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Managing Director
Arthur J. Gallagher, Glendale, Calif.
shirley_griffith@ajg.com

Relentless and Reasonable All in One

When Shirley Griffith-Bourke this past year left Aon/Albert G. Ruben after 30 years, film industry insiders said it would take at least a year to bring along any of her major accounts. In fact, Fox followed her to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. within three months.

Aside from managing her division at Gallagher, Griffith-Bourke also continues to handle the day-to-day and special requirements of clients. One recent example was with some of the firm's clients who were working with an artist with various medical conditions. The artist had several back-to-back film projects that were in various stages of production, and there were serious issues of insurability, which could have caused her client to abandon the project completely.

But given Griffith-Bourke's vast experience, she was able to create a solution in this instance that appealed to the clients and the market, and the projects were able to continue as planned.

Another recent achievement was in dealing with a client who was referred by an existing client. This new client had received quotes for an insurance program from a competitive broker; after reviewing the bid, Griffith-Bourke felt the proposal was inadequate. She was able to redesign the program to make it more efficient and cost-effective and therefore gained a new client.

"She's very knowledgeable, with tons of experience," said one film industry executive. "She's very relentless but reasonable in dealing with insurance companies."

Managing Director, Global Entertainment
Practice Leader
Marsh, Los Angeles
John.A.Hamby@marsh.com

The Hamby Blanket Unwrapped

"To show you how much we like John Hamby, we invited John and his 16-year-old daughter to the premiere of Twilight," said one admiring client.

This client cited Hamby's great ability to change with her business as it has made dramatic changes. "Our business needs have changed dramatically," she said, "but throughout John has kept up with those needs."

In the past year, yet another big turn for Hamby and the company was to convert it from film-by-film coverage to an overall global blanket policy with very broad terms and favorable rates. "He genuinely cares about the clients he interacts with," said this client.

In 2008, Hamby's staff increased by 20 percent and revenue grew by 30 percent.

A highlight included negotiating an advertising wrap-up program renewal that achieved reductions and enhancements.

As the leader of the Marsh's Global Entertainment Practice, Hamby strengthened his entertainment colleague base around the world by including Los Angeles, New York, Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Toronto, London, San Juan, Paris, Hamburg, Beijing, Hong Kong and Mumbai.

Said an insurance executive at a major company: "John is not a high-pressure salesman type. He's very technical, but he's also exceedingly service-oriented. He's one of the stars of his business."

Managing Director, Global Events Practice Leader
Marsh, Atlanta
warren.h.harper@marsh.com

An Olympian Talent

The first--and only--cultural shock between Marsh's Global Events Group Practice leader, Warren Harper, and China's Olympics insurance delegation was the fact that Harper is a tall, imposing black man. So said Bocheng Ding, venue general secretary of the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee. After that, it was smooth sailing between the organizing committee and Marsh.

"We were impressed with Warren's team's decades' worth of experience," said Ding. "As an American citizen, Warren was very flexible with Chinese culture. In China we are a very different country. This is a highly centralized country. Plus we don't usually use insurance as a backdrop."

But the atmosphere between Marsh representatives and the organizing committee was very open. "Warren is a very good communicator," said Ding. "It is quite easy to talk with him. He is very thoughtful and sensitive. We could sit down over a cup of coffee, and he would ask me things like, 'How should I dress for a certain occasion.' He was very aware of details."

Marsh had a strong team in Beijing, starting with Harper and three others on the global events team. Then there was the local Marsh office in Beijing, which was heavily involved in the placement. The Marsh group also included loss-control engineers from the company's Hong Kong office, plus the firm's Philadelphia office under Dennis Donovan.

Harper said his experience with the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta played a major role in shaping his perspective on Olympic games. In Atlanta, he was intricately involved in the management of the aftermath of the Centennial Park bombing.

