Meet the ICMIF team
Liz Green, Chief Executive Officer
Liz formally took over as CEO during the ICMIF Biennial Conference in Buenos Aires in November 2024.
Reporting to the ICMIF Board, Liz is responsible for steering the strategic direction of the Federation, ensuring the delivery of unparalleled value to ICMIF’s global network of more than 200 mutual/cooperative insurers across 53 countries, and representing the interests of the membership to key external stakeholders.
In her role as ICMIF CEO, Liz is an ex-officio of the ICMIF Board of Directors, a member of the ICMIF Executive Committee and Intelligence Committee, and a trustee of the ICMIF Foundation. She is also ex-officio Member of Steering Committee of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF), a Member of the IDF Operating Committee, and in September 2026 assumed a seat on the Board of the International Cooperative Alliance.
Liz’s former role as Executive Vice-President focused on ensuring that ICMIF’s members gain optimum value and that the Federation understands each member organisation’s strategic priorities and competencies.
Before joining ICMIF in 2012, Liz spent 13 years working in senior influence and communications roles for the UK life insurance sector at Swiss Life (UK) and then for Royal Liver Group before it was acquired by the UK’s largest mutual, Royal London Group. Before then, she was a PR consultant specialising in financial services accounts.
She has completed her Level Seven course in Executive Coaching and Mentoring and has achieved Master Practitioner Level in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP). Liz previously held a board seat at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and sat as a Governor on two school boards.
She has spoken at a wide variety of ICMIF conferences, board and executive meetings as well as representing the Federation at other non-ICMIF conferences and symposiums.
Vanessa Smith, Executive Vice-President
Vanessa serves as Executive Vice-President at ICMIF, where she plays a pivotal role in people-centred performance. As Chair of the Leadership Team, Vanessa ensures the alignment of the Team with its core priorities, including income generation, cost control, risk management, and the optimisation of people performance, all within a purpose-driven organisational culture that reflects ICMIF’s values.
Vanessa has oversight of ICMIF’s strategic goals and the operational relationship with both the Board and the Executive Committee, acting as the principal management liaison to these governance bodies, providing strategic clarity and ensuring the smooth operation of governance processes.
Vanessa also leads the commercial partner strategy for ICMIF Supporting Members, identifying, evaluating, and negotiating partnerships that align with member purpose and values, thereby enhancing ICMIF’s revenue base and long-term member value. Working closely with the Chief Membership Officer, Vanessa maintains a robust pipeline of high-quality partners and ensures that partner offerings complement and strengthen member services.
Previously, Vanessa held the role of Senior Vice-President of Operations (2015–2024), with responsibility for finance, human resources, IT, and the management of ICMIF’s head office in Greater Manchester, UK. Since joining ICMIF in 2003 from an accountancy background, Vanessa has held a variety of roles across reinsurance and membership and played an instrumental role in the launch and engagement of the Latin American Reinsurance Group (LARG) during its formative years.
Vanessa holds a BA (Hons) degree in Modern Languages from the University of Salford, is a Fellow of the Association of Accounting Technicians, and is currently pursuing the ILM Level 7 Executive Coaching and Mentoring qualification with the British School of Coaching, reflecting a deep commitment to coaching practices that foster high-performance teams and a coaching culture within ICMIF. Vanessa is also a certified Mental Health First Aider (MHFA England).
Ben Telfer, Chief Membership Officer
As Chief Membership Officer, Ben leads ICMIF’s membership activities, ensuring the Federation’s member value proposition inspires and assists its member companies to achieve their strategic goals and sustainably grow in their local markets.
He is responsible for member engagement, growth and retention across ICMIF’s global network and provides strategic leadership for the delivery of its range of events, networks, communications, research, and member-only resources.
Ben also serves as Secretary of the ICMIF Intelligence Committee, a sub-committee of the ICMIF Board which is made up of more than 25 strategic leaders from member organisations.
Prior to his current role, Ben led ICMIF’s Member Services team, including its Business Intelligence function, focused on strategic research of emerging trends, best-practice strategies and innovations in the global cooperative and mutual insurance sector.
