Smarter Faster Better
Our people are changing how we travel, shop, bank, insure, eat...
Our Specialisms.
- Business Analyst Business Architect Change Manager CTO COO
- CIO Data Analyst Data Architect Data Scientist Enterprise Architect
- Head of Change Head of Digital Head of IT Implementation Manager IT Architect
- Management Consultant Product Manager Programme Director System Analyst System Architect
- Technical Architect Test Manager Tester Transformation Director Transformation Manager
We recruit the people changing how you travel, shop, bank, insure, eat...
Our people are behind the digital revolution as global retail brands transform their customer experiences... fintech takes off... blockchain disrupts the shipping industry... transport becomes electric and projects get bigger... insurance claims use machine learning and the world of work changes for good.
We are specialists in business transformation and technology change recruitment, permanent and interim.
Your change starts here.
About us and how we can help you
Accreditations
What people say about us.
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Tim Rayner, Head of Group Operations
Miller InsuranceThe service from Venquis has always been of a very high level with all vacancies filled within 4 weeks which is an impressive achievement within the London Insurance Market. In 2013 we entered a Managed Agency relationship with Venquis, giving Venquis exclusive access to Business Change vacancies reducing our overall costs of recruitment and further leveraging the great service that Venquis provide.
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Steve Danby, Head of Investment IT
Investec Asset ManagementVenquis are a proactive recruitment company who have worked hard to become a preferred supplier. They attract quality professionals in both the contract and permanent positions and understand their chosen business areas well. Most important to me is their communication approach, which is open, available but never overbearing. They are also trustworthy and recognise the value of long-term relationships.
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Jack Perschke, Divisional Head of Government
ATOSATOS has been recruiting Technology & Business Change candidates from Venquis for many years and the service has always been of a very high level. Venquis has introduced us to some exceptional people. As a further indication of my overall satisfaction with Venquis I have recommended Venquis to various personal contacts who have always been delighted with their tailored approach and results.
Blogs
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#WalkForFreedom – The Fight for Freedom around the World
A21 are a non-profit organisation who believe in a world without slavery. Slavery is a $150 billion industry, 1% ever rescued. This statistic is daunting, A21 are on a mission to abolish human trafficking and modern slavery. They work in 14 different locations across the globe, stopping human trafficking before it starts, focusing on fierce intervention and providing restorative aftercare. Tanya Howard is part of our Insurance Contract team at Venquis and is a passionate believer in the charity, A21. Tomorrow, she is joining them in their 5th annual ‘Walk for Freedom’. #WalkForFreedom is a global event that raises awareness and donations to support the fight against human trafficking and modern slavery. Even though each of us can’t do everything to abolish human trafficking and modern slavery, we can all do something by either donating or spreading this message bringing awareness. Tanya’s target is to raise £500, her efforts can be the difference between slavery and freedom for many. https://www.a21.org/fundraising/tanya-howard/walk-for-freedom-2018 From the whole Venquis team, we are wishing you the best of luck Tanya!
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Individuals vs. a team
You don’t need to be a golfing fan to appreciate how easily (in the end) team Europe dismantled the US at this year’s Ryder Cup in Italy 17.5 – 10.5. On paper the USA has better players, has won more majors and on a man for man basis is arguably the stronger team. So why then did Europe hammer them? This isn’t a one off either. The world of sport continuously provides examples of the supposed underdog outplaying and outperforming the Goliath. Anyone old enough to remember Bobby Gould’s Crazy Gang Wimbledon toppling Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final? So why does this happen? For me it is simple: Europe is a team that works together to encourage and bring out the best in the individuals. They are united from the top down, everyone knows their role, they are passionate to be part of the team and determined to do everything they can to be successful. They are in it together. Team Europe even made sure the grounds staff responsible for preparing the course were recognised for the part they played in the victory. Now on the other hand, team US is a group of individuals all wanting to be top dog and doing what’s best for himself whatever the cost. Blame culture is commonplace and it’s just the badge on their shirts that identifies them as a team. Apparently in the US dressing room they had a sign on the wall stating “Leave your egos at home”, the question is, did any of them read it? Now I may be over simplifying this, but the world of recruitment (and probably most industries) is the same. A business that has a clear vision that everyone understands, that offers clarity around roles and responsibilities, provides the best tools and techniques available to succeed, encourages a collaborative and agile working environment, leaves nothing to chance and shares the success amongst everyone who played their part, for me, will always come out on top. At Venquis we are going to be that company. We have a clear vision to be the No1 in Business Transformation and we have created an incredible infrastructure that allows complete freedom of working location to foster better working relationships. As I write this we have London guys working in our Munich and Bristol offices. Why? Why not? We have a company annual trip that everyone goes on (not just our top billers). We offer continuous training and development for everyone and the best reward scheme in the market. And because we recognise that each and every one of us is involved in achieving the Venquis goals, we have rolled out a share scheme that is committed to all our employees having the opportunity to actually own a slice of Venquis, not just work for it. Come join a team.
