SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2018
STEPHANIE LANGLOIS Manager, special events department, Calgary PAL INSURANCE BROKERS CANADA Age: 33 Location: Alberta
As manager of the special events department for PAL Insurance Brokers’ Calgary office, Stephanie Langlois has made a huge impact on both brokers and clients. Langlois is constantly on the lookout for potential programs and ideas to enhance customer retention. She also provides ongoing feedback from the administration and client sides of the new corporate website and portal, which has helped improve its ease of use. Langlois’ dedication and efficiency have led PAL to experience a significant increase in customer and broker satisfaction. Always striving to improve and achieve more, Langlois often takes the lead on projects outside of her job’s scope, which has made her a valuable asset at PAL. Outside of her insurance work, Langlois is an avid bowler who has served on the board of directors of the Foothills Tenpin Association for the past eight years.
KELLY HOPKINS Regional sales manager RSA INSURANCE Age: 31 Location: Ontario
FRED TESSIER Broker and social media specialist MLS INSURANCE BROKERS Age: 25 Location: Ontario
Having earned a degree in civil engineering, Fred Tessier never expected to end up as an insurance broker with a flourishing career. As a broker and social media/marketing specialist, Tessier brings big-city ideas to the small-town office of MLS Insurance Brokers, based in the community of St. Isidore. Tessier supports a producer overseeing a book of business worth more than $3 million and has contributed to an increase of $600,000 within the last two years. He is also responsible for increasing the brokerage’s visibility on social media and developing and implementing marketing strategies, including launching the myMLS online portal/mobile app and creating an e-transfer payment option for customers. “Fred is dedicated to his work, often working nights and weekends without complaint,” a colleague says. “His
36
fun-loving, energetic personality makes him a pleasure to work with, and we can’t imagine MLS without him.” In 2015, Tessier completed his CAIB designation within a year and, at age 23, became the youngest broker in the company to hold the designation. Outside of MLS, Tessier sits on the board of directors for Caisse Populaire Nouvel-Horizon and Caisse Populaire for the Ontario region. He is also the president of the annual Pierre Charette Open, a golf tournament that raises funds for the Canadian Cancer Society; last year, Tessier helped raise more than $15,000 in memory of a co-worker.
Kelly Hopkins is proud to be a thirdgeneration insurance professional, following his grandfather and father into the industry. As regional sales manager at RSA, Hopkins is responsible for growing and strengthening the distribution channel, overseeing a portfolio of brokers across Southwestern Ontario. He co-developed RSA’s Commercial Insurance Broker Boot Camp, a hands-on interactive commercial broker training program, in 2016. In the same year, he was also nominated as a finalist for Business Development Manager of the Year at the Insurance Business Awards. Last year was another eventful one for Hopkins – he secured millions of dollars worth of portfolio commitments and transfers for RSA, which contributed to substantial territory top-line growth. He also began teaching part-time in the insurance management post-graduate program at Humber College, where he was responsible for course design that touches on auto insurance and on the role of the broker and agent.
www.insurancebusiness.ca
24-45_Young guns 2018-SUBBED.indd 36
4/04/2018 6:26:08 AM