Ben joined ICMIF in 2011, overseeing ICMIF’s financial research and statistical analysis. He later assumed responsibility for developing and delivering strategic content and resources available to members via the ICMIF Knowledge Hub. He also designed and launched ICMIF’s Young Leaders activities in 2017, which has grown considerably since then and now offers a comprehensive range of activities and initiatives to help member companies develop their emerging talent.
With over 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry, Ben previously worked as a research analyst for the corporate finance arm of a global information service provider. He has a Bachelor’s (BA) Degree from the University of Manchester (UK).
Ben has also collaborated on external research reports, contributed articles to outside publications, and delivered presentations on the latest trends and issues impacting the global cooperative/mutual sector.
Steve Leicester, Chief Finance Officer and Head of Operations
A Chartered Accountant, Steve is Chief Finance Officer and Head of Operations, a role in which he oversees ICMIF’s financial operations, including accounting, auditing, budgeting, treasury management, and the administration of the organisation’s investment portfolio.
He has over 30 years of experience as a Chartered Accountant, having earned his Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) certification in 1995.
Steve is also responsible for overseeing all aspects of ICMIF’s day-to-day operations, maximising efficiency and aligning operational strategies with ICMIF’s overall business objectives.
The role integrates Steve’s financial role to incorporate procurement, contract agreement and managing financial information to promote profitability within the business whilst managing risks effectively and implementing measures to mitigate potential threats. Central to this is the necessity to continually improve the member service proposition on an ongoing basis.
The ICMIF team operates a Continual Improvement Initiative (CII), with ongoing efforts to enhance processes and efficiency across the organisation. Steve oversees these efforts, enabling the team to devote more time to delivering value‑added services for members.
Steve has written several blogs and articles on the topics of climate change, sustainability and ICMIF’s work with Accounting for Sustainability (A4S).
Steve sits on the board of the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), an international, not-for-profit organisation which promotes ‘green’ capital investment projects to build a global, climate resilient economy.
Before joining ICMIF in January 2016, Steve worked in the IT and Communications industry as Finance Director for the GK Communications Group before completing a management buyout of Pav Data Systems (a manufacturer and distributor of free space optics equipment).
Sabbir Patel, Chief Executive Officer, The ICMIF Foundation
Sabbir was appointed CEO of the ICMIF Foundation in 2015 to lead the ICMIF 5-5-5 Mutual Microinsurance Strategy which has issued over three and a half million policies to date. In 2022, a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the ICMIF Foundation was established, and the first round of the UNDP ICMIF Innovation Insurance Challenge (IIC) was launched, providing financial and technical support to scale up mutual microinsurance.
Sabbir is a qualified chartered certified accountant (FCCA) and holds a Master’s degree from the Institute of Development and Policy Management (IDPM), Manchester, and a CII Diploma in Insurance. He has represented the sector on many global platforms and committees and written numerous articles on mutual microinsurance and microtakaful.
Sabbir joined ICMIF in 1996, starting work on a member directory and the company’s finances. He then also worked on investment and agricultural networks, website, conference sponsorship, the ICMIF Series of Mutual Funds and Development. In 2004, he took over as Managing Director of ICMIF’s capital support facility Allnations Inc. making investments in ICMIF members in Africa and Latin America.
In 2005, he was appointed Senior Vice-President, Emerging Markets and Chief Financial Officer, taking responsibility of the emerging markets department as well as the Federation’s finances. Throughout his tenure, member partnerships were facilitated through annual seminars on microinsurance, a regular newsletter and technical exchanges. He oversaw a unique global cooperation with the Takaful sector including joint conferences, newsletters, an ICMIF Takaful website and the promotion of the concept of microtakaful.
In 2010, with the support of the ICMIF Development Committee, an ICMIF microinsurance training tool was developed and successfully run across the globe for different stakeholders. He also represented ICMIF in working with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to develop guiding principles and an application paper for the regulation of mutual microinsurance.