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Insurance will have to change its ways or die
2nd October 2018. 'Breakfast in the City' event series. The guests C-level executives from the worlds’ leading insurers. The speaker Anthony Hilton from the Evening Standard. The breakfast Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon was top choice, full-English a close second. The hosts Venquis, business transformation and technology change recruitment specialists. Anthony Hilton of Evening Standard, Barnaby Parker of Venquis The main take-aways Disruption in insurance will invent new models, but they may not accommodate the old. Lloyd's needs to modernise its process. This is what Lloyd's will do, or die in the attempt. True underwriting will be niche. Lloyd's has skill is its underwriting, but this skill is becoming less relevant. Big data is replacing underwriting expertise when it comes to less complex risks. But big risks and complex risks will always be there. The emerging markets are set to grow far more than developed markets over the next 30 years. China is likely to be the second largest insurer in 10 years - it had $125 billion premium in 2015. It invested $1.5 billion between 2005 and 2016, lately with its belt and road trade initiatives. Anthony Hilton’s speech in full What about Lloyd's? A model ripe of disruption? Lloyd's is to some extent set in its ways - but can it actually change, and does it want to? Or will it decline too? Uber the world’s largest taxi company has no taxis. Airbnb the largest hotel company has no hotels. Facebook has no content providers. They are one version of the future. The problem is that disruption in insurance will invent new models but they may not accommodate the old. Lloyd's has to modernise its processes but I am not sure that it wants to throw the baby out with the bath water. It needs still to be recognisable. The end of tradition? The traditional view of insurance was that it used to require large reserves, underwriting skill and trusted relationships. Take those in turn. 1/ Insurance has been assailed by hedge funds and catastrophe bond providers, who cherry pick. Pension funds buy cat bonds which give a good return day to day but have to pay out if there is a disaster. Hedge funds have been adept at moving in when markets look like they are turning up but avoiding the downside. Both see insurance providing a better yield than conventional assets - in the good times. Neither have reserves in the conventional sense of the word. 2/ Lloyd's has skill is its underwriting, but this skill is becoming less relevant. Big data is replacing underwriting expertise when it comes to less complex risks. The first online broker entered the UK motor market on 2000. Now some 20% of motor policies are written online based on pre-programmed rules. Telematics - the spy in the car - which is very prevalent with young drivers, again has minimal underwriter expertise. There is another problem. Whereas now everybody has a car policy and the claims are manageable in the sense that they require straightening a bit a metal, or putting a person through rehab, it will be different in future. There will be no accidents with driverless cars until some day when a software engineer screws up and the whole of London has a crash. An era of small steady claims suddenly becomes instead a highly unlikely but potentially catastrophic vast one. Do underwriters want this kind of risk? If they do, what sort of premium is appropriate? Big data could link directly with insurance company systems creating real time pricing and the ability to turn cover on and off as required. AI could analyse cyber risk levels though it own interrogation of the data and offer robot style risk mitigation. 3/ Lloyd's wants to continue its trusted relationships. But blockchain if it works will not require them. The system will not need any manual intervention, or certainly a different type. Commodisation of insurance is bound to happen. So Lloyd's has to add value. That means handling bespoke risks which no one else can, but saying goodbye to run of the mill risks like motor. Meanwhile conditions are tough. There is an excess of capital, low investment returns, low premiums and disruptive technology. But Lloyd's has always found it tough - or so it says. Certainly at the time of R&R 25 years ago it was uncertain whether it would survive. It was the Department of Trade as it then was which signed off on Equitas, and allowed syndicates to go into run-off with only £8 billion of reserves when they should have had £12 billion. That would never happen today. Regulators would be too scared. But Lloyd's in fact prospered. There has also been an excess