The steering committee

Our Steering Committee are made up of a group of volunteers who work within the UK insurance industry. We have come together to help raise awareness on multicultural inclusion within our industry to make a difference, create impact and turn rhetoric into action.

Ajay Mistry, Co-Chair // Founder of Gambit Partners

With experience gained over the last 12 years from Aviva, Aon and Brokerbility, Ajay is now the Founder & Director of Gambit Partners - a growth agency focused on supporting early-stage Insurtechs and Tech Startups with their growth strategies. Ajay is also an Advisory Board Member of the CII’s Broking Community, supporting 13,000 Broker members in their personal career development. Ajay was recently named in the Insurance Post Power List and the Global 100 Leader List by Insurance Business.

Kishan Mangat, Co- Chair // Legal Counsel, AIG

Kishan is a specialist litigator at DWF, defending catastrophic injury claims on behalf of large insurers and corporate self-insured companies, and was recently named as “Insurance Lawyer of the Year” at the Women In Insurance Awards.  Kishan is also on the board of iWIN (Insurance Women’s Inclusivity Network), providing support for the learning and development of aspiring female insurance professionals.

Maxine Goddard, iCAN Advisory Member // Senior Vice President, Strategic Distribution & Development, Sompo International

Maxine Goddard is SVP, Strategic Distribution and Development for Global Markets, at Sompo International with over 20 years’ international experience across insurance, banking, oil and gas, and the United Nations. She also sits on the Advisory Board of the ISC Group as a champion for gender balance and is the co-chair of RATL, the Race Action Through Leadership group. Maxine has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London and is an active Livery member with the Worshipful Company of Insurers.

Echaunti Swan, Operations Manager, iCAN

Echaunti is originally from Bermuda but was raised in the United States before moving to the UK for her Master’s Degree. Over the years Echaunti progressed through the ranks of the insurance industry and eventually found her niche in the inclusion and diversity sector. In 2020, she created the first black-owned market within the London Insurance Market. This market gave black vendors in London a platform to showcase their products and services and highlight their commitment to giving back to the community.

Catherine Hill, Project Consultant, iCAN

Catherine joined the insurance industry six years ago and has experience in talent acquisition processes and leading strategic operations. During her career, she has developed DEI toolkits and guides as well as inclusive recruitment training programs which ignite change. Catherine is passionate about tackling complex organisational and talent management issues to maximise the potential and success of people.

Natalia Zurowski, iCAN Advisory Member // Senior Strategy Associate, JPMorgan Chase & Co

Natalia is a Senior Strategy Associate - Technology, Innovation & Partnerships, part of the Global Technology team at JP Morgan Chase & Co. Natalia is passionate about diversity, financial services and technology, and is an accomplished speaker who has spoken at InsurtechBrek, the Dive In Festival and the Women in Insurance Summit for the UK. She is also a previous winner of the ‘Top Women in Insurance’ category at the We Are The City Rising Star Awards and a Top 100 Female Future Leaders in the UK by the Women in Finance Awards. Prior to JP Morgan Chase, Natalia was the Head of Content Management for Financial Institutions at Boston Consulting Group and led marketing for Synechron for London and APAC.

Florence Dennis, iCAN Insurance Partnerships Lead // Lead Client Advisor, Partners&

Flo currently works as a Lead Client Advisor at Partners&, where the role sees her leading a team of fantastic advisors who are all just as passionate as she is about providing the best possible advice to customers.

She has been part of the profession for almost 11 years, starting as an apprentice at the age of 17, having no prior knowledge of the broking profession.

Flo’s passion for insurance goes further than her day job, volunteering on local iCAN, BIBA & CII committees. She is currently Chair for the East Midlands BIBA Committee and Vice President for CII Leicester.

It is a strong belief of Flo’s that insurance is an amazing career that no one really knows about, and therefore one of the areas she is heavily involved in is attracting new and young talent to the profession, through attending school careers fairs, and talking to students at careers workshops about the vast opportunities available in insurance.

Gareth Mutema, iCAN Marketing Operations Lead // Digital Business Manager, Aviva

Gareth works as a Digital Business Manager for Aviva and sits on the SteerCo’s of the Aviva GI Inclusion Council, the Aviva Origins Network and the Aviva Black Professionals Network. Gareth’s previous roles include Churchill Insurance Consultants, Midway Insurance and LV=. In the last 8 years Gareth has published several articles featured in the BIBA publication ‘The Broker’, Insurance Business UK, Insurance Age, and the CII journal to name a few. 