Shaun Tarbuck, ICMIF Adviser
Shaun will act as Adviser to ICMIF until the end of 2026, after having served as Chief Executive between 2005 and 2024.
During his tenure as CEO, Shaun elevated ICMIF to global recognition, forging relationships with key influencers like the United Nations, the B20 and the Insurance Development Forum.
Shaun also spearheaded ICMIF’s first Global Manifesto, established partnerships with the UNDP and UNDRR and introduced innovative tools like the ICMIF UNDRR Resiliency Benchmark.
A founding member of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF), Shaun has contributed to global public-private partnerships addressing financial resilience and disaster risk reduction.
Shaun qualified as a chartered accountant in 1987 and had various roles in the UK and Bermuda before joining ICMIF in 1995.
Mike Ashurst, Senior Vice-President, Reinsurance & Learning
Mike is responsible for ICMIF’s reinsurance-related activities and its portfolio of learning and leadership development programmes for member organisations, supporting senior leaders, emerging talent and functional specialists across the mutual and cooperative insurance sector.
On the reinsurance side, Mike organises the biennial Meeting of Reinsurance Officials (MORO), which brings together senior reinsurance professionals from mutual and cooperative insurers around the world to exchange insights on market developments, emerging risks and strategic priorities. He also serves as Secretary to the ICMIF Reinsurance Committee and facilitates a range of virtual and in-person reinsurance forums, designed to encourage peer-to-peer learning, collaboration and the sharing of practical experience across the global membership.
Mike also leads ICMIF’s flagship learning programmes, including the Advanced Management Course, the Virtual Young Leaders Programme and a range of bespoke and on-demand leadership development offerings. These programmes focus on purpose-driven leadership, managing complexity and translating strategy into action within mutual and cooperative organisations.
In addition, Mike facilitates ICMIF’s HR Forum and regularly contributes articles, blogs and thought leadership on reinsurance, leadership and talent development.
Mike joined ICMIF in 1993, previously working in reinsurance roles at The Co-operative Insurance in the UK, and has worked in the (re)insurance industry since 1989. He is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Yvonne Hautenne, Senior Vice-President, Events
Yvonne is Senior Vice President at ICMIF with responsibility for the management of global events including budget control; venue and vendor negotiation; logistics, liaison with host (usually an ICMIF member organisation); and maintenance of a high level of positive member experience at all ICMIF conferences, seminars, training courses, governance meetings and online events. Based at the head office in Manchester (UK), her role within the member engagement team, includes assistance with the delivery of special projects as required, reporting directly to the ICMIF Chief Membership Officer, Ben Telfer, for the delivery of the Federation’s strategic goals. In addition, Yvonne supports the CEO, Liz Green, with the organisation of travel and member meetings.
Prior to joining ICMIF in 1997, Yvonne had proven experience in project management in various industries including textiles, safety protection systems, cosmetics and graphic design/print. Over the past 27 years at ICMIF, Yvonne has held roles in several departments at the Federation including communications, HR, operations and more recently, events management.
Currently working on the Biennial Conference to be held in Toronto in November this year, Yvonne is also looking ahead to the planning of the 2028 and Biennial Conferences.
Catherine Hock, Senior Vice-President, International Relations
Catherine is Senior Vice-President, International Relations. In this role, she monitors legislative and regulatory requirements which could potentially affect ICMIF members. Her involvement also includes participation in conferences where she presents and explains the characteristics of the mutual and cooperative insurance model.
Catherine is responsible for member engagement and ICMIF’s work programme with Latin American members and has established working groups with members on Capital Maintenance and Sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
She authored the Practical Guide to Understanding Mutual Insurance and several position papers on behalf of ICMIF members to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on topics including financial stability, reporting requirements, risk management, governance and climate change risk.
