In recognition of on our first year as a North American specialty team,we’re profiling some of our Canadian colleagues and sharing their thoughts on the past year. We hope you enjoy getting to know some Intact colleagues a little better!
Loren Gardiner
Location: Vancouver, B.C.
What is your position at Intact/OneBeacon and how long have you held it?
I am the Specialty Solutions V.P. of Western Region and have held this position for 4 years.
What are you working on today?
Growing the overall portfolio of Specialty business in the Western Region. I also oversee the national strategy and profitability for Equipment Breakdown and Farm in North America. In addition to that, I manage the Marketing and Communications Team for Specialty Solutions in Canada.
How did you end up in Specialty Solutions?
I’ve always been interested in finding out more about how things work, which is a perfect fit for someone in this line of business.
I’m originally from Toronto and moved to Vancouver as part of a job promotion with a former employer. I happened to be in the right place at the right time and joined Intact just as the acquisition of AXA was underway – so it was a very exciting time to jump right into the fray!
What’s the most complicated, interesting or strangest file you’ve ever worked on?
Being a self-proclaimed Equipment Breakdown geek, I have had the chance to inspect many businesses in my career, including sawmills and large processing and manufacturing facilities. Inspecting places like these is like being at adult Disney World for me!
The forestry industry has always been something I have had a keen interest in. I once spent a week inspecting the largest mill in B.C. which was the most interesting week of my life…and yes, I understand how geeky that is!.
The strangest file I’ve ever worked on involved exploding chickens, but that’s a story for another time…
What has surprised you most about OneBeacon and Intact forming a North American team?
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how similar we are to our Specialty colleagues across the border. I discovered this when I had the opportunity to work on several presentations with Jeff Richardson (Senior Vice President – Specialty) in which we compared and contrasted the U.S. business to the Canadian business and found that there were fewer differences than we anticipated once we got into the details.
I am really looking forward to all of the opportunities ahead as we continue to work closer together to build new and exciting products and services on both sides of the border.
Tell me about your picture.
I was on my way to the ballet! The photo is taken in front of my house on the way to Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver.