PRODUCER PROFILE / EILEEN GREENE
AWARD WIN LEADS TO MENTORSHIP RELATIONSHIP WITH LLOYD’S CEO CUSTOMER-CENTRIC PHILOSOPHY
Eileen Greene receives the “Best Woman in Insurance Sales” award in London.
Winning a Women in Sales award is no easy proposition. The awards are designed to find the most exemplary women in sales internationally across a variety of industries, and nominees are judged on a variety of criteria before finalists are announced and a winner in each category is crowned. It’s a rigorous process, requiring multiple trips to London for finalists and a strong commitment from the nominees’ companies. Eileen Greene now knows all of this first-hand, after being named the Best Woman in Insurance Sales at a black tie and gown event last December at the Savoy Hotel in London. Her path to the prestigious honour began when HUB International Chairman Gregory S Belton nominated her for the award, which led to the first trip to London for a day of judging against other nominees by a panel of C-level executives. After being named one of three finalists in the insurance category, Greene flew back to London for the awards ceremony in December. Winners in the eight different sectors were selected by the independent judges based on a competitive evaluation of general sales ability, track record in achieving and exceeding targets, and a good understanding of the implications of change on the wider business. “Eileen is a true leader and an inspiration to women not only within our organization and the insurance industry, but also within her community,” Belton said in an announcement about the award. “We are proud that Eileen and HUB were recognised in the insurance category at this prestigious ceremony honouring top women across the globe.” Perhaps the biggest benefit of winning the insurance award has been securing a mentee relationship with arguably the most high-profile woman in the entire insurance industry: Lloyd’s of London CEO Inga Beale. Beale, the first woman to lead Lloyd’s in its 325-year history, took the reins in January and immediately began fulfilling her commitment to mentor Greene. “As soon as we got connected, she offered me the opportunity to shadow her for four days at Lloyd’s of London. It was really eye-opening and very interesting,” Greene says, adding that she also benefitted from being able to sit in on some really high-level meetings. Beale continues to make time for Greene whenever she is in North America.
The ability to provide truly first-class customer service has always been a key to Greene’s success, and the drive to do so has set her apart from her competition. “Everyone always concentrates on the technical side of things,” Greene says. “I think a weakness that we have as an industry is that we don’t necessarily manage the client relationship and experience very well.” Greene makes it a priority to stay in front of her clients, constantly staying in touch and therefore staying top-of-mind when it comes to their insurance needs. This is made possible by the support she receives from her team at HUB. “Our dedicated professionals take care of all of the insurance detail work, which allows me to do what I do best – which is to manage relationships,” she says. Doing things like flying in to visit clients dealing with claims last year, ensuring she was delivering on her service commitment, has a major impact, Greene says, on solidifying the client experience. As big as HUB is, Greene says it still operates very much like a boutique firm. HUB doesn’t operate in silos and the team is very collaborative. “When I find an opportunity, I get the team involved. We decide as a team how we are going to land the account,” Greene says. She’ll quarterback the relationship, but the client has a full team of dedicated experts to handle their every need.
Eileen Greene, second from left, enjoys a boat trip in London with other Women in Sales award nominees.
“If you deliver excellent service on a claim, it is a perfect opportunity to ask for a referral”
44 | MAY 2014
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