Gallagher Re's Esther David wins 2024 John Allison Award at RISC

Gallagher Re associate broker Esther David is excited to be working in an industry she describes as fast paced and dynamic.

Having completed the company’s 18-month long Graduate Program, which involved comprehensive exposure to reinsurance through rotations in both analytics and broking teams, she attended the 2024 ANZIIF Reinsurance International Study Course (RISC), and picked up the annual John Allison Award.

“I’m really excited to have won and I wasn’t expecting it,” David says. “I was one of the least experienced participants in the program and that motivated me to learn as much as possible, not only from the syndicate leaders but also my peers."

David adds that she made sure to take every opportunity to question and test her understanding of all the concepts. “I’m very lucky to have had patient syndicate members and leaders to support my learning.”

Grateful for the opportunity to network

Born and educated in Sydney, Esther David studied economics and econometrics at the University of Sydney.

“The first year of my degree was when COVID began, so it really restricted my access to university social life,” David recalls. “I think that lack of opportunity to socialise drove me to prioritise meeting and engaging with people as soon as I entered the industry.

In the last year of her degree, David worked as a data graduate at the Insurance Council of Australia, where she developed an interest in the complex interplay of natural catastrophes, regulatory frameworks, and market dynamics.

“When the Gallagher Re graduate program was advertised, it was everything I was looking for,” she says. “Although I initially knew very little about reinsurance, my time at the Insurance Council of Australia confirmed that it would naturally complement my interests.”

For David, the highlight of the ANZIIF Reinsurance International Study Course (RISC) was the presentation session at the end, in which each team of participants offer the solutions they have collectively devised in response to a fictional reinsurance placement scenario.

“Despite starting in the same position, all the teams produced unique structures and results,” David says. “I think that reflects reality and echoes how businesses arrive at decisions.”

She adds that the opening address from Munich Re CEO Scott Hawkins opened up some really interesting career questions. “I particularly liked the part about navigating watershed moments in your career — Scott's own example being the Christchurch Earthquakes.”

A rewarding challenge

The most challenging part of the course was time management in between lectures.

“Again, I think this is reflective of reality in the workplace," David says. "You can be presented with urgent tasks and may not have the luxury to go over every detail. Our team had to make decisions and move on, which is a really good skill to learn.”

David says she “most enjoyed negotiating with Windsor Re, even though at one point she "accidently asked for the opposite of what the team wanted". “We still got a good overall outcome,” she says.

David says the social aspects of course were also a highlight. “I really enjoyed getting to meet and learn from people with a wide variety of professional and educational backgrounds. This vastly increased my network and broadened my perspective of the industry.”

According to David, the reinsurance industry is very social and requires strong collaborative skills, so having networking opportunities “baked into” programs such as the RISC is critical.

“There will be numerous benefits for my career of attending RISC,” she says, “including a broader network within my industry and in adjacent industries.

“I’ve gained a stronger understanding of the foundations of reinsurance and improved my confidence in my softer skills, especially presenting and time management."

Find out more about the Reinsurance International Study Course (RISC)