Karen Hogg - Expert Spotlight

1. What is your role now since leaving corporate life?

I am the founding Director of Coach Forward Ltd and specialise in board advisory, strategy, mentoring and coaching. I have deep knowledge of the General Insurance Market, having worked both sides of the fence in board level roles and my aim is to help individuals and businesses move forward faster than if they were to do it on their own.

2. How long have you been an expert of Camelot?

I joined in December and as someone new to the world of being self employed, and a very pampered ex-corporate exec, it has been the best thing I have done! Immediately I felt part of a team and less isolated. Everyone was so genuine and understood what you were going through. I received a lot of help as a new expert and still do!

3. Have you been a panel expert on any Road Tests?

I have had the pleasure of being involved in 1 road test and remember it was a very impressive partner who had achieved great things and was now looking for support in breaking into the mysterious world of insurance. They had already done a lot of the thinking and collectively we gave them some great feedback. I am very task orientated so for me it is always about – what problem can you solve, how can you solve it, where have you successfully done this before (proof points).

4. Are you a leader or a member of a Camelot Special Interest Group?

No, I didn’t even know there were special interest groups…well unless you count Camelot Scotland – we have a few members in Scotland now - myself, Helen Angell, Duncan Leask and Stuart Middleton. We meet for lunch every few months and always offer each other support in what we are doing and generally have a great laugh, usually winding each other up or exchanging pictures of holidays/alcohol on our Whatsapp Group or Duncan showing us his latest footwear 😊.

5. Area of expertise

My expertise, and Mastermind subject, would be Personal Lines Insurance. Most recently Customer and Digital Operations, however I have broad leadership experience across a number of functions and I am currently enjoying working with a new start up Brand who are entering the UK Market after a successful launch in Australia. I particularly enjoy standing up new businesses or launching new ‘stuff’ be it products or functions, because I can apply my expertise in its broadest sense and you can see the impact of your work quickly.

6. Highest/proudest most recognisable previous role

In my previous role I worked for Atlanta, part of Ardonagh Group, and I was Chief Customer Officer responsible for 2m customers across 14

brands. I had an excellent team and we created a ‘voice’ for the customer to be heard and used it to drive change and influence CX. It was a role that involved constant change and delivery - from introducing point of transaction customer insight, AI & ML for tasks and quality checking, transforming digital operations and self service and new product launches. It gave me a high sense of achievement to see customer satisfaction improve and our cost to serve reduce as we made these transformations. It was a challenging role, and I learned a huge amount that continues to influence what I do today.

My dream job however was at Sainsburys Bank – I joined as part of the leadership team that set up the insurance intermediary business from scratch for Car & Home insurance, and then went on to run this plus the travel, life and pet business. I saw it grow from nothing to a significant size over the 4+ years that I was there. Working for Sainsbury’s taught me what it really means to put the customer first and creating a strong digital first CX.

7. How long have you been doing this subject/area?

I have been in insurance for 34+ years and performed many, many roles in this time that included, the mailroom as an office junior at General Accident, to the boardroom in AXA as Managing Director of Personal Lines Intermediary, and Atlanta as Chief Customer Officer.

8. What is your company name? Coach Forward Ltd

What is your LinkedIn profile URL? (7) Karen Hogg | LinkedIn

Do you have a blog?

No, but I plan to start one at some point called – Powerup Buttercup – it’s a phrase my sisters and I use to describe when we need to create a short, sharp waive – usually work related. It’s about how you find your A+ game with a purpose in mind or you want to tackle imposter syndrome. I did a talk on it with a large group of females in my last organisation and they still message me today about it to tell me how they have Powered Up which makes me feel really proud. But I need to commit proper time to it 😊

9. Please can you provide some examples of recent projects/professional high point that you’ve worked on?

I am very proud to have set up my own business after years of working for large Corporates. It is nerve racking to begin with but 6 months on and I feel like I am in the swing of things. I have had some really interesting contracts including, outsourcing operations to South Africa, product and market strategy review for a major brand, helping a start-up with their FCA application and Coaching execs for their next move.

In a nutshell – I have been busy and looking forward to a holiday!

10. What is your unique selling point? What makes your business approach unique? My Unique selling point is my broad experience and expertise in the UK General Insurance Market, my reputation for getting things done and having access to a strong network - super charged by Camelot

11. Do you have a Favourite quote?

I often see quotes I love then forget them! But one that always sticks with me is ‘don’t forget the backside you were born with’ which is something my Mum would say if she thought you were getting too big for your boots. It’s very grounding.

12. Any professional goals for the upcoming year?

I wanted to be booked for the whole of the first year and I thought – if I just get through the first year that will be amazing. I have worked hard at it and thanks to a strong network I also had some good luck. I still have a few months to go but it is looking promising 😊. I am now working on a 6 months contract, and doing something I have never done before, which is to help an exciting new start up with their FCA application and develop a governance structure for their business. It has been a challenge and on day 1 we received 56 questions from the regulator and 2 weeks to respond! I am delighted to say that after a frantic few weeks and more questions authorisation was given on the 3rd August. A milestone to be celebrated and you learn a lot being thrown in at the deep end! The contract has really developed into something really exciting and is attracting a lot of interest. My 30+ years expertise in general insurance allows me to also help with capacity and investor meetings, setting product and distribution strategy, designing TOM and OD, outsource partners, etc. I often describe myself as a being ‘Jack of all trades master of some’

13. And… Last but not least, how does being an expert of Camelot help you/or add value to your business?

It has given me confidence and belief that ‘It’ can be done and that I can do it, either on my own or with the help of experts. Through the various Camelot meet-ups, I have had a chance to speak with many experts who genuinely all want the best for each other, and to talk with partners and learn/share my knowledge, which has been a great confidence booster. I have even been asked to share my experience with new experts who are starting out! A lovely compliment.

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