of mergers with the big getting ever bigger and squeezing the smaller players. The acquirers talk about growth, but they focus on cutting costs. But there are always a few who go after new markets and structures - though the majority don’t. They do what they always do. Take emerging markets. The insurance industry showed growth in emerging markets of 40% in the last three years. Of that share just 0.4% came to Lloyd's. Lloyd's does well in Europe, and very well in America - more than 40% of business comes from there. But the emerging markets are a different matter. They are woefully under insured, they are increasingly protectionist, and Lloyd's does very little business. This is one of the major challenges. Lloyd's has specialty underwriting cover not available elsewhere. Taking on overseas risks helps the other country. And if a catastrophe strikes there is money in London which will help the country get back on its feet. But it is hard to make an impact. India’s premium cover is 0.8% of gdp; Pakistan and Indonesia have cover of just 0.4%; Singapore manages 1.6% and Malaysia 1.7%. Even Mexico has only 2.5%. The UK in contrast has 11.3% and America even more. The emerging markets are set to grow far more that developed markets over the next 30 years. Latin America for example has 600 million people, 10% of the world population, and by 2050 it is forecast to be bigger than the G7. Mexico is forecast to be bigger that the UK in 15 years. Asia and Latin America combined are expected to account for 37% of the property and casualty market by 2020. They will need insurance. China is another issue. It is likely to be the second largest insurer in 10 years, it had $125 billion premium in 2015. It invested $1.5 billion between 2005 and 2016, lately with its belt and road trade initiatives. But Lloyd's is largely passing it by. And its own insurers are smart. The big challenge is to provide specialised skills to these sophisticated corporates. So what is stopping them? Well insurance is seen as a nice to have rather than a must have; there is a lack of quality personnel; and there is protectionism. Countries do not want to ship premiums offshore; they would rather keep the money in house (where it can be used for other things.) Lloyd's has made a major push in the last five years in Lloyd's licences and it has some traction in India for example. But is that what India really wants? Do the emerging markets generally want us? I suspect that they would rather do it themselves. And I think that big data will make it possible. They will have the facts at their fingertips; Lloyd's will no longer be the one place where they have all the expertise. America is a big market for Lloyd's, but the premium income is just a faction of the whole. So emerging markets have potential, if we only get a small amount of their income. Other issues include intangibles. According the S & P 17% of corporate wealth was intangible assets in 1975 while the rest, 83%, was tangible. Today that is reversed. Today 16% of assets are tangible, and 84% are intangible. Facebook, Apple, Amazon - none of these has much in the way of tangible assets but they have huge value of their intangible ones. Unfortunately Lloyd's and other insurers are struggling to know how to value these assets. It was fine handling a flood or a fire. Cyber, supply chains, software, reputation and so on are very much harder, and insured’s do not believe that Lloyd's have all the answers either. Cyber is moving forwards slowly, and supply chain insurance after the Thai floods in 2011 was also an example of progress. But Lloyd's needs to do more. Climate change is another factor. Thirteen out of 14 of the hottest years have been in the 21st century. Natural disasters are increasing, as is their cost. In the 1980s an average cost of wind storms in the decade was around $50 billion. In the current decade it is $200 billion. Now this should be good for Lloyd's, if it were not for the State of Florida doing its own insurance and under pricing it. But that is not the only or even the real problem. American catastrophe protection is heading for disruption because it does not appear to need underwriters. Instead increasingly sophisticated wind models are combined with granular property data, and there is no room for the underwriter in the middle. Drones work out the cost of the damages and should pay claims almost instantly. The underwriters appear to be heading for their Uber moment. Insurance is also bothered by fin tech - or insure tech. There are several interesting models like Lemonade in the United States which rebates premiums, and others where people only need cover if they are actually driving. In China at the