Carys Lawton, Lloyd's of London

Carys Lawton is an insurance international projects executive at Lloyd’s of London. She has an MSc in the politics of the world economy from the London School of Economics (LSE).

How did yor postgraduate insurance career get started?

I ended up in insurance by chance: I was looking for a job that applied my knowledge of economics to a real corporate environment and Lloyd’s had a vacancy that did exactly that.

What does an international projects executive do?

My employer is the world’s largest specialist insurance market, bringing together insurance companies and insurance brokers to insure some of the largest risks in the world. I am part of the international operations team that provides over 30 international representatives with operational support. Many of our projects are high profile. For example, my first project involved establishing a subsidiary reinsurance company in China. We adapted our business structure to meet the needs of the Chinese market.

What do you do as a graduate?

On that first project, my responsibilities included advising senior executives on our strategy, devising business processes and selecting IT systems. It was a steep learning curve but my team was really supportive.

'Almost any significant event that happens has an impact on the insurance industry. When something big goes wrong, such as a natural disaster, it brings home that what we do matters: we help people rebuild their lives.'

I’ve recently returned from a three-month secondment in Singapore, where I worked with the team there to consider ways of supporting future growth. Having spent most of my time previously travelling between offices, it was good to spend a significant amount of time in a particular place. Over the past couple of years I’ve begun to work a lot more independently. I get to take on a lot of responsibility for what I do and how I spend my time. Although my role doesn’t require a professional qualification, I’ve done several Chartered Institute of Insurers (CII) exams, which has improved my general understanding of insurance.

Insurance sometimes has the reputation of being staid. Is it?

No, the insurance sector innovates constantly. Almost any significant event that happens in the world has an impact on the industry. When something big goes wrong, such as a natural disaster, it brings home that what we do matters: we help people rebuild their lives.