A mind to mingle

Last month, Post Magazine reported on the return of Marie Louise Rossi to the international insurance stage, with this weekend's Monte Carlo Rendezvous providing the ideal platform for her to mingle afresh with former London market colleagues as well as make new acquaintances (24 August, p3).

With a range of causes and initiatives to promote, Ms Rossi is keen to capitalise on the opportunities inherent in meeting so many influential market figures in such a defined period of time.

Set to attend the annual gathering from Friday until Wednesday, she comments: "There is a bit of serendipity as to who will be around that weekend. I'll just be there saying 'hello' to various people before getting down to business on the Monday and Tuesday."

One of her new roles is as head of insurance and risk management for the New Security Programme, part of the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, an international forum that aims to make an "informed and independent contribution" to the defence debate, citing the serious implications of the complex new security environment as the driver for the NSP's formation.

It is under this title that she has registered for the Rendezvous, and Ms Rossi is keen to engage the market on threats to tourism and major events - with London's hosting of the 2012 Olympics as a particular focus - and flag up a forthcoming NSP conference in October.

She explains: "As an industry, we need to enter into more interactive dialogue with regard to the problems we are facing. After all, the London market takes on a lot of risk from major sporting events."

She is also adamant the UK learns from the mistakes of others regarding major event insurance, having experienced first hand the rather laissez-faire attitude of the Greek contingent as it prepared to host the 2004 Olympics.

"I couldn't believe it - the 2004 Olympics was due to begin in nine months and the Greek organising committee had just got round to making its first presentation to the London insurance market," she says, referring to an Athens conference attended in her former role as chief executive of the International Underwriting Association.

"I remember thinking that these risks should have been in the London market two years before. As it turned out, the London market came up trumps, providing cover for all sorts of large risks from construction and business interruption to the Greek cruise ships that accommodated thousands of tourists and spectators."

One of the other business ventures Ms Rossi will be discussing in Monte Carlo is the anti-bribery compliance initiative she has been working on for the past year with Interchange Solutions. IS has developed a product to help FTSE 100 companies manage their training and create greater awareness with regard to the potential fallibility of their guidelines covering commission that is insurable under export credit guarantee department guarantees.

Ms Rossi, who has a background in export credit and political risk as well as terrorism insurance, says: "People on the board of these companies may not understand the pressures that employees at the front-end of a transaction are up against. They have to manage that issue because if they get it wrong their reputation is at stake.

"When businesses are selling to certain types of government in certain countries it is accepted that you have to pay a 'facilitating commission'," she explains. "Sometimes you have to decide to walk away from the deal but the question is, does the company's culture allow that to happen?"

Compliance manuals

The product has been devised by ex-military members for companies operating in this sector. "While they will all have compliance manuals and good corporate governance structures they may not have thought about remuneration issues for people on the front line."

Closer to home, Ms Rossi has also been heavily involved with The Insurance Workplace, which launched an online document library on 18 July. "This will enable everyone from brokers and underwriters to corporate treasurers, loss adjusters and finance directors to interact in real-time," she claims. "They will be able to look over each other's shoulders and see exactly what went on in the negotiation of a contract."

Ms Rossi fully expects it to deliver contract certainty and transparency of broker remuneration but is she not concerned about the competition? "I was involved in the negotiations for setting up Xchanging Insurance Services five years ago but the feedback I am receiving is that, perhaps, it has not done as much as people had once hoped."

She argues that her 11-year stint as the IUA's chief executive gives her real perspective on the market. "I have chosen to act as an adviser to TIW as I believe this one's a winner."

Speaking of winners, one of Ms Rossi's new positions is as headhunter for specialist London and reinsurance market recruitment firm Torus. The company has employed her as an associate partner - a role that reunites her with an acquaintance who she attended Oxford University with, although she would rather leave him unnamed.

Explaining her discretion, she comments: "I have to balance people's awareness of my role while maintaining a high level of diplomacy when engaging with an individual. Headhunting is a rather personal one-to-one business."

200 years' experience

Between them, Ms Rossi and the six partners of Torus, which is based in the City's Minories, have more than 200 years of insurance market experience. Established almost 20 years ago, the firm is looking to adapt the 'St James' Square' style of headhunting in dealing with the blue chip names. "The nexus of top headhunters have traditionally located themselves in the SW1 or W1 postcodes. We offer their methodology with a focused London market brief."

She adds: "Torus has a good track record with senior class underwriters and we are looking to expand it over a wider European dimension to a more senior management level."

Ms Rossi confirmed that she has set up meetings with various individuals in Monte Carlo - but do not expect to catch her in the act. "If one is seen sitting in the Cafe de Paris or in the lobby of the Hermitage talking to someone, it is rather less subtle than schmoozing up to someone for 10 minutes, cocktail in hand."