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Meet our team

You can count on our experts to provide timely and practical risk management and insurance advice to your business. Exceeding your expectations is our goal. If you are curious about what makes us so passionate about what we do, please read our manifesto.

Leadership

Berto Di Manno

President

Berto is the President and CEO of Iridium Risk Services Inc. Berto started his career in 1995 at Marsh specializing…

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Frances Weeks

Managing Partner

Frances joined Iridium in 2006 as a Partner, and is the Account Lead on a variety of E&P, oilfield service,…

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Geoffrey Cowling

Managing Partner

Geoff joined the Iridium team in 2008 as a Partner and works on a variety of technical risks including E&P,…

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Shelly Swartout

Managing Partner

Shelly joined Iridium in 2008 and plays an instrumental leadership role in the company. She is the Account Lead on…

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Andrew Barker

Managing Partner

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Andrew Barker

Managing Partner

Andy joined Iridium as a Risk Technician in 2010 immediately upon graduating from the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of…

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Partners

Hugh Patterson

Partner and Team Lead

Hugh joined Iridium in 2012 as a Risk Technician and progressed to his current role as Partner and Team Lead….

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Brent Blasetti

Partner

Brent joined Iridium in 2006 and is the Account Lead on a number of Canadian E&P and oilfield servicing accounts….

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Hristo Minkov

Partner

Hristo has been with Iridium since 2010 and works on a variety of E&P, technology and marine clients. Prior to…

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Financial Lines

Danielle Gorst

Partner and National Practice Leader, Financial Lines

Danielle brings more than twenty years of financial lines insurance experience with over thirteen years in Executive Protection with a…

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Risk Advisors

Bruce Barton

Risk Advisor

After graduating from the University of New Brunswick Saint John, Bruce moved to Calgary in 1990 and started his insurance…

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Joel Askew

Risk Advisor and Team Lead

Joel graduated from the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business in 2018, earning a Bachelor of Commerce in Energy…

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Scott Gummerson

Risk Advisor

Scott has over 30 years of client service and broking experience with companies in the energy sector. Throughout his career…

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Mike Dow

Risk Advisor

Mike brings over 25 years of risk management and insurance experience to Iridium, having worked as an underwriter, broker, and…

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Jessie Gwynne

Risk Advisor

Jessie joined Iridium in 2012 in the role of Administrative Assistant. She was promoted to Technical Assistant in 2014, then…

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Joel Harrison

Risk Advisor

Joel joined Iridium in January of 2019 as a Risk Technician and works on a number of E&P accounts. He…

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Joanne Hankinson

Risk Advisor

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Joanne Hankinson

Risk Advisor

Joanne brings over 20 years of energy, manufacturing, transportation and contractor insurance experience to the Iridium team. Joanne has a…

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Heather Johnstone

Risk Advisor

Heather brings almost ten years of insurance experience to Iridium. Prior to Iridium she managed a Commercial Lines team at…

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Tim de Jonge

Risk Advisor

Tim is a well-rounded insurance professional with 27 years of experience in the insurance industry. He began his career as…

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Hristo Minkovski

Risk Advisor

Hristo joined Iridium in 2014 as a Risk Technician, and works primarily with E&P clients. Prior to this, he worked…

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Gibran Qureshi

Risk Advisor

Prior to joining Iridium in 2019, Gibran spent almost ten years working in a variety of roles within the insurance…

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Risk Consultants

Jared Nash

Risk Consultant

Before joining Iridium in September 2018, Jared worked on the energy team for a large brokerage. With several years of…

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Graeme Shea

Risk Consultant

Graeme graduated from the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business in 2019 with a Bachelor of Commerce and a…

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Graham Duff

Risk Consultant

Before joining Iridium in April 2023, Graham spent several years managing personal and commercial lines portfolios at a leading national…

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Barry Smith

Risk Consultant

Barry graduated from The University of Lethbridge in 2005 with a Bachelor of Economics before moving to the University of…

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Navacord Executives

Roger Swierstra

Chairman of Iridium Risk Services Inc.

