Insurance Professional
Open To Work
ANTONY POLO
AJG Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers Ltd
Nairobi
Work Preference
Job Search Status:
Open to work
Minimum Desired Compensation
Sh45000/yr
2
Languages
24
years of professional experience
10
years of post-secondary education
Respected Managerial professional and entrepreneurial thinker who utilizes a vast breadth of skills and knowledge in direct broking and business perspectives from diverse industries. Expert at extracting maximum value from operations in the insurance sector by prospecting and securing new clients, recommending appropriate policies based on client needs, analyzing clients' financial situations, and nurturing beneficial account relationships. A trusted advisor who cultivates ironclad relationships by first understanding the client's vision and then delivering value-added solutions; striking with agility to infiltrate new markets, maximize profit margins, and propel revenue streams.
Work History
Chief Operations Officer (COO)
6 Months- Responsible for designing and executing unified operating model that removes structural silos, scales technology platforms, and maximizes cross-unit efficiencies.
- Merging policy management, billing, and Customer Relationship Management platforms across both divisions.
- Standardizing data definitions between insurance portfolios and treaty/facultative reinsurance analytics.
- Implementing unified cloud infrastructure to handle increased concurrent operational processing.
- Bridging retail/wholesale insurance placement workflows with AJG Re program structures.
- Centralizing claims routing and intake processes to maximize speed and data visibility.
- Transferring back-office functions like HR, billing, and procurement into a single shared service center
- Reorganizing reporting lines to support collaborative market-facing teams.
- Identifying and upskill professionals to handle overlapping re/insurance product lines.
- Creating uniform Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) focused on combined operational margins.
- Optimizing capital placement and retention limits by sharing portfolio metrics between units.
- Ensuring the integrated operating model conforms to local insurance and reinsurance licensing guidelines.
- Designing centralized frameworks to track cross-unit operational, market, and credit risks.
- Building internal pipeline infrastructure to pass retail insurance clients seamlessly to reinsurance placement.
- Coordinating market interaction strategies to increase placement leverage with external capacity providers.
General Manager
1 Year 5 Months- Did systematic appraisals and evaluations of the company's operations that ensured efficiency
- Sourced, managed and maintained key relationships with external stakeholders. Implemented procedures and controls that promoted adequate communication and information flow
- Developed a base for long-term sources of clients by using referrals, occupational and special interest groups, and compiling lists of prospects
- Utilized mails and phone solicitation, made presentations to groups at company-sponsored gatherings on the subject of reinsurance broking.
- Acquired, retained and created strategic partnerships to grow client base and revenue
- Established performance goals, allocated resources and assessed policies for senior management and all staff
Chief Operations Officer
5 Years 1 Month- Ensured revenue generation and attainment of assigned budgets.
- Monitored weekly production: policies sold, renewed, cancellations, premium collection, and claims.
- Proposed and maintained effective solutions for claims and claims audits.
- Addressed all upcoming renewals.
- Defined and evaluated Customer Feedback Objectives.
- Gathered customer feedback from managers/underwriter officers or directly from the customer.
- Supervised staff and monitored their performance on a monthly basis through the use of key performance indicators KPIs).
Head, General Insurance
1 Year 3 Months- Ensured revenue generation and attainment of assigned budgets.
- Identified talent and built teams to support the execution of the organization's business plan.
- Ensured the business ethics outlined by the management are followed by the team to build great brands and be known for ethical, innovative practices.
- Built corporate relationships to ensure client acquisition and retention.
- Analyzed market/customer expectations and built various business processes to ensure client expectations are met and surpassed.
- Identified opportunities for business growth through cross-selling and generation of leads through existing clients.
Associate General Manager
4 Years 1 Month- Maintained monthly budget targets and achieved growth of between 10% and 15%.
- Provided monthly forecasts and summaries in a timely manner.
- Business retention – 95% of existing clients.
- Onboarded new accounts and identified the resource to handle the account.
- Conducted analysis of Client and sales metrics, cost and categories to inform business decisions
- Ensured business growth while minimizing cost to realize profit. 15% growth was achieved. Some of the accounts acquired included Kassam Hauliers, Danross, Pollmans, and Baobab Beach Resort.
- Arranged Sponsorship for corporate events.
- Retained large corporate clients. Some of the accounts retained include Nicola, Kemri, Motrex, Crown Petroleum, A.A Transporters, Pan Africa Logistics, Capt. Andy's, Vipingo Properties, Stans, and Tea Brokers.