Senior Vice President
Marsh, Los Angeles
maureen.mcdonald@marsh.com

A Broker Who Listens First, Talks Second

Maureen McDonald pulled off a hat trick in a major career-changing year in 2008. In moving from a senior position at Aon/Albert G. Ruben to Marsh in Los Angeles, McDonald was able to bring along all three of her main clients, The Walt Disney Co., Lucasfilm and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios.

"She thinks of a lot of things we don't," one of those clients said. "She's always a couple of steps ahead of me, and she's always following up with me. I'm so comfortable with her that I let her deal directly with my legal and insurance departments."

McDonald has worked with this important film industry account for five years or so, and in that time, "She has consistently taken things to a new level," said this client.

Said a representative with another main account, "She's a wonderful listener. She just is able to shut her mouth and listen to people talk."

McDonald is known for her talent in handling policy language. Prior to binding, she dedicates time to reviewing, understanding and making modifications to policy language in order to meet the specific needs of her clients.

This year, McDonald worked with clients beyond the scope of traditional insurance and held sessions on topics such as business-continuity planning, security and emergency response planning, business income and property valuations, and executive benefits.

"She has a great relationship with insurance companies and underwriters," said another client. "She's very level-headed."

Director, Sports & Leisure Practice
Aon, Charlotte, N.C.
Lori_shaw@ars.aon.com

When Brokerage is a Contract Sport

Lori Shaw is known as a star utility player for Aon in sports, entertainment and media. Her broad expertise is not limited to property/casualty issues but extends to event cancellation, prize indemnity and disability coverage.

2008 was a big year for Shaw, with her in charge of all lines of coverage for the Republican National Convention, including general liability, property, automobile and police professional liability. She also handled all liability coverage and event cancellation for the Pope's visit to New York and Washington.

In a more esoteric situation, one of her clients acquired an "extreme sport company" that presented a very different type of risk exposure. This extreme sport, Slamball, is a mixture of full-contact basketball, hockey and football on a court made of trampolines. Not only did Shaw leverage her industry contacts to provide coverage, but she traveled around the country to meet with the inventor of the sport and took a Slamball lesson.

In another instance in the past year, a major media company said it was "pleasantly surprised" to see her put together an insurance package for a show that presented a major health issue with the cast. "Lori pulled it together for the betterment of all parties concerned," said the senior risk manager at the media company.

Working with high-profile clients, Shaw developed creative and effective solutions to protect her clients from lawsuits, terrorism and nonappearance risks. Shaw's clients said she is a slam dunk when it comes to winning attributes.

President
Taylor & Taylor Associates Inc., New York
staylor@taylorinsurance.com

Duly Equipped

Said one of the top underwriters in the country about Scott Taylor: "He knows more about commercials and insuring them than anybody I know. I don't make a move in the commercials realm, and we do a lot of them, without consulting with Scott."

"He runs his own show on both coasts and runs it with great skill," said this source.

For Taylor, 2008 proved to be a year when television production companies and equipment suppliers that rent motion picture and video equipment could truly appreciate the value and importance of their insurance programs.

For one thing, in 2008 there were a large number of thefts of motion picture and video equipment. A theft ring was targeting the production industry and following production vehicles as they traveled from one location to another.

Last October, Taylor put together a seminar sponsored by the Production Equipment Rental Association in order to share information on how the thefts are occurring and some precautions that could be taken.

Insurance proved to be indispensible in the Universal Studios fire last summer by reimbursing the television production company and its various suppliers for their financial loss. The reimbursement process was resolved in three months through cooperation on all sides. A more contentious process could have dragged on for years.

Aon
Co-Managing Director, Financial Services Group
Chicago

Marsh
Managing Director
Philadelphia

Marsh
Sr. Vice President
Denver

Arthur J. Gallagher
Managing Director
Glendale, Calif.

Arthur J. Gallagher
Managing Director
Glendale, Calif.

Aon
Director Sport, Recreation and Entertainment
Madrid