Catherine has over 20 years of experience in financial services. Before joining ICMIF in 2013, she was Deputy Secretary General at the Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe (AMICE). She has a good knowledge of public administrations, having worked for the United Nations (at the Secretariat and in the field) and the Belgian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Tina Blain, Vice-President, Member Services
Tina is Vice-President, Member Services, a role in which she provides strategic leadership for ICMIF’s Member Services team, overseeing research, strategic content development, communications and the delivery of virtual networks. She is accountable for ensuring the delivery of high-quality strategic content, research reports and member focused services that reflect members’ priorities. Tina works closely with the managers leading these areas to ensure members receive insights on emerging trends, innovation and best practice across the cooperative and mutual insurance sector.‑quality strategic content, research reports and member‑focused services that reflect members’ priorities. Tina works closely with the managers leading these areas to ensure members receive insights on emerging trends, innovation and best practice across the cooperative and mutual insurance sector.
She also provides direction for ICMIF’s communications, supporting the development and implementation of activities that enhance the visibility and impact of ICMIF’s value proposition.
Before assuming her current role, Tina served as Resource Mobiliser for The ICMIF Foundation, where she was responsible for prospecting potential donors, cultivating relationships with donors and coordinating technical assistance assignments for project partners.
Tina has lived and worked in Belgium and Germany and brings experience from across the public, private, and civil society sectors. She holds a Master’s degree in International Politics and a BA in European Business and German.
Camille Gigoux, Vice-President, Events
Camille became Vice-President – Events in June 2022, a role in which she ensures the successful planning and execution of all ICMIF events (including major conferences, seminars, training courses, governance meetings and online events). She makes sure each event runs smoothly from start to finish, often managing all aspects of production—from venue selection, equipment rentals and staffing decisions.
Camille works closely with the local host organisation for each conference or event, building a strong team to deliver successful events. This involves adapting to new cultures and contexts, ensuring smooth coordination and a shared commitment to excellence. She enjoys working with members to understand their needs and make each event practical and engaging, focusing on details that matter—whether it’s logistics, clear communication, or creating space for genuine connections.
She joined ICMIF in 2016 as an Events Assistant, working on ICMIF events and training courses around the world. She also managed the shift to virtual events during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Camille has a Master’s degree in Marketing from Montpellier Business School and speaks three languages (English, Spanish and French). Before joining ICMIF, she gained event and marketing experience in France, in big corporations such as Ayming Group, Warner Music and Lagardere.
Vicky Hughes, Vice-President, Membership
Vicky is Vice-President, Membership. She grew up near Manchester, UK, and has been a dedicated member of the ICMIF team since 2004. As a passionate people person, Vicky excels in building and nurturing relationships through direct engagement, managing a comprehensive 360° view of membership engagement. Her role involves identifying which members are engaged in ICMIF services and how. Deeply understanding member challenges and communicating these effectively, while identifying opportunities for members to fully benefit from ICMIF’s service offerings. She creates tailored engagement proposals that ensure members derive tangible value from their membership, making a meaningful impact on their organisations.
In addition to her engagement work, Vicky oversees the entire membership lifecycle, including joining and onboarding processes, ensuring a smooth and effective experience for members at every stage of their journey with ICMIF. She also plays a crucial role in new business development and membership recruitment at ICMIF.
As the lead for ICMIF’s Brand and Marketing Forum, Vicky oversees a virtual platform that encourages members to share and explore best practices in marketing and brand strategy. Her leadership in this area fosters a collaborative environment where innovative ideas and practical examples thrive.
Vicky also has significant experience in project management, having led the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics, ICMIF’s customer relationship management system, where she successfully guided a team of ten.
Before joining ICMIF, Vicky gained valuable experience in the performing arts and travel industry. Fluent in Spanish, Vicky has lived in several cities around the worldbringing a global perspective to her work.
Richard Hyman, Vice-President, Technology
Richard is an experienced IT leader with more than twelve years’ service at ICMIF. As Vice-President, Technology, he oversees the organisation’s digital infrastructure, cybersecurity posture, and business applications, ensuring they evolve in step with the needs of the Secretariat and ICMIF’s global membership.
With a focus on modernising systems and streamlining processes, Richard combines strategic insight with practical delivery, from developing advanced event technology solutions to guiding the organisation’s approach to data, automation, and AI. His work supports ICMIF’s mission by enabling more efficient operations and creating new digital opportunities that benefit members and the communities they serve.
