Member of the month December - Pip O'Connor
This month we had the pleasure of talking with Pip O'Connor, Managing Director of Client Services, Uncharted
Briefly, what is your role? Uncharted is a digital insurance platform that enables digital insurance transactions between global insurance carriers, brokers, distributors, and customers. As MD of Client Services, my job is to help grow our pipeline of clients, to ensure that we deliver our platform to our global client base, and to build our relationships with those clients so that we grow our business together over the long term.
Any advice for doing business in Singapore and/or the region? Be authentic and build strong relationships with your team, your clients, and your suppliers. Operate with integrity and communicate well. Put your weight behind a strategy and a team that you believe in, and then go for it!
When did you move to Singapore? Where from? We moved here from Auckland in October of 2019, and squeezed in a few months of travel and exploration of the region before Covid-19 became our reality and curtailed our ambitious travel plans!
Where were you born? What country do you call home? I’m a proud Kiwi, born and raised on the Kapiti Coast, before moving to “the Hutt” to attend Hutt Valley High School and later Victoria University. But I’ve been lucky enough to call a couple of other places home along the way; including Idaho, Canberra, London, Vancouver…and Singapore in circa 2001!
What do you like most about Singapore? The weather, the lifestyle, the opportunity to try new things and meet new people, the amazing expat community who are so open to newcomers, and the perceived sense of ‘freedom’ that makes me feel like I can take a few more risks outside the boundaries of ‘normal’ life back home. It’s an incredibly exciting and energising experience, and I feel very lucky to be here.
What do you do to relax? With work and life intertwining more than ever before, I’m trying to be better at protecting portions of my time to relax, exercise, to get amongst nature, and to spend time with the kids, my husband, and my friends. It’s the simple things that make a difference at the moment. But then there’s always wine….and I’m also taking up tennis, which I’m rubbish at, but there’s joy to be found in the journey!
What's top of your bucket list? Right now, it would be going home to see my family. But if you’d asked me 9 months ago it would have been traveling to Bali, Vietnam and Sri Lanka….and learning to make the perfect satay sauce.
Why did you join the New Zealand Chamber (Singapore) and what do you like most about it?
The Chamber does an incredible job of connecting Kiwi’s, of keeping us informed, and for advocating across topics that contribute towards our professional and personal growth. The wine discounts and the fantastic community spirit are an added bonus 😊
Any last words? Wishing everyone a well-deserved break and a merry festive season over Christmas. For those heading out from Singapore, all the best in your next steps. And for the rest of us, I hope we can meet next year in more normal circumstances for some amazing NZ Chamber events!