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Roger Swierstra

Chairman of Iridium Risk Services Inc.

Roger is the Chairman of Iridium Risk Services Inc. He has over 27 years of insurance and risk management experience…

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T.Marshall Sadd

Chairman of the Board of Navacord Inc.

Marshall is president and CEO of Lloyd Sadd Insurance Brokers and Executive Chairman of Navacord, and has over 20 years’…

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Shawn DeSantis

President & CEO of Navacord Inc.

Shawn is President and Chief Executive Officer of Jones Delaurier Insurance Management Inc. and President and CEO of Navacord Inc. Shawn…

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Iridium provides us with the guidance we need to ensure we have the proper coverage for our business. Iridium goes beyond the traditional broker role enabling us to explore different and new avenues that helped identify and address our various risk exposures.

—Marcia Elaschuk, CMA
Controller,
Divestco Inc.

We engaged Iridium as Crescent Point’s risk management and insurance partner because they encouraged us to take a big-picture view on risk. Their collaborative and analytical approach enabled us to gain a better handle of our exposures and allowed us to put rigour around our many risk-improvement initiatives. Iridium impresses our team with their ability to develop intelligent risk solutions and they have more than delivered on their promise to be our strongest claims advocate. Without question, I would recommend Iridium as a risk management partner to anyone.

—Steve Downing
Manager. Risk and Treasury,
Crescent Point Energy Corp.

We can always count on Iridium to be available at a moment’s notice. Whether it be to discuss a random insurance related topic, review a contract, or request documentation for board level meetings, they always deliver regardless of timing. Iridium has been great at bringing forward ideas, issues and solutions that have helped Perpetual build a better insurance program. They also introduced us to a new marketing strategy of building direct relationships with the underwriting community. Not only did it pay dividends at the time Iridium first became our broker, but it has continued to do so in subsequent renewals. Their professionalism, ability to speak on a technical level and refreshing style are all big reasons why our firms continue to do business.

—Jeffrey R. Green
Vice President,
Perpetual Energy Inc.

We selected Iridium as our insurance partner as they provided a unique business and risk management focus that was aligned with our vision. Their team performed a comprehensive assessment of our insurance requirements utilizing a risk-assessment approach. Not only were we impressed with their initial assessment, but their ongoing service level, engagement and commitment has demonstrated to us that they are a valuable business partner. I would strongly recommend Iridium as a risk management partner.

—Stuart W. Jaggard
Chief Financial Officer,
Painted Pony Energy Ltd.

When TransCanada Turbines aligned our business with Iridium, you were dealing with a group of TCT people with very limited exposure to the Risk/Insurance industry. Your ability to articulate insurance matters and jargon into clear terms enabled us to feel comfortable with all of our insurance and contractual decisions. Your team’s willingness to support our business for everything from education and transformational activities to our frequent questions regarding our transactional business dealing has been over the top. We will tell you that TransCanada Turbines would not hesitate to recommend Iridium to anyone. Your team service is excellent, your approach is transparent and your willingness to help is tireless. We look forward to a long and symbiotic relationship with the entire Iridium Team. Well done!

—Tim Wilcox
Vice President,
TransCanada Turbines

The team at Iridium handled our significant pollution liability claim like the consummate professionals we’ve come to know them as. We felt supported throughout the entire process and knew Iridium always had our back. Whether it be in dealings with insurers, adjusters or third party experts, they advocated for us every step of the way. We are very grateful for their level of involvement and the ultimate settlements along the way.

—Graydon Glans
Chief Financial Officer,
Highwood Oil Company Ltd.

I have to say that I am one happy customer. Iridium and NMB have delivered significant value to WesternZagros with the insurance policies that we have had in the past and the support with the claim, and now with a very competitive quote for insurance going forward. I pass on the gratitude of our entire executive team for this support, as I have to say that without your assistance I do not believe we would have achieved the success we have had recently at Sarqala.

—Greg Stevenson
Chief Financial Officer,
WesternZagros Resources Ltd.

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