Strategic Leadership in AI Adoption
Markel International has named Maureen Tomlinson as its first Head of AI and created an AI Centre of Enablement to guide how the insurer builds and deploys AI across its global operations. The appointment signals a shift from a centralized expert model to a distributed approach that supports line-of-business teams while preserving governance and safety.
Introducing Maureen Tomlinson’s Role
Tomlinson will lead the new function responsible for tooling, standards, training and governance. Her remit includes accelerating pilots, operationalizing successful models, and working with product, underwriting and claims teams to adapt AI to local markets and customer workflows. The role is designed to translate AI experimentation into production-ready capabilities at scale.
The “Centre of Enablement” Approach
Distributing AI Capability Responsibly
A Centre of Enablement focuses on enabling business units rather than centralizing all AI work. It provides reusable toolkits, model templates, policy guardrails and capability-building programs, while leaving implementation decisions close to the teams that understand customer and regional context. This model aims to speed adoption without sacrificing oversight by combining cross-functional governance with practical delivery support.
Key functions include data and model governance, validation frameworks, developer platforms, vendor assessment and change management support. The Centre also sets ethical guidelines and monitoring practices so models remain auditable and aligned with regulatory expectations.
A Growing Industry Trend
Markel’s move reflects a wider pattern among insurers appointing senior AI leads and rethinking operating models for machine learning. As firms scale pilots into production, distributed enablement paired with centralized guardrails is emerging as a pragmatic way to balance innovation, compliance and customer experience.
For brokers and clients, the shift should deliver more consistent, explainable AI-driven services tailored to local needs, backed by stronger governance and operational support from the insurer.
