PEOPLE
CAREER PATH
FROM LITIGATION TO MITIGATION From media production to the practice of law, Sampath Soysa has enjoyed a diverse career and recently joined the team at ATC While studying law at uni, Soysa worked for national broadcaster Television New Zealand in a role that involved digital video and media production, and website design.
1999 A CREATIVE START
2005 CROSSES THE DITCH While many of his legal colleagues opted for a rite of passage overseas, gaining work experience in the UK, Soysa decided to move to Australia. Once here, he secured a role with DLA Phillips Fox (today, DLA Piper) in Melbourne. He later moved to Moray & Agnew Lawyers, focusing solely on insurance. While at DLA, Soysa also joined ANZIIF’s Generation i program, which aims to create a strong sense of community among young insurance professionals. He later became president of its Victorian Committee.
It was a fantastic time … I got to see how a creative business runs … and it set me up with a lot of skills which came in use down the track
2001 TAKES ON THE LAW After completing his degree, Soysa bid farewell to his life in media for a legal career. He began working for law firm Fortune Manning (today, Duncan Cotterill). “Insurance law … turned out to be one of the main focuses of that firm, and also one of the things that I got stuck into pretty early on in my legal career and enjoyed immensely right from the start. So, it’s the classic [story of] getting into insurance by accident!”
2011
2014
CO-FOUNDS YIPS Soysa and his Generation i Victorian Committee colleagues decided to embark on a new chapter. “We made a decision initially to form YIPs [Young Insurance Professionals] to help promote the ANZIIF events we were running and expand our marketing reach. But then we realised, as that program began to wind right down, we had the core group and skill base and experience to be able to set up YIPs as a fledgling organisation.”
LEADS FIRM INTO MELBOURNE Soysa opened the Melbourne office of insurance law firm Gilchrist Connell, becoming principal of that office. His new role gave him the opportunity to develop marketing strategies and to undertake a number of business development activities, in efforts to effectively establish the firm in the Melbourne market. Meanwhile, Soysa was three years into his role as founding president of YIPs which, by this time, had grown to include five branches across Australia.
2017 & beyond GROWING ATC “ATC’s a very rapidly growing business. It’s now the largest independent Lloyd’s coverholder in Australia … The short-term goals are really to get heavily involved in and continue to grow ATC’s broker relationships … and also to really assist with developing and advancing its claims and legal processes … It’s an opportunity to grow the claims capabilities and depths to provide additional value out of the claims experience for brokers and our insured clients.”
2016 HEADS TO INSURANCE Soysa decided it was time for a change. He’s now ATC Insurance Solutions’ chief operating officer. “I decided … to move out into the insurance industry proper, and I think YIPS probably can take a lot of the credit for that, in terms of broadening my outlook and relationships, and understanding the insurance industry well beyond the legal claims sector. “I’m head of legal, head of claims, and also head of clients, but also … it’s quite market-facing and [has a] strong business development emphasis.”
www.insurancebusinessonline.com.au
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