Penny Black’s Social Diary: Biba’s burgers and sausages
Penny Black is back, sharing the tittle-tattle she overheard at insurance industry events, reviewing the quality of buffets at conferences and giving a thumbs up – or down – to the sector’s social media posts.
Carpenters Group’s LinkedIn post marking CEO Donna Richards’s decade at the firm warmed my heart. The journey from external accountant to CEO is quite the tale of climbing the corporate ladder.
The business celebrated her with cupcakes baked by their marketing assistant, and any gathering involving homemade baked goods gets my seal of approval, though I do wish social media came with taste-testing capabilities.
Richards’s beamed in the photo of her holding up the well-decorated treats, and as a baker herself, I’m sure they read as particularly thoughtful.
Thumbs up for this wholesome celebration of women in insurance, though I do think the lack of a wooden anniversary gift is a bit of a missed opportunity, as it would have been on brand.
Lady in red
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reviewing the many LinkedIn round ups that followed the British Insurance Brokers Association Manifesto Launch.
But I must say, my favourite came from Flood Re due to the excellent angle they provided of new City Minister Emma Reynolds’s bright red suit.
I did have a chat with Insurance Post editor Emma Hughes about the photo and we agreed that, unlike Pamela Anderson, she won’t be going make-up free again anytime soon when she saw her bare face without plaster on LinkedIn.
Our conclusion was when standing next to such a colourful red blazer, lipstick at the very least is certainly required.
The bright smiles all-round implied quite a solid first impression of our lady in red, as the new economic secretary to HM Treasury seems to have charmed the industry on her first day on the job.
Penny’s Lunch Box
For those who have experienced the canapé fatigue that I have of recent, I was pleased when Biba offered a bit of variation from the usual options at the Red Lion Pub after its manifesto launch at the House of Commons.
You can rarely go wrong with burgers, but they can be a bit difficult to eat while standing in a packed room. Four stars for variety and substance but one star deducted for practicality.
Out of context
“You’re not playing with little sausages again.”
A former Chartered Insurance Institute president overheard sharing his concern at a drinks reception that a fellow broker may drop her chipolata on a stick.
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