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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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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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Partners

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

Phillip Stawowiak

Risk Advisor & Team Lead

Phil joined Iridium two and half years ago as a Risk Technician. Prior to Iridium, Phil worked in sales for a…

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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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Ryan Tokar

Risk Advisor

After graduating from MacEwan University’s Insurance and Risk Management program in 2012, Ryan started his career at a Edmonton-based regional…

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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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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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Martin J. Delaney

Transactional and Surety Practice Leader

Martin joined Iridium as the Transactional and Surety Practice Leader in 2020. Martin brings a diverse background to his role…

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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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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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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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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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Wesley Robinson

Risk Advisor

Wes joined Iridium in the role Risk Technician in 2017 as a graduate from the University of Calgary Haskayne School…

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Risk Consultants

Joel Harrison

Risk Consultant

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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Financial Lines

Danielle Gorst

National Practice Leader, Financial Lines

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

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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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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 is professional, approachable and knowledgeable. Prior to the sale of our business, insurance was managed by an internal risk management corporate group. Iridium was engaged to establish insurance coverage within a short period of time for the standalone business. Iridium was intimately involved in proposing solutions to mitigate risk and brought significant cost savings to our business. Iridium is a true risk partner for our business; providing education and training, expert contract review and risk assessments, along with a strong understanding of our company’s exposures and insurance coverage.

—Wes Morningstar
Chief Executive Officer and Director,
Canlin Energy Corporation.

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.

We have an expectation at Enerplus for accuracy and timely service. We also require our Broker have legal & policy expertise and the technical resources to enable us to fully manage our portfolio of risk exposures. Iridium has not only delivered and exceeded our expectations in each category, they have also shown a commitment to my team and to our organization that goes far beyond the standard scope of services.

—Marley Drainville
Manager Risk Management,
Enerplus

Iridium’s knowledge of the international energy sector and our specific business strategy allows us to efficiently develop and continually manage our international operational risk profile. We can always count on the Iridium team to react promptly and professionally to any request, from minor insurance queries to exposure identification. Our experience with Iridium as a risk management partner has been positive and we look forward to our continuing working relationship in the future.

—Scott Budau CA
Chief Financial Officer,
Touchstone Exploration 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.

The Iridium approach to insurance and risk management is very inclusive, encouraging representation from across the business to fully understand the business risks and requirements. The Iridium team brings extensive oil and gas experience, together with useful benchmarking, market research and relationships with insurers that results in intelligent and cost effective risk solutions. Iridium are an important part of our business and we share similar corporate values as Calgary based, owner managed teams with significant pride of ownership and determination to succeed.

—David French
CFO and VP Finance,
Burgess Creek Exploration Inc.

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