Lee-Anne’s career in insurance started in 2009, and she’s loved it ever since.
“There’s never a dull day in this industry,” she says.
She started out as a broker for one of Palladium’s predecessors (Bourgeois, Coté, Forget, Swim and Oliver), and managed a portfolio of personal insurance clients worth over $1 million. Her hard work and patience soon paid off and after Palladium was formed, she became a branch manager and rose to a vice-presidency a few years after that.
Before making the move to insurance, she worked for 24 years for Bell Canada in several IT, project management, systems management and process management positions. Considering that some of her initial studies were in computer science, it’s not surprising that part of her purview at Palladium involves analysing systems and making recommendations to the rest of the leadership team.
Lee-Anne is still very much involved operationally for both clients and our employees, which helps her ensure that any new systems work well for both our loyal clients and our team. Technology keeps changing, so a big part of her role is to ensure that the rest of the team is comfortable with using the latest tools.
“People tend to embrace change more when they understand why the change is being made,” she says. “For major shifts and introductions to workflow changes, we take the time to review things together, or hold smaller team gatherings to help people become more comfortable with the new system.”
What does Lee-Anne love most about working at Palladium?
“Firstly, I appreciate the trust. I have been given insights from the day I first joined and have grown professionally in this brokerage as a result. Secondly, Palladium has given me so much support and honesty. Our managing partners are the greatest people to work for — they know how to care for their employees during good times and bad. Last but not least, there’s a sense of heritage when you work for Palladium. I’ve been here since the beginning and have enjoyed seeing both Tim and Sylvie become their parents’ successors.”
What are her top recommendations for businesses who want to make the most of insurance and other financial services?
“Look for prompt and effective service and timely answers to your questions. You need a trusted account manager, not a salesperson. Regular communication with and from your broker is important so that you have information on emerging risks that may impact your company. This can help reduce the frequency and expense of claims.”
Lee-Anne was born and raised in Ottawa. She has always loved being involved in sports, both as a child and as a parent to two boys (Chad and Matthew, now grown). The local sports community has given her opportunities to engage in friendly competition, travel, and make a lot of wonderful friendships. Both she and her husband have been volunteers for the past 30 years.