Ep150 - Five generations at Lloyd's: Chris Mackinnon on insurance industry leadership

Insurance industry leadership starts with a choice, not an accident, and Chris Mackinnon has spent 35 years proving it. Newly appointed Head of Munich Re Specialty – Global Markets, Australia, Chris joins Mark Silveira on Business Made Personal to talk about building an insurance company from scratch, after more than a decade at Lloyd's running businesses across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Chris comes from five generations of Lloyd's underwriters, what he calls "a genetic disposition", but his own path wasn't handed to him. He landed in Australia at 21 with a 20-kilo backpack and an ego to match, assuming his father's name would open doors. It lasted about five seconds. That early lesson in humility shaped the leadership style he's known for today: hire the person, not the job description, and let people find where they add the most value. In this conversation, Chris and Mark cover: - Why he refuses to say he "fell into" insurance, and what he tells young professionals instead - The influence of his trailblazing mother, one of the first senior women at Lloyd's - Building genuinely inclusive, multilingual leadership teams across nine countries and 33 languages - The hardest professional stretch of his career — returning to the UK during the global financial crisis - Bringing the Dive-In Festival to Australia, and what six years chairing it taught him about his own unconscious bias - What the insurance industry does brilliantly, and the one thing he'd change about public perception Whether you're a broker, underwriter, claims professional or industry leader, this episode is a reminder that a long career in insurance is a choice worth making loudly. Business Made Personal is hosted by Mark Silveira, exploring the real journeys of leaders in insurance, business, and beyond. Never miss an episode: Follow & Subscribe on https://bit.ly/bmp-Website Join the conversation: Connect with us on https://bit.ly/bmp-LinkedIn For enquiries, collaborations, or to suggest a guest: [email protected]