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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

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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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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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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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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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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Stephanie Pitcher

Risk Consultant

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Stephanie Pitcher

Risk Consultant

Stephanie joined Iridium in October of 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Calgary. She…

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Gibran Qureshi

Risk Consultant

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

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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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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

Iridium’s unique approach and in depth understanding for our business made for a thorough and seamless insurance placement. We can always rely on their guidance and exceptionally prompt responses. Iridium’s knowledge and strong service focus gives us confidence in knowing the job will get done right!

—Dave Hawkins, CA
Chief Executive Officer,
Groundforce geoDrilling Solutions Inc.

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

As we approached our first renewal with Iridium, I was extremely impressed by the team’s operational technical expertise in helping us construct an insurance program most suitable for our risks and their ability to clearly and concisely explain everything as we went through the process. The Iridium team were able to negotiate a fair price for Battle River, in a tough market, and was always quick to respond to any questions we had. Our first renewal went much smoother than I ever could have expected, and we really enjoyed working with them.

—Lance Dunn
Chief Financial Officer,
Battle River Energy Ltd.

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.

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.

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

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