[00:00:10] Paul Lucas: Hello everyone, welcome to Insurance Business TV as we meet one of our Hot 100. Yes, these are the 100 movers and shakers of the insurance industry, who are making a significant impact and inspiring those around them. The full list of the 100 is now available on Insurance Business America’s website, but today we got more details about one of that elite group. That man is Philip Mortimer, CFO of Heffernan Insurance Brokers. Phil, welcome to Insurance Business TV.
[00:00:36] Philip Mortimer: Thanks, Paul. It felt great to be here.
[00:00:39] Paul Lucas: So, Phil, you’ve talked about growing up in Clondalkin and starting work at the age of 12. How did those early experiences shape your work ethic and really how you view your career today?
[00:00:51] Philip Mortimer: Yes, Clondalkin is a working class area, a suburb of Dublin. And, you know, everyone there works very hard and I think seeing that, you know, whether it’s my own parents, my friends’ parents, um, having that kind of experience from a very young age, um, inspired me to do that. It definitely wasn’t necessary for me to go out and start working at that young age, but it’s something I wanted to do. And so it taught me to be proactive, you know, looking for opportunities and not waiting for them, so to go out there and submit my resume everywhere to see who will take me. And I think those habits created a strong sense of taking ownership that I carry forward to this day.
[00:01:38] Paul Lucas: So tell us a little more about that story, if you don’t mind, Phil. What was the biggest adjustment for you when moving from Ireland to America, which I believe happened in 2019? And how did that change impact your professional trajectory?
[00:01:52] Philip Mortimer: Yes, obviously a big change and moving to the United States away from family and friends in Ireland in 2019. And then obviously COVID started shortly thereafter. So, I think, that was the biggest challenge, as well, rebuilding my network professionally and personally, and making friends and creating a new culture and business environment, but still staying true to myself and, you know, being authentic. I think the good side of it was that the move was a risk, um, definitely, but I think it encouraged me to take other risks, um, like potentially taking this job. Um, you know, I was in a different industry for a long time and taking this job was probably a risk, um, but it’s something that was much smaller than the risk I took, you know, leaving Ireland in the first place.
[00:02:48] Paul Lucas: Okay, you’ve reached the role of CFO at the age of 36. This is an important milestone. So what key decisions or turning points helped accelerate your path to senior leadership?
[00:03:01] Philip Mortimer: Yes, I have had some great mentors throughout my career who have always given me good advice on things. And I think one of the things I’ve always done is to constantly try to do the most difficult task available or, when there’s ambiguity in an area or trying to learn something new, I always try to lend a hand to that. As I mentioned, I’ve built strong relationships with great leaders who I admire and always ask for their advice and are humble enough to know when I don’t know something and just be honest about it. And I’ve been able to get a lot of help from those people over the years. And I think the other thing is just focusing on long-term growth, not just trying to jump and change titles, um, that can be tempting, but I think it’s about the role and what you can learn and how you can grow in that role and the people that you’ll have around you. And I think that’s true for me and I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have all of this throughout my career.
[00:04:04] Paul Lucas: If you don’t mind, just tell us a little more about it. Just tell us about your roots, those early work experiences you mentioned there – have they informed your leadership style now, especially when it comes to supporting and developing your team?
[00:04:18] Philip Mortimer: yes of course. I really love where I’m from. And a big part of that was the community I grew up in. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have great friends and have been involved in various team sports over the years. So, you know, having that, you know, kind of focusing more on a team rather than focusing individually, you know, what’s best for the team will always come before what’s best for me. And I think it’s shaped me in a way. And I love empowering others and, you know, achieving excellence, and I know some people don’t have confidence and sometimes giving them that confidence can inspire them to do more. And honestly, that’s the most gratifying part of the job, um, doing that. And then, you know, I benefited a lot in my early career from people who gave me opportunities when I was on their team, so I think, you know, I want to make sure I can help others in the same way.
