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

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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 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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Iridium’s energy industry knowledge, technical expertise, and meticulous attention to detail gives us the confidence that our exposures are properly managed. The people at Iridium are true risk management and insurance professionals and I would strongly recommend their services to any firm operating in our industry.

—Scott Kirker
Secretary and General Counsel,
Tourmaline Oil Corp.

Iridium took the time to meet with our rail logistics and tidewater terminal operating teams to learn about Sultran’s overall business activities and related risks. The Iridium team’s analysis of our risks was very comprehensive and resulted in the design and placement of an insurance program that vastly improved coverage of our identified risks. Their prompt service, knowledge of managing risks and attention to detail has been impressive and extremely helpful. Not only has Iridium talked the talk, they’ve walked the walk.

—Warren Barker
Director of Finance and Administration & Corporate Secretary,
Sultran Ltd.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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