- Prepared proposals and successful placement accounts.
- Excellent service delivery, up-selling to existing clients
Senior Account Manager
2 Years 11 Months- Understudied the branch manager as a deputy.
- Ensured clients' claims are resolved in a timely manner.
- Prepared new proposals that demonstrate knowledge of the account.
- Conducted monthly meetings with the rest of the staff.
- Attended client quarterly and renewal meetings.
Assistant Service Manager
5 YearsInternal Auditor
11 MonthsAccount Servicer
2 Years 9 MonthsEducation
Bachelor of Science - Finance & IT
No Degree - Diploma CII
Skills
Ambidextrous leader of large groups
My strength is to achieve greater output and quality with smaller more engaged teams. Early career taught fiscal consequences of business decisions and has led to an ability to contribute as needed to general management with bottom line in mind.
Consummate learner and entrepreneurial thinker
Fills market gaps with new offerings to revitalize 10 figure businesses. Uses the same approach to networking and retention of clients to build successful ventures in new industries.
Culturally astute Insurance Executive
Issuing quick assesses obstacles to stalled growth tough decisions
restructuring teams to reach profit goal
Problem solving skills
Simplifies ambiguous and complex situations to deliver consistent
compelling
innovative
and definitive solutions.
Leadership
Servant Manager who collaborates with crossfunctional teams across the organization by disarming cultural
behavioral
and functional department bias
Critical and creative thinking
Generates & recognizes ideas
alternatives
or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems.
Business Acumen
Risk Management
Presentation Skills
Portfolio Management
Corporate Development
High-Stakes Negotiations
Lead Prospecting and Acquisition
Networking and Business Retention
Finance and Operations Turnaround
Operational excellence
Websites
Languages
English (Fluent)
Swahili (Fluent)
Awards
Best performing Manager, Retained 80% of the accounts despite the business losing the key employee who was by that time exiting the business
Favorite Reads
- Awaken the Giant Within
- Tony Robbins
- Crushing
- T.D Jakes
Achievements
- At Zamara, I helped close substantial accounts, thereby improving revenue for the business.
- Implementation of the Beyontec system while at Zamara. It involved giving the developers enough information to design a new broking system.
- Successful retention of Top clients despite pressure from the former Branch Manager.
- At Zamara, I accelerated the use of binder to realize income growth by 100%.
- Negotiated for difficult COMESA claims to be paid by the primary underwriter.
- Ability to identify growth opportunities in key accounts for up-selling.
- Acquisition of large accounts in a very competitive environment.
- Negotiation for the most competitive terms for staff motor policy that ensured loyalty and retention of business.
- Developed a Service Level Agreement that was time bound.
- Negotiated ex-gratia claims to the satisfaction of the client.
Hobbies and Interests
Getting involved in insurance growth, Reading about the latest development in insurance market.
Projects
- Product development, I have been involved in a project of coming up with a new product targeting the SMEs/groups sector to make it simpler for them to procure insurance, thereby adding a new revenue stream to the organization
- Implementation of the Beyontec system at Zamara, It involved giving the developers enough information to design a new broking system.
- Insurance package expansion, I was involved in a project of having an insurance bundle up with new phones, thus ensuring customers could be compensated in case of loss/theft.
Timeline
Chief Operations Officer (COO)
AJG Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers Ltd
03.2026 - CurrentRead More
General Manager
Aegis Re Kenya
10.2024 - 03.2026Read More
Chief Operations Officer
Olea Kenya Insurance Brokers Ltd
08.2019 - 09.2024Read More
Head, General Insurance
Zamara Risk & Insurance Brokers Ltd
03.2018 - 06.2019Read More
Associate General Manager
Minet Insurance Brokers Ltd
01.2014 - 02.2018Read More
Senior Account Manager
Minet Insurance Brokers Ltd
04.2011 - 03.2014Read More
Assistant Service Manager
Minet Insurance Brokers Ltd
03.2006 - 03.2011Read More
Internal Auditor
National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF)
03.2005 - 02.2006Read More
Account Servicer
Minet Insurance Brokers Ltd
05.2002 - 02.2005Read More
The Chartered Institute of London
No Degree from Diploma CII
01.2001 - 09.2004Read More
United States International University
Bachelor of Science from Finance & IT
01.1995 - 09.2001Read More