Richard is a member of the British Computer Society, formerly known as The Chartered Institute for IT. He has acquired certified training in artificial intelligence for business leaders, prompt engineering for generative AI, project management, change management, IT strategy, leadership and strategic thinking.
Rebecca Compton, Financial Controller (VP)
Rebecca is working as the Financial Controller at ICMIF. Her main role is to produce management and statutory accounts for ICMIF for review by the CFO, including budgeting and forecasting. She is also responsible for payroll and day to day office management.
Rebecca joined ICMIF in 2019, working for Steve Leicester, Chief Finance Officer, in the finance department.
Previously, she was the Finance Manager and was responsible for installing new finance software for ICMIF, ICMIF Americas, and The ICMIF Foundation.
Before joining ICMIF, Rebecca had over 35 years of experience working in finance teams, including in the insurance sector. Her most recent role was working for a Norwegian company, and prior to that, Rebecca lived in Germany for a period of time.
Georgina Compton, Membership Data and Insights Manager
Georgina is Manager, Membership Data and Insights, responsible for overseeing the accuracy, integrity, and strategic use of ICMIF’s membership data. She leverages data-driven insights to support decision-making, enhance member engagement, and improve operational efficiency across the organisation. She also coordinates ICMIF’s Young Leaders initiatives, including the Young Leaders Programme held alongside the ICMIF Biennial Conference; and the Young Leaders Forum, one of ICMIF’s virtual forums aimed at providing peer networking and development opportunities for young and emerging professionals within the ICMIF membership.
In her previous role as Manager, Member Intelligence, she curated strategic intelligence resources on the ICMIF Knowledge Hub, compiling case studies that showcase the remarkable work of our members. Working in ICMIF's research team, Georgina developed qualitative research to complement the financial research Nick undertakes.
Before joining ICMIF, Georgina spent three years teaching English in Fukushima (Japan). She holds a BSc in Anthropology from Durham University and an MSc in Bioarchaeology from Bournemouth University. Her Master’s dissertation won the 2020 Association for Environmental Archaeology John Evans prize for best Master’s dissertation.
Nick Dwyer, Digital Content and Research Manager
As Manager, Digital Content and Research, Nick’s role involves collecting and analysing financial and non-financial data to present in periodic reports on both the ICMIF membership and the wider mutual insurance market, as well as maintaining ICMIF's website and Knowledge Hub. Regular ICMIF reports Nick works on include the Global Mutual Market Share, Global 500, and ICMIF Members: Key Statistics.
Outside of these reports, Nick collaborates with ICMIF colleagues on any data-driven projects, including specific member case studies and national/regional analysis.
Nick holds a CII Level 2 Award for the Foundation Insurance Test. Awarded by The Chartered Insurance Institute, the course covers how the insurance market operates, fundamental risk and insurance principles and procedures, and core personal and commercial insurance products.
Nick has previous experience in data analysis in the sporting world, and before joining ICMIF in 2021 was working in banking.
Alison Grant, Communications Manager
Alison Grant is Communications Manager at ICMIF with responsibility for external communications, content development and brand oversight across the Federation. She leads the development and delivery of ICMIF’s communications plans across email, websites, blogs and social media, working closely with colleagues to create, edit and coordinate high-quality content including press releases, news stories, reports, case studies and promotional materials. She also oversees the consistent application of ICMIF’s house style and brand guidelines, ensuring messaging aligns with ICMIF’s brand promise and strategic priorities, and leads ICMIF’s and the CEO’s social media activity, website updates, campaigns and promotional outreach to support member engagement.
Alison is the main point of contact for internal communications requests, coordinating priorities and resources and keeping member-facing teams informed of key member news and services. She tracks progress across multiple projects using internal business systems, working closely with stakeholders to ensure timely and effective delivery.