[00:05:21] Paul Lucas: One expression I’ve seen you use in other interviews as well is the idea of paying it forward. So what does this look like for you in practice as a CFO?
[00:05:32] Philip Mortimer: Yeah, I think, first of all, from a company standpoint, we have the Heffernan Foundation, and I’m very proud to be on its board and to be treasurer, and it’s all about moving it forward. And this is, you know, to help underserved communities, especially in the Bay Area. And that’s something that’s really important to me and the company really does that. But I think for me personally, I think, you know, when it comes to moving it forward, it’s creating opportunities for expansion for the people on my team. If you don’t inspire and encourage someone, they will never reach their full potential. That’s why I like doing this. And then, you know, advocating for people when they’re not in the room. I think that’s a really important part of being a leader, um, speaking up for people when they’re not in a room, and I think that’s really important. And then just sharing knowledge and helping others accelerate their career path, getting a deeper understanding of what matters to someone in their career, and then doing what I can to help them move as fast as possible so they can achieve what they want to achieve in their career.
[00:06:38] Paul Lucas: And are there any lessons from your career so far that you often use when you’re going through a particularly challenging moment?
[00:06:47] Philip Mortimer: Yes, I believe it is really important to stay calm under pressure and not panic when things are not going according to plan. I think the other thing I’ve learned is to be transparent about the issue at hand and be very clear on what you know and what you don’t know and surround yourself with the right people to solve the problem, because sometimes you don’t have all the answers, right? And this is the case most of the time. You need the support of the team, other executives, and I think it’s really important to tie everyone together. And I think one of the things, throughout my career, is to be adaptable. You have to kind of roll with the punches, and I think that’s something that has been with me throughout my career.
[00:07:27] Paul Lucas: And to give us the correct information, Phil, you are of course now the CFO of a major insurance brokerage. So what are the key financial or operational priorities you are focusing on to support Heffernan’s growth path over the next few years?
[00:07:44] Philip Mortimer: Yeah, I think, you know, as we move forward, strengthening our financial infrastructure and reporting is number one. It’s really important for us here to make sure that we have robust processes in place. I think it’s about evaluating the technology and using AI, machine learning, but it’s also about making sure we have people who can manage those things. And so I think that’s really important for us as we move into the next chapter. And then driving operational alignment across the entire organization. It’s not just about what’s in the finance team. It’s about serving the business and making sure we’re all on the same page as we move forward toward our next goals. So I look at the next one to two years to see how we will progress as an organisation.
[00:08:36] Paul Lucas: Well, one last question for you, if I may, Phil, and that’s to zoom in a little bit more on those goals. What do you see as the biggest opportunities for Heffernan to differentiate itself in the current US insurance distribution market?
[00:08:50] Philip Mortimer: Yes, I think we have to focus on who we are. We are an independent broker. You know, we are, you know, our tagline is “Because we’re different,” and we are. And I think that’s really important. We have to lean towards that entrepreneurial culture. The fact that we are independent means we can move and make decisions much faster, and I think we need to take advantage of that to support our customers. I think we need to take advantage of this to support our customers. And then strengthening the customer experience through deeper relationships. Now we’re in an era where, you know, AI and technology is doing a lot of things, so where we can be a differentiator is building stronger relationships with our customer base. And I think we’re going to continue to do it great, and I think we’re going to have to continue to focus on that as we move into the future. And then only investing in capabilities that help us solve complex challenges, you know, in a more optimized way. Yes, we can standardize a lot of processes, but at the end of the day we are here for the customer. And if we need to do something out of the box and help them in a customized way, we have to be prepared to do so. There are exciting times ahead for Heffernan indeed.
[00:09:56] Paul Lucas: Phil, thanks so much for your time today and congratulations again on being named to this year’s Hot 100. And yes, thanks again for watching. For more on the real elite of the insurance industry, keep it right here on Insurance Business TV.