Ryan Specialty appoints head of diversity, equity and inclusion

Ryan Specialty has tapped a financial service executive with 30+ years’ experience in varied  leadership roles at Marsh, Chubb, KPMG and PwC to lead its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Michael Blackshear, currently chief compliance & privacy officer, will assume additional responsibilities as the head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

In this newly created function, Blackshear will lead  Ryan Specialty’s efforts to promote DEI, in addition to building strong alliances within the insurance industry and communities.

Blackshear has over 30 years of financial service and executive experience in the areas of compliance and risk management. Prior to joining  Ryan Specialty, he was the North America chief compliance officer for Chubb Insurance Group, responsible for developing and maintaining their North American compliance programme. Before Chubb, he held various leadership roles with Marsh & McLennan Companies, focussing on compliance and government affairs. Other companies that Michael has served include KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Continental Insurance Company and Alexander & Alexander Services.

Patrick Ryan (pictured), founder, chairman and CEO of  Ryan Specialty, said: “There are critical moral and ethical reasons for promoting DEI throughout our society, our firm, and the insurance industry. The “business case” for building a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace has never been clearer. Since joining our firm, Michael has been a proactive force with operationalising our Regulatory and Compliance function and has done so with a keen collegial understanding of our business, our people, and the clients we serve. We need a strong leader that will guide us on the next segment of our DEI journey, and I am pleased that Michael will be that leader.”

Tim Turner, president,  Ryan Specialty, added: “Having team members with varied backgrounds and perspectives is essential to producing exceptional results when dealing with our clients and trading partners, domestically and internationally. Michael has demonstrated an intuitive nature in solving very complex compliance and regulatory issues with our business, regulators, and clients. His strong substantive knowledge of our business and industry, coupled with his analytical and communications skills, makes him the right leader for the next stage of our DEI evolution. I am excited to partner with Michael on this very important strategic initiative.”

Blackshear remarked that “being a change agent for DEI has been my passion and inner calling. This is important to me, and to so many individuals that I have had the privilege of listening to that are seeking fair and equitable opportunities for growth, advancement, and just to have their voice heard. I thank Pat Ryan and Tim Turner for making this one of our key strategic objectives for growth, attracting and retaining top talent, and for doing the right thing, because it’s the right thing to do.”

Did you get value from this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.