Alex, Head of Sales UK - About Life at Cloud Insurance
Hi Alex, congratulations on your first anniversary as Head of Sales UK! What do you do exactly?
My role is to grow the business, find customers, build our presence in the UK, and expand our existing footprint. Day-to-day, I'm in client demos and discovery processes working with our product and tech team to ensure a great fit.
You've been in the tech space for a couple of years. How did that start, and what drew you to Cloud Insurance in the first place?
Before insurtech, I was involved in cloud digitization, specifically in the accounting area, being one of the first adopters of cloud offerings like Xero, now a $15bn business. I saw that insurance was at a similar place, being on a digitization curve and requiring new thinking to drive adoption. I wanted to join an organization that embodied the best cloud and customer experience elements, and Cloud Insurance became that place.
Also, Cloud Insurance has a great culture that's driven and fun. What’s powerful is the mission to design robust tech built to last, with a beautiful interface. That combination appeals directly to the aesthete in me, culturally aligned with my Italian heritage.
You joined us mid-lockdown, how has the onboarding process been for you?
Due to COVID-19, my onboarding was under a specific work exception on my visit to Oslo, spending days in the office getting to know the team and then heading back to the hotel. It was great that we still managed to pull off that process in person despite the situation. Luckily, on my most recent visit for our late summer party, we could socialize, and I got to meet all the people who joined in the year who I hadn’t met in real life.
What would you say have been two of your most significant achievements?
The first is executing on our go-to-market, which includes engaging with key UK partners like Altus and Oxbow. On the customer front, securing a commitment from large global and UK-based clients has been particularly rewarding. I can see how it energizes our team and will expand our already comprehensive offering!
You just visited Oslo for the second time since joining us. What are your thoughts on Norway?
Norwegians are great, and the tech scene in the Nordics is particularly impressive. I have enjoyed getting to know some peculiarities of Norwegian life; for example, there is only one chain of outlets to purchase alcohol with long queues on Friday evenings.
In the last year, you've also been to South Africa, Egypt, Poland. What are some of the perks of working remotely for you?
Yes, it’s been quite the adventure. First we went to South Africa to get documents so that I could finally get married in Poland (a year and a half after we originally planned to!). Egypt was a delightful break on the way. This wouldn’t have been possible without Cloud Insurance’s open mindset towards remote work. It meant I could continue working uninterrupted and still enjoy those trips to their fullest. And, some golf and tennis at the end of the day.
And speaking of, as the world opens up a bit more again, what do you want to do more?
We see massive traction in our verticals, particularly health, income protection, and pet insurance which have seen growth during the lockdown. The next step is to go out, meet people, and experience some live events and meet in person, which I really enjoy.
What are you looking forward to right now?
Commercially, I am looking forward to expanding the team to match our success and drive even more growth. I also see some of the great work we’re doing with distribution and ecosystem partners come to fruition. Some ski trips are in planning on the home front, which is long overdue; it's the ideal family holiday for me.
About Cloud Insurance
Cloud Insurance is a seamless SaaS solution made by insurance experts for insurers since 2016. We feature all the aspects of the daily work of insurance providers, and help to reduce time on managing policies, claims, financials, and reports through APIs, AI, and rule-based technology. Learn more about us here>>.