Felix Wong, iCAN Thought Leadership Lead // Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, Allianz Insurance

Former solicitor and insurance professional Felix Wong has contributed significantly to driving diversity and inclusion initiatives. At Allianz UK he co-founded ENRICH, the multicultural network, as well as advising several countries on setting up their own employee resource groups (ERGs) and co-founded the global Allianz multicultural ERG. He has been recognised as a Top 100 EMpower Ethnic Minority Future Leader since 2021 for his commitment to promoting DEI in the workplace.

Jimmy Kumar, iCAN Birmingham Lead // Risk Management Practice, Marsh McLennan

Jimmy has been in the insurance industry for over 30 years, working in broking powerhouses such as Aon, WTW, The Ardonagh Group and Marsh where he is currently a Client Executive, SVP, specialising in multinational business and large PLC's. Jimmy is an active member of the Colleague Resource Groups at Marsh including The Multi-Cultural Network and Asian Colleague Support Group, and now gives back by mentoring, coaching and helping to develop others now finding their way.

Fionn O'Reilly, iCAN Manchester Co-Lead // Business Manager, Direct Line Group

Fionn currently works as a Business Manager at Direct Line Group and was a delegate on the CIIs New Generation programme in 2022-23, joining the insurance industry as an apprentice in 2018.  

His early roles were in Property & Casualty underwriting but he has more recently pursued opportunities in commercial leadership and strategy positions.  With a real passion for driving equal opportunity and leaving the ladder down for others from less privileged backgrounds, he enjoys leading a commercial apprenticeship programme and sitting on the Social Mobility D&I strand committee at DLG. 

Having grown up in the South but more recently migrated North, Fionn is excited to bring the fantastic opportunities of networking with iCAN’s regional hub in his now home city, Manchester!

Baljinder Mahil, iCANConnect Lead // Head of Distribution Operations & Co-chair of RISE,AXAXL

Bal is the Head of Distribution Operations at AXA XL, following eight years in the Global Risk Function where she successfully managed large transformations following multiple mergers and acquisitions.  Bal also co-founded and co-chairs Rise, the first multicultural network group at AXA XL. Its support led to the company publishing their first Ethnicity Pay Gap Report in 2021. Bal was recently named in the Empower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executive Role Model list and Insurance Business UK’s Elite Women List.

Yasmin Carter-Esdale, iCAN Partnerships Lead // Schemes Account Executive, Hiscox

Yasmin works as a Schemes Account Executive for Hiscox to deliver and manage bespoke portfolio solutions and is also a CII Underwriting Community board member supporting over 9,000 underwriters. In 2022, Yasmin founded ELEV822, the insurance profession's first LinkedIn development programme and was recently named as an ‘Exceptional Female Leader’ in the Insurance Business ‘Elite Women’ list.

Arit Amana, iCAN INspire Mentoring Lead // Company Secretary, Everest Insurance

Arit is a qualified Chartered Secretary and Legal Practitioner. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute and has over 15 years’ experience in governance and corporate compliance in various industries. Arit is particularly interested in creating mentoring and sponsorship opportunities for marginalised communities within the insurance industry, creating lifelines for career advancement.

Andrew Corbin, // Aerospace Partner & Race/Ethnicity Network Chair, Gallagher UK

Andrew was born in Singapore and lived between there and Indonesia before moving to London when he was a child. Since 2015, he has had a varied role as an aerospace insurance broker, managing relationships with both clients and the market as well as handling his team’s placement facilities. He has a passion for developing talent, playing a key role within his team for managing new joiners and offering mentorship to various individuals in the industry. He has been the Chair of Gallagher’s race/ethnicity network since 2022, of which he was a founding member, overseeing Gallagher’s various initiatives in this space. His passion for developing talent extends to his community work, building long-term relationships with charity partners and creating tangible employment opportunities for young people with a focus on improving diversity within the industry, most notably creating a 12 month paid traineeship for school leavers within Gallagher’s aerospace division. He won Gallagher’s 2022 INCLUDE Award and was recognised as an Insurance Business Rising Star in 2023

Enam Islam, // Director of Jenzah Consulting Ltd

Director of Jenzah Consulting Ltd, with more than 15 years of experience in the Insurance and Reinsurance industry. Enam has a strong desire to promote diversity and inclusivity, particularly for individuals from a BAME background. Apart from his professional achievements, Enam holds the position of Chairman for a local youth organisation, where he plays a crucial role in guiding and empowering young people to reach their full potential. Additionally, he serves as an Enterprise Ambassador for his local council, actively encouraging entrepreneurship and business growth within the community. With his extensive mentoring experience, Enam has made a significant impact by providing valuable guidance and support to aspiring professionals.