18 | theceomagazine.com
“ Sincerity is the one thing
I’ve always thought defines
someone’s character. Part of
that has to do with whether
you’re absolutely passionate
about your work.”
Helping Marsh’s success along is the
continued abundance of market capacity, with
new forms of alternative capital beginning to
emerge in the insurance space. “It’s always
evolving. There’s always opportunity for
expansion, but with expansion there’s also
been a lot of consolidation, which I think
is great for the industry. It means you know
you’re dealing with the right players and
those that really have the stamina to sustain
their market footprint,” David explains.
“Pretty much all 13 countries Marsh
covers in Asia are aligned to a client
segmentation model with data-driven
industry analytics. That’s the cornerstone
of our client proposition.”
Marsh’s client-centric business model
is something David cites as “one of the
hallmarks of our success”, and owes much
of it to its leadership. Around 80 per cent of
its core strategies are country-agnostic, he
says, while the remaining 20 per cent allows
for cultural differences between the nations.
Another area where the insurance broker
is head and shoulders above the competition
is its heavy focus on its sales function. “This
has really seen us outpace our competitors
in terms of organic growth,” says David.
“We’ve got the largest dedicated sales force
among our broker competitors in the region,
with a very consistent sales structure in place
in all countries. That’s really been the
cornerstone of how we continue to drive
organic growth.”
David has spent a very long tenure at one
company during a time when staying put for
more than two or three years was practically
unheard of, let alone 27. A big factor in why
that has been possible is the excellent career
opportunities that Marsh has afforded him
over the years, as well as the ability to create
a sustainable work–life balance, he says.
While he’d “like to see more stability and
consistency” in the workforce, David says
it’s not necessarily a bad thing to move to
different companies when the right
opportunities arise.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re at in your
career, ultimately you have to be happy,” he
continues. “Also, there really is no substitute
for hard work and accountability.” Over the
years, David believes there have been too
many times where he has seen people in the
business who are simply insincere and don’t
come out as genuine, in terms of what
they’re doing. “Sincerity is the one thing I’ve
always thought defines someone’s character.Part of that has to do with whether you’re
absolutely passionate about your work.”
Equally passionate in leisure as in work,
David is also a big believer in the whole
‘health is wealth’ slogan. As well as DJing,
he has been doing CrossFit for a number
of years in his spare time. “It’s really helped
me both mentally and physically cope with
the pressures at work,” he explains.
Even after 27 years as a one-company
man, it’s still crucial he continues having
that all-important work–life balance. “When
you’re always on the go and it’s non-stop
with travel, you still need to make sure that
your body and your mind can keep up with
that kind of regimen.”INSPIRE | Interview