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Falak Kothari

National Corporate Leader - Manufacturing | Toronto

24/04/2023

  • Job Title: National Corporate Leader, Manufacturing
  • Department: Corporate Manufacturing
  • Office Location: Toronto
  • Joined Marsh: January 2013
  • Hometown: Mumbai, India
  • Education: MBA, MET Institute of Management; Masters of Commerce, Mumbai University
  • Affiliations: Registered Insurance Broker in Ontario (RIBO), Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker (CAIB), Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designation, Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP)
  • Personal Interests and Hobbies: Travel, music, dance, sports (cricket and soccer), mentoring

Meet Falak

As an industry segment leader, I have a dual role of managing client-facing colleagues (12 direct reports) and driving industry-focused growth strategy across the country. I am responsible for industry P&L, growth, client retention, people and team leadership, business management, and operational excellence. In addition, I am also a senior client executive and manage several clients across industries such as manufacturing, mining, energy, and utilities.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Each day is unique and different. That said, a typical day starts with focus time in the morning, working on strategic initiatives or client-specific deliverables. I spend a significant portion of the day on virtual and in-person meetings with clients, insurers, and internal stakeholders. I also spend time on other elements such as problem-solving, coaching, mentoring, training, and reporting.

How does the work you do support our company in being the Risk Advisor of the Future?

As an industry leader, one of my key objectives is to enable our colleagues to provide our clients with expertise and insights specific to their industries. As a client-facing team, we work closely with our clients to help them navigate risk and uncertainties by providing industry-focused risk management solutions and commercial insights. A key aspect of my role is to develop a deeper understanding of our client's business operations to uncover potential risk exposures and identify suitable risk mitigation or contractual risk transfer solutions.

How has Marsh supported your career mobility?

Marsh has been extremely supportive. Being a global firm, the culture encourages career development and mobility with the goal of moving talent up within the organization. In my case, once I secured a Canadian Permanent Residency, the leadership team at Marsh India initiated the process with the leadership team at Marsh Canada. After a few rounds of discussion, I moved to Toronto and joined the Placement team in a transition role, which allowed me to learn the North American marketplace and build relationships with insurers. Thereafter, I moved to the corporate team as a client executive and, more recently, assumed a national leadership role. 

Tell us about something new you learned recently. How did you learn it?

On the personal front, my wife and I recently adopted a cat from a rescue shelter. It has been an interesting journey so far and has brought a lot of learning. In addition to learning about the skills required to manage a pet, it taught me how to be more patient. The most important learning was encouraging positive reinforcement, which can also be applied to the professional setting.

On the professional front, I recently read a book called "The Infinite Game," which was given to me by one of our executive leaders. A key learning from the book is to embrace an infinite mindset with an infinite play (i.e., not thinking about who wins or who is the best, but rather start thinking about how to build and sustain strong and healthy organizations).

Tell us something important about your family or background that helped form the person and colleague you are today.

I lost both my parents at a very young age and was raised by my grandmother. Losing my parents early was extremely tough; however, it also forced me to mature much faster. I started working after high school and sponsored my education. This phase of my life holds a very special place in my heart as it laid the foundation for who I am today and helped me develop important attributes such as humility, problem-solving, and a never-give-up attitude.

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