Before joining ICMIF in 2011, Alison’s background was in marketing, communications and product management in the labelling industry, working for Paxar UK (now Avery Dennison) and collaborating with colleagues around the world at various global Paxar sites and local agents.
Mike Johnson, Graphic Designer
Mike joined ICMIF in the summer of 2017 and plays a key role in shaping the organisation's visual identity.
As Graphic Designer, he brings creativity to a wide range of ICMIF's media output, including flyers, reports, digital presentations, and email campaigns, before they're shared with members and external stakeholders. He also designs logos and develops branding for conferences and events throughout the year.
In his extended role as a videographer, he films and edits content for various events, to create promotional videos that showcase ICMIF’s work globally. Mike takes pride in seeing his work featured at events around the world and within the office.
He's proud to have completed a Mental Health First Aid course, which would not have been possible without the support of ICMIF.
Prior to joining ICMIF, he developed his creative skills in various roles as: a marketing assistant, a product photographer, and a web content editor.
Kelly Wray, Office Administrator
Kelly is the Office Administrator at ICMIF and joined the team in 2016.
She is responsible for providing administrative support to all departments at ICMIF and has a varied role including operations and HR support; helping the finance team; and playing a large part in assisting the membership team. This involves data capture on ICMIF member organisations; generally, all data input into the current database; and helping with the Dynamics Project to transfer to a new system.
Kelly has over 15 years’ administration experience, previously working in the insurance and legal sectors and supervising a team of administrative clerks at a local law firm.
He's proud to have completed a Mental Health First Aid course, which would not have been possible without the support of ICMIF.
Prior to joining ICMIF, he developed his creative skills in various roles as: a marketing assistant, a product photographer, and a web content editor.
Adam Evans, Events Manager
Adam is the Events Manager at ICMIF, bringing a strong background in both in-person and virtual event delivery. In his current role at ICMIF, Adam is responsible for coordinating and delivering a wide range of events, both in-person and online. His work includes liaising with speakers, communicating clearly with delegates, and ensuring the smooth and successful execution of ICMIF’s events.
Prior to joining ICMIF, Adam worked within the public service and not-for-profit sector, supporting councils across the UK through the delivery of national events and, in some cases, working closely alongside government bodies. His career in events was originally inspired by a passion for music, which led him to establish his own music events brand while studying for his undergraduate degree. During this time, Adam led a team of six and oversaw end-to-end event operations, from curating line-ups and setting ticket pricing to managing on-the-day delivery.
This early experience shaped his ambition to pursue events as a long-term career, and he went on to complete a Master of Science in International Events Management in Manchester.
Anca Voinea, Content Development Manager
As ICMIF’s Content Development Manager, Anca curates strategic intelligence resources for the ICMIF Knowledge Hub, including case studies, blogs, member-to-member case studies and CEO interviews. She also works alongside the Communications Manager to research, draft and edit content for the ICMIF website; supports the delivery of webinars; and provides advice on the promotion of different ICMIF Foundation resources or activities. In her role she also liaises with relevant colleagues to gather data and insights on the impact of ICMIF’s communications and helps to interpret results to inform future activities.
Prior to joining ICMIF in December 2025, Anca was the International Editor of Co-op News, a global news hub for cooperatives. A trained journalist, she is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Journalists and was a Fellow of the University of Lancashire’s Journalism Leadership and Innovation programme. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and International Relations from Coventry University and a Master’s in Web Journalism from the University of Sheffield. She speaks four languages (Romanian, English, Spanish and French).
Jack Foley, IT Support Officer
As IT Support Officer, Jack’s role is solving day-to-day issues with ICMIF IT, supporting the configuration of the ICMIF website and CRM, as well as assisting Richard Hyman in researching, testing and implementing new IT solutions to improve functionality at ICMIF.
Jack joined ICMIF in November 2025. Before joining ICMIF, he had experience working in both IT and software support within the health technology industry, working with blood transfusion and ophthalmology electronic medical records. He holds a BA degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Software Engineering from The University of York. He is trained in Microsoft SQL Server, MetaBase, Amazon Web Services, Windows Server and Remote Device Management.
