Judges

Chris became CEO of LIIBA in January 2016. Before that, he was head of the London Market Group’s Secretariat where he led the work that produced the milestone London Matters report.

He began his career as a government economist and spent 10 years in financial services regulations before joining LMG.

As part of his LIIBA role he is also a director of BIPAR (European Federation of Insurance Intermediaries) and sits on the executive committee of the World Federation of Insurance Intermediaries (WFII).

He is also a past vice-president of the Insurance Institute of London.

Flo currently works as a lead client advisor at Partners&, where the role sees her leading a team of fantastic advisors who are all just as passionate as she is about providing the best possible advice to customers.

She has been part of the profession for 11 years, starting as an apprentice at the age of 17, having no prior knowledge of the broking profession.

Flo’s passion for insurance goes further than her day job, volunteering on local iCAN, BIBA & CII committees. She is currently partnerships lead on the iCAN committee, chair for the East Midlands BIBA Committee and vice president for CII Leicester. In addition Flo recently won the Young Insurance Women of the Year (small to medium firms) and was the 2022 BIBA Young Broker of the Year. It is a strong belief of Flo’s that insurance is an amazing career that no one really knows about, and therefore one of the areas she is heavily involved in is attracting new and young talent to the profession, through attending school careers fairs, and talking to students at careers workshops about the vast opportunities available in insurance.

Jo started her career at AXA Insurance as a data processor in Personal Lines. She moved into broking in 1998, joining The Beckett Group which became part of Towergate in 2009. During this time, Jo pursued her passion for helping and advising clients and moved through the account handling role to become an account executive.

In 2014, she joined Hugh J Boswell and opened their office in Bury St Edmunds. Hugh J Boswell became part of Ethos Broking and merged with Saffron Insurance. Jo held the head of technical broking role where she was responsible for her own clients but also Technical Development of staff within the business.

Jo completed her ACII qualification in January 2020 and became a Chartered Insurance Broker.

Having joined the BIBA Anglia Region Committee in 2021, Jo became deputy chair and secretary in her first term. She became chair in January 2022.

In July 2023 Jo joined Yutree Insurance as a client executive.

Outside of work she has two teenage children and, when she gets time to herself, she enjoys walking with her 2 cocker spaniels, running, and going to the gym.

With more than 40 years of experience in the industry, Michael Keating’s career has included time at insurers, brokers and MGAs in both the commercial and personal Lines markets.

He held executive positions at AXA, Midas, UK General and most recently Insurtech startup Qlaims, before becoming chief executive officer at the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA) in September 2020.

His personal interests include supporting Manchester United (despite being from London!), music and trying to keep pace with his grandchildren.

Niki is a regional client service advocate at Marsh Commercial, collaborating with colleagues throughout the South to provide innovative solutions for clients facing complex insurance and risk challenges. Her responsibilities include implementing innovative working methods and utilising on broader capabilities in the domains of risk, strategy, and people.

Niki has prior experience as a judge, having been appointed to the judging panel of the Bristol Life Awards in 2022, which honours exceptional businesses, including both local and international entities across more than 20 categories. She was part of a distinguished panel of judges, which featured prominent business leaders, academics, and authors.

In addition, Niki is the chairperson for BIBA in the West of England Region, where she has revitalised the regional committee and organised the first BIBA events in the area in over a decade. Niki was 2023 BIBA Young Broker of the Year top 3 finalist.

Niki also acts as a mentor and is deeply committed to attracting new talent to the industry. After relocating internationally and discovering the exciting career opportunities available in the insurance sector, she is dedicated to advocating for a more inclusive and future-ready industry.