Paying it Forward : Introducing Kevin’s WicKeD Small Business Insurance Blog

I never once doubted, and others have always assumed, that after 28 years at Hiscox (a business with wonderful opportunity and great people) I would eventually retire and hang up my boots there. But in June this year the unthinkable happened. I decided to take my quarter-of-a-century experience and track-record building one of the market’s leading small business insurance digital franchises, and my subsequent 3 years experience as a ‘turnaround’ CEO, and do something else, somewhere else with it.

It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made - particularly leaving the people and a journey of opportunity that had so much more runway left to go. However, standing here 2 weeks after my last official day as USA CEO and my transition into a 3 month advisory capacity, I feel I’ve made the right decision. I’m looking forward to the future and what this next chapter holds.

I have plenty of headspace over the next 3 months to think about what I want to do next. My only guardrails are that the next thing needs to be building or fixing something material, something I can be at the center of and contribute to, and something that continues to excite me enough to get me springing out of bed at 4 o’clock each morning and raring to go, as I’ve done for the last 28 years. It needs to be at a business that has values aligned with mine, working with people whom I respect, and who are equally passionate about what we’re collectively building. This kind of opportunity is something I enjoyed during my time at Hiscox and is not always easy to find. However, I feel confident that come my official final day at Hiscox, September 21st, I’ll have a new opportunity in the industry which I can call home and which meets my above criteria.

In addition to a new permanent home, building something exciting, I’ve been incredibly lucky in my career to learn from some of the greats. They’ve put opportunity in front of me that has enabled me to build my own experience, reputation, knowledge and skillset. I’m keen to find a way to give back to the next generation of managers, leaders and professionals who want to build a career in our industry.

So, I’ve decided to create a blog which I’m calling: Kevin’s WicKeD Small Business Insurance blog.

The name comes from my time at Hiscox. Prior to becoming a business unit CEO, the then Group executive team had an unofficial test when faced with a challenge, opportunity or general question to answer. They called this the ‘WicKeD test’: “What Would Kevin Do?”. I can’t tell you how humbled I was to be told years later that this existed, and to know the impact I’d made on our most senior team at such an early stage in my career.

I’m eager over the coming months and years to use my domain expertise to share insights and commentary about a range of pertinent topics; from leadership and building a business through to developments in the small business insurance landscape and much more in-between, to guide the next generation of managers, leaders and professionals. There’s zero monetization and no self-serving motive, other than a genuine desire to pay forward the opportunity I’ve had in my career for the benefit of the next generation. I hope that any readers manage to take something useful away from my musings, which I promise to keep relevant and succinct.

Until the next time.

Kevin