – both strategy and execution.

Retail sector

Keith Edney

Advisor

Keith has over 30 years of international retail experience having worked for and advised some of the largest names in both food and non-food retail across the globe. During 15 years at Tesco Keith was instrumental in both the European and Asian expansion of the chain.

With a detailed knowledge of how retail works he is well placed to influence tech developments to increase efficiency, reduce costs and streamline retail operations at all stages of their development and within all markets. Effectively influencing and delivering projects from shop floor to C-suite has introduced significant industry improvements over the years.  Personally, Keith enjoys time with his family, travel and improving his culinary skills with Asian food

.

Chris Strand Consultant

Chris Strand

Advisor

Chris has accumulated 30 years in the retail sector with Tesco partnering Senior Directors. He is an expert in Loss Prevention and Analysis and has an in depth understanding of Stock Control systems, the provision of data and the use of that data in advanced data analysis. This experience has allowed him to effectively support business leaders in making informed and positive decisions across many areas of the business.

He is acutely aware of the importance of emerging tech trends and the relevance and application to retailers of all sizes, and is reaching a growing audience of tech businesses with his concepts to improve efficiency and market share. Personally Chris has a keen interest in mental health related technology and the importance of supporting colleagues to be at their best.

For further information on our services and/or our capabilities