Dear Member,

I am extremely privileged and proud to be elected as your president for the year 2014/2015 and am looking forward to serving you throughout this period.

Please take a look at the events page to see what we currently have planned for the year. The council are here to serve you and are always open to new ideas that will best help you, be it training for specific topics or social events so you can network and get to know your fellow professionals.

I am honoured to lead the Insurance Institute of Manchester this year in the role of President. I look forward to meeting many of our members, at our numerous CPD and networking events, and discussing how we can continue to develop our programme of activities. I am pleased to announce Francis House Children’s Hospice is my chosen charity for the year, I hope you will support this special, local charity with me.We have a great team of volunteers on our council and committees, featuring some of the best leaders and up and coming talents in our industry.  I know that many events are already in the planning stages and this year’s diary will be as busy as ever.  I will be supporting our ‘Love CPD’ committee as they once again organise over 12 lectures and our masterclass, look out for our trips to Lloyd’s too!  Our events committee continue to promote networking through social events and they have also taken on organising our Annual Dinner on Friday 14th November 2014. I am very grateful to our exam team who will be continuing to provide our students with a peaceful exam experience and the Jubilee Prize Awards.During my Presidential year, I hope to further promote careers in insurance and financial services to the next generation. Key activities for this include our new Professional Development Programme and our involvement with local schools and colleges to ensure that those leaving education or changing careers know that fantastic opportunities await them in our industry.  We are hoping to engage with more companies in Manchester this year and with Karen Cartridge as our new Liaison Officer, we are off to a great start.  Elsewhere, we remain keen and committed to supporting our PFS members and ensuring that our member provision is suitable for financial service professionals as well as those in the insurance industry.Thank you, to all our members and supporters, for your continued involvement with the institute. We strive to push our industry forward and ensure that Manchester shines as hub for insurance and financial services; we can only do this with your valuable support.