airport you can bet on flight delays and with another app you take a selfie and that is enough information for life assurance. All aspects of insure tech are covered - how insurance is sold; how claims are assessed; how risk is commoditised; how distribution can be lower cost. The actual amount of fin tech money is vast, but luckily most of it is wasted so Lloyd’s still has its chance, though that will not always be the case. Consultancy. Insurance currently is a business which is starved of premium, plagued with over capacity, and unable or unwilling to provide the range and extent of products which customers want. Some corporates have responded in other ways. The oil market for example, is exploring in ever more dangerous places. Wells are sunk 30,000 feet deep - think of an aircraft at 30,000 feet and imagine what that is like underground - where the drill has only an eighth of an inch of free movement. Insurance brokers say these kinds of risk are just too complex, like BP’s Deepwater Horizon Gulf spill, so rather than be confrontational, client, insurers and broker should in fact collaborate. Both sides should agree what the risks are, rather than seek to get an edge over the other. The broker’s expertise would be shared with the client. It is protection rather than picking up the pieces. The broker would get a fee from the client for his consultancy rather than brokerage from the underwriters for placing the business, both sides working together as consultants to reflect the mutual interest of client and broker. It requires a strong risk management culture. It works best when brokers, insurers and clients consider the risks with a shared management mindset. It may not be now, but perhaps it is part of the future. Breakfast in the City This is a popular series of events for insurance leaders. It’s invite only but please contact Shivani Patel if you would like to attend the next breakfast on 22ndJanuary 2019 spatel@venquis.com Business change and transformation specialists If you are looking to hire into your team, or looking for a new role, let us make it easy for you. Contact the insurance leadership team: UK Jon Sharpe jsharpe@venquis.com Adam Holmes aholmes@venquis.com Liam Kelly lkelly@venquis.com Germany Mathias Geisselsoeder mgeisselsoeder@venquis.com Benelux Toby Wurthman twurthman@venquis.com More about our work in financial services and insurance.
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Smarter, Faster, Better – Venquis launches new website
We are specialists in business transformation and technology change recruitment, and technology is at the forefront of our business. Today, we are excited to announce that both our new UK and German websites are live! www.venquis.com. www.venquis.de Everyone’s heard of Uber, they were founded on a grand vision of bringing people together and connecting cities. Our vision for this website is not too far away from Uber’s – we set out to create an online platform for business transformation and technology professionals, bringing organisations and people together. The new design was specifically built to improve navigation and make it easier to find what you’re looking for. The user experience for our candidates, clients and those looking to join us reflects our forward thinking and modern approach to recruitment - Smarter, Faster, Better. What is Smarter? Forget signing up to hundreds of job boards, our job board gives you access to the best roles from some of the biggest names in the UK, German and Benelux markets. Smarter search capabilities allow you to find the jobs that interest you in just a few clicks. Set up job alerts and we’ll let you know when we have jobs matching your requirements, instead of you having to spend hours each day sifting through new jobs. What is Faster? Our client portal lets you tell us about your hiring needs at any time of the day. All you need to do is answer a few questions. Requests are immediately sent to our delivery team of recruitment experts who will be in touch within hours, working specifically for you, with access to the top business transformation technology change talent. What is Better? Change the world around you. Find out what it is really like to work at Venquis in London, Bristol, Düsseldorf or Munich by visiting our new join us page. Any questions you may have about the company will be answered here. Why do we exist? What do we stand for? Why should you work for us? And proof from the team here about why we are better. If this sounds like you, meet the team here and find out who you would be working with. We hope that you like the changes, we would love to hear your feedback.
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