Insurance has been a consistent thread throughout Natalia Svirshchevsky’s (pictured) life and career. Growing up in Connecticut, a major global hub for the insurance industry, she developed an early connection to the industry that has shaped her professional path.
Today, based in London, she leads strategy and transformation for Everest’s GWS business, where she has transformed her ambition into practical action.
Svirshchevsky’s career began at QBE European Operations, working across London, Vancouver and Toronto before moving to Aon. There, she progressed through a series of consulting, client-facing, and corporate strategy roles. She advised re/insurers on strategic growth and transformation initiatives, managed key client relationships, and later led internal strategy efforts supporting the development of the firm’s Global Broking Centre and EMEA Commercial Risk businesses.
Svirshchevsky joined Everest at an important point in its evolution, starting in 2025 as Head of Strategy for the International Insurance business. Following the launch of GWS in October last year, her remit expanded into a global strategy and transformation role. Since then, she has been a driving force behind coordinating the business and translating GWS's ambitions into clear priorities.
“Everest has built deep expertise and strong businesses across wholesale and specialty. Global Wholesale & Specialty gives us the opportunity to connect those strengths more deliberately, focusing investment where it can have the greatest impact and creating a more consistent experience for our brokers, clients and colleagues” Svirshchevsky explains.
Outcomes are the focus for GWS: bringing the right expertise to complex risks, responding with clarity and speed, and making it easier for brokers and clients to do business. “GWS is about helping clients navigate complex and evolving risks. Our job is to bring the breadth of Everest’s expertise to those challenges and deliver thoughtful solutions with consistency and responsiveness.”
Building a global business requires clear priorities, disciplined investment and coordinated execution. For Svirshchevsky, strategy and transformation should connect those elements without slowing the business down.
“We need to be disciplined about where we invest and agile in how we respond. The strongest decisions come from bringing together business, operations and technology around a clear outcome for brokers and clients,” she explains.
Data, analytics and AI are part of that enabling agenda, but Svirshchevsky is clear that technology is a means, not the strategy itself.
“Insurance remains a people business, and underwriting expertise and judgment are fundamental. Data and AI can support better decisions, simplify processes and give our people more time to focus on clients and complex risks where their expertise adds the most value.”
Across a global business, success depends on clear priorities, connected teams and decisions made with business outcomes in mind. As the wholesale and specialty market continues to evolve, the ability to adapt quickly and respond to changing client needs will remain important. “The pace of change in our industry means we need to continue building an organisation that is agile, collaborative and able to seize opportunities as they emerge,” Svirshchevsky says.
Technology, processes and structures only work when people understand the purpose and can help shape the change. For Svirshchevsky, that means engaging colleagues early, creating clarity around the desired outcome and giving teams the opportunity to contribute from the outset.
“Successful change is not something that is done to people. It has to be built with them. The closer we are to colleagues, the better we can understand what will make it work.”
That is especially important in a global business. Teams may work differently by market, but the experience GWS creates for brokers, clients and colleagues should feel connected and consistent.
For Svirshchevsky, strategy only matters if it changes outcomes, for the business, for colleagues and for brokers and clients.
“At Everest, we start with clarity on the objective and what success looks like. Depending on the initiative, that may mean better broker and client experience, more effective ways of working or better-informed decisions. What matters is measuring progress against the outcome, not the activity.”
The biggest lesson from leading change is one that continues to come back to the same theme: people.
“Successful transformation is ultimately about bringing people on the journey,” Svirshchevsky says. “Communication is absolutely critical, because different people engage with change in different ways.”
That means creating transparency around the direction of travel, recognising progress along the way and remaining adaptable as priorities evolve. Some initiatives require rapid experimentation, while others require a more measured approach.
“Taking the time to engage early and understand different perspectives leads to much stronger outcomes.”
Looking ahead, Svirshchevsky sees a significant opportunity to combine technology, data and deep underwriting expertise in ways that further strengthen decision-making and the experience of doing business with Everest.
“The opportunity is not technology for technology’s sake. It is to help our people make better decisions, bring the right expertise to clients and make it easier for brokers and clients to do business with us.”
That vision is central to the ambition for Global Wholesale & Specialty: to build from Everest’s existing strengths while staying close to what brokers and clients will need next.
“Risk does not stand still. Our role is to stay close to brokers and clients, anticipate what is changing and bring the breadth of Everest to the risks of today and what comes next.”
Away from strategy discussions and cross-time zone calls, Svirshchevsky enjoys staying active, whether it’s playing tennis or spending time outdoors. She sees these moments as an important way to recharge and maintain balance.
