Welcome to The Insurance Institute of Leeds. It’s a great privilege to take on the presidency of the Leeds Institute, which is nicely timed to coincide with my tenth year in the insurance industry. Holding any role on Council requires support from employers, colleagues, friends, family, and most importantly the other volunteers that make up our Institute. I would not be able to take on the President’s position without the guidance and coaching that others have given me in the past, so thank you to those people, as well as all Council members for the time and effort they put in to running our Institute. This year I intend on continuing the success of prior years to bring an array of opportunities for continuous professional development and networking to our members.

One of my aims this year is to raise money for The Insurance Charity, along with my chosen charity, The Trussell Trust, who provide a nationwide network of food banks and support to people facing hardship in the UK. The Trussell Trust provided close to 3 million food parcels between April 2022 and March 2023 and run 17 foodbank centres across Leeds alone. Through previous volunteer work I have seen first-hand how much of a difference foodbanks can make, and I look forward to arranging a fundraising event that all members can take part in later in the year. Anyone wanting to join us for any event in 2024/25 will be very welcome, whether it is a social event, a CPD lecture, our annual dinner or, if you would like to get involved with council, our next committee meeting. I’m really looking forward to representing and meeting our members over the year.