out of office - d1 icmif conference
d1 of the icmif conference, something about the japanese & networking with purpose
On 13-15 November, I attended the ICMIF Biennial Conference hosted in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
375+ delegates from 35+ countries, most of which being CEOs, C-suite executives, senior leaders or directors.
I’m not in that list. I’m a lowly 24 year old analyst and as such I’m part of something they call the Young Leaders Program, a cohort of about 50 deemed to be the future of the mutual insurance industry. Tall call!
In this season of Out Of Office, I’ll be sharing an insight, finding or story from each plenary session that really called to me; and some tangential events around the conference that I found awesome.
Day One of the ICMIF Conference
The morning opened with a panel session on profits for purpose, with four seasoned CEOs at the headboard. Barry O’Dwyer (Royal London, United Kingdom) discussed how purpose is delivered by two decisive strikes. First is storytelling: words on the page, icons on the screen - clear, concise and consistent messaging. Second is leading by example: the embodying delivery of the purpose, starting from the management/director level, trickling down to the front line.
Lunch was followed by a series of presentations on building a people-first organisation where I was most beguiled by David Hynam’s (LV=, United Kingdom) ultimate question for employee satisfaction: “Would you recommend this as a place to work?” That is the most important data point. Everything else is mostly noise. To attain this, we must build culture - an environment to create, stay, grow, innovate, drive change and smile.
As the sky ran thin, our last session was on meeting increasing customer demands. My highlight here comes from Jean-Francois Challifoux (Beneva, Canada) showcasing how one of the greatest metrics to customer satisfaction is employee satisfaction. Treat your people well and they will represent you with pride and vigour. Simplicity, attentiveness and active listening - the three tenets that form excellent customer service.
My favourite talk, however, took place at the very start - an introduction to the state of the world by Alexandra Straberg (Lansforsakringar, Sweden), depicting 2024 as a ‘time of choices’. From superpower elections, continuing war, climate change, generational shifts in sustainability-consciousness and Gen Z becoming commonplace in the workforce - there’s been quite a bit! While Alexandra didn’t mention anything new (she’s just reporting, after all), she packaged her presentation in a wonderfully engaging way with quirky illustrations, tons of movement and a voice for television.
Something about the Japanese…
During my first AOA ICMIF Conference in Australia (a smaller scale on for the Asia-Oceania region), I was oddly popular amongst the Japanese folk for knowing about 40 Japanese words, most of which being food.
This conference was a similar experience, where I first struck a bond with a Japanese delegate over a shared interest of Pokemon. It’s not something I play nor follow nowadays but is and always will be a core part of my childhood.
Iconically, when he mentioned his favourite Pokemon were Dragonite and Togekiss, I immediately pointed out that he must be a filthy competitive player who loved his frustrating, flinch-based strategies. I don’t think he was expecting anyone to draw that conclusion at an international conference.
An interaction during networking drinks was certainly one of the interactions of all time. A table of Japanese beckoned me over and stared straight into my eyes as one of them lifted up their phone with a pre-translated message:
“What kind of women do you like?”
Lo and behold, I think I’ve infiltrated the friend group.
They introduced the concept of kawaii (cute) vs kirei (pretty) and asked if Australia had something similar; personally, I’ve always pictured complements falling under pretty/handsome (refers to face), hot (refers to body), cute (refers to appearance or demeanour) or beautiful (also refers to appearance or demeanour).
To round it out, they asked me who my bias in TWICE was. I don’t remember who I picked. I have a feeling they went around keeping tallies.
Perhaps as function of speaking three languages, I’m strangely adept at speaking English to people with poor English.
Use simpler words. Disregard grammar. Act your words out. And please, please, please - never put a whole ass sentence into Google Translate.
Honestly, it’s probably because I’m more than willing to listen and make unhinged comments, which the conservative Japanese group (who at the end of the day, are still gents in their late 20s) appreciate greatly.
By the end of everything, the Japanese started calling me Saru-chan (Sal, with a Japanese pronunciation and -chan as a term of endearment) and I like to believe I’ll be featured in some internal company write-ups (they mentioned that as part of returning from the conference, they had to submit a write-up and some photos recapping their experience).
…and the other Young Leaders!
You’ll never know who will be responsible for your next career move.
You’ll never know who will tell you the piece of advice that sets off a cataclysmic mindset shift.
You’ll never know who will influence the course of your life, tracing out its unexpected next steps.
Despite my introversion, at these events, I always make an effort to network internationally and learn about the peculiarities that make people tick. Here are some of the interactions that stood out to me.
Shook hands on day one and kept bumping into him ever since, a lad from Puerto Rico had shaped up to be the absolute homie. A beacon of joy who got along with everyone, he helped guide us lost lambs around the streets of Buenos Aires (he had lived here before and speaks Spanish), shared bits and pieces of Latin American history and recommended a few spots of interest for my upcoming solo trip.
I’m not sure what Hong Kong is cooking but apparently they’ve got a reinsurance start-up, which is mind-boggling considering the maturity of the industry and its astronomical capital requirements. There were two representatives from there and I had a super constructive conversation with their meteorologist who wanted my localised perspective on peril pricing and accumulation risk (Oceania has had an unlucky streak with that these last three years - all within her area of focus). Not gonna lie, it was fun being the subject matter for once.
Literally the most impressive person I met that week was a woman from Togo (West Africa) working in Paris (France). She is a qualified actuary who travels the world speaking to local governments on how to improve their disaster resilience. Literally what? She’s been to 61 countries and counting and it’s absolutely fucking amazing. I don’t know if I could manage that nomadic lifestyle but I wouldn’t be against giving it a go.
I can’t mention all my interactions as some of them were solely professional or elevator pitches, but I recall names coming from: Argentina, Paraguay, Canada, Belgium, Italy, United Kingdom, New Zealand.
I, for one, love the subversion of expectations. I adore it when a formal, booted-up event like a conference is followed by comedic, sneaked-down chats; these conversations have really ticked that box, keeping the event as well-balanced as I need it to be.
