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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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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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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

Joel Askew

Risk Consultant

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

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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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Financial Lines

Danielle Gorst

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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Claims

Bob Moore

Director, Claims

Bob brings over 40 years of claims handling experience to Iridium. Prior to joining Iridium, Bob spent 23 years as the…

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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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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.

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.

The Iridium team is very enthusiastic, knowledgeable and professional, and consistently provides timely and relevant advice regarding insurance and risk management issues that are of importance to Propak. Iridium generated underwriter interest in our account through a strategic marketing exercise that resulted in policy coverage improvements alongside a reduction in premium. Iridium analyzed our insurance program and policies, identifying gaps in coverage and wording improvements and proposing and placing new policies, ultimately optimizing our insurance program. Propak is pleased to be working with such a talented and committed team at Iridium. I wish we had made the change years ago!

—Barry C. Taylor, CA
VP Finance and Administration,
Propak Systems Ltd.

Pure is a company that has grown significantly both in size and complexity over the last 10 years and required a new perspective on its overall risk management approach. Through a detailed and in-depth review of our Company and our business, Iridium was quickly able to immediately add value to Pure by helping us develop and implement a comprehensive insurance program that ensured appropriate coverage on a cost effective basis. Our senior management has been very impressed with both the professionalism and responsiveness of the Iridium team as we have made the transition from our previous provider. We look forward to a strong and long term business partnership between Pure and Iridium as our business continues to grow.

—Geoffrey D. Krause, CA, CPA
Vice President and CFO,
Pure Technologies

Manufacturing and installing infrastructure in the crypto industry has led to some interesting challenges. With Iridium Risk Services by our side, The Crypto Can Man has mitigated risks for our core business, and further, Iridium has helped the company navigate the growth of new ventures. The expertise and International industry awareness of the Iridium team has enabled The Crypto Can Man to expand internationally while identifying and controlling risk with an informed methodology. Iridium’s expertise and wide market view of the crypto industry is second to none.

Working in lockstep with Iridium provides the comfort and assurance necessary to enable sustainable growth in the crypto industry.

—David Billay, Chief Executive Officer, The Crypto Can Man Ltd.

“Enerflex is a complicated global account and I have been extremely impressed with the way that the team at Iridium has been able to dissect and understand our risks to ensure our policies are appropriate for our organization. There are a number of touch points around the globe and the team at Iridium has seamlessly coordinated our program. I am extremely pleased with the risk management focus of Iridium and the results that their unique approach has brought to our company.”

—Jeremy Weatherhead
Treasurer,
Enerflex 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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