In this episode of Beyond the Desk, Mark Thomas is joined by Crispin Marsland-Roberts, Chief Operating Officer at Hive Underwriters, the London Market MGA specialising in aviation, marine and political violence and terrorism risks. They talk about one of the most unconventional routes into insurance leadership, what it takes to build and scale a specialist MGA, and how smaller businesses can use data and AI to move faster than the market’s biggest players.

Crispin’s career has taken him from a gilts desk and Manchester University, through importing fresh produce for Marks & Spencer and helping build the Tenderstem broccoli brand, to running the finances of a content agency and supporting small businesses as an independent operator. That work led him to DA Strategy, where he fell into delegated authority, helped get new MGAs off the ground and first met Hive founder Bruce Common. He later joined Hive full-time as COO. His approach throughout has been simple: don’t chase the money or the title, chase the opportunity.

The conversation then turns to a question at the heart of today’s MGA boom: what separates the MGAs that thrive from the ones that struggle?

Crispin explains why a clear point of difference, a strong data story and a charismatic leader matter far more than a fully staffed C-suite on day one. He also shares how Hive is putting data and AI to work, from its Sentinel flight-tracking database to automated slip comparison. The aim isn’t to replace underwriting judgement but to put the right information in front of underwriters so they can make better, faster decisions.

They discuss:

• Crispin’s early ambitions to play sport and join the army, and how dyslexia shaped the way he learns, writes and communicates
• Starting out on a gilts desk, and why it showed him what he didn’t want to do
• Running the Marks & Spencer desk at a fresh produce importer by his mid-twenties
• Stepping into operations and finance roles “because there was an absence of it”
• Bringing budgets and process to a content agency full of filmmakers with big ideas
• Going self-employed to give small business owners the skills they don’t have
• Falling into insurance through Charles Rowley and DA Strategy
• Why he often asks: “If we invented insurance today, what would it look like?”
• Streamlining delegated authority, and why a coverholder you’ve worked with for 15 years shouldn’t face 300 questions at every renewal
• Helping Bruce Carman launch Hive, and why a startup MGA doesn’t need a full C-suite on day one
• The move from consultant to COO, and how the role has evolved as Hive has doubled in size
• What surprised him about the London Market: slow-moving data, bordereaux and approval timelines

A candid conversation about career pivots, operational leadership, MGAs, data and AI, and building a culture that scales.