Being elected as this year’s President for the Insurance Institute of Cardiff is one of the greatest honours of my career.

I first joined the local council over 10 years ago, when the late Julie Taylor came to me with an idea of forming a Young Professionals Group to attract younger members to the institute. I became a founding member, and its first ever President. The YPG group has proven to be more successful than we could have possibly imagined, and today is known better as ‘Novus’. Not only do they host many great events, they have produced three Cardiff Presidents, with past and current Novus/YPG members now making up around 50% of the main Cardiff Council. Julie’s vision came true, and I endeavour to see that it goes from strength to strength in her memory.

This year, our focus is on Equality, Inclusivity and Diversity. As a council we endeavour to meet the needs and support the ambitions of all of our members. We are excitedly planning some great new events to this end. So watch this space!

This year, as my chosen charity, we will be supporting a cause very close to my heart. Hospice care provides vital, compassionate, caring support, not just to its patients, but also to the families who go through so much trauma and grief. I have unfortunately seen first-hand, just how important and helpful a good hospice can be. I have therefore chosen to support not only the St David’s Hospice charity, but we will also be looking to support other local hospices as well. Not just with fundraising, but the council has committed to offer up their time to do some hands on charity work for these vital institutions too.