When one conjures up an image of the insurance industry, technology rarely features in it. Andre du Preez, Head of Emerging Technology at McGill and Partners, is striving to change that.
Fortunately, Andre has joined a company that strives to be different by design – the firm’s founding ethos. Since its inception in 2019, McGill and Partners – which is a specialist insurance and reinsurance broker – has embraced a digital-first, forward-thinking approach, leveraging cutting-edge technology to shape its operations.
Therefore, in his current role, Andre and the team are making sure that emerging technology is not just a buzzword, but a driving force for innovation. Andre is helping the team turn ideas into action, creating and fostering a culture where innovation thrives, and ensuring that technology drives real impact – not just in their firm, but across the wider insurance industry.
“My work is about ensuring that emerging technology doesn’t just exist in theory but is actually adopted and drives real change in the insurance industry,” Andre says.
Fascination for Tech Evolves into Excitement for Emerging Tech
Andre’s fascination with technology has not dwindled with the years, although it has evolved. “I’ve always been fascinated by how technology can create experiences that resonate with people on a deeper level,” he says.
Soon after completing his bachelor’s degree in business management, Andre took on a role as a Digital Designer, working on Apple’s brand and digital presence in the Southern African market through Core Group, the sole owner of the brand and iStore in the region. Although it was a junior position at the time, it offered him a front-row seat to the latest technological developments in one of the world’s most innovative companies. “I was fascinated by how Apple seamlessly integrated design, functionality, and emotional impact into their products,” he recalls. “They didn’t just create technology, but they also crafted experiences that ‘felt right’.”
“That early exposure cemented my passion for creating solutions that people genuinely connect with,” he adds.
Following this role, Andre mainly worked as a Business Analyst and Product Manager. As a result, he got the opportunity to be involved in the development of products and applications, focused on user experience and solving real-world problems. Andre continues to appreciate and value traditional tech roles, but now, the transformative nature of the emerging tech, especially Generative and Agentic AI, excites him more.
“In November 2022, Generative AI came along and flipped the world upside down,” Andre says. “For the first time in history, people could talk to and reason with data in natural language, without needing a computer science degree.”
Unlike many who felt uncertain about the disruption caused by Generative AI and its rapid adoption rate, Andre only saw the opportunity. He explains that emerging technology is not only changing how one works but also transforming how one thinks, challenging comfort zones, and redefining what is possible. “This dynamic and transformative nature of emerging tech is what truly excites and drives me,” he says.
A Major Challenge: Making People Embrace AI
Initially, Andre found it challenging in his past roles to make people embrace Generative AI and Agentic AI. “When AI started making waves a couple of years ago, I was incredibly excited about its potential,” he recalls. “But within the insurance industry, many people didn’t share that excitement.” He soon realised that people were skeptical about AI primarily because of what was being communicated about it.
In his past experiences, Andre points out that when people asked about AI, IT departments and technical experts would give “deeply technical explanations” to non-technical audiences. “This only led to confusion, uncertainty, and ultimately, rejection of the technology,” he adds.
Once he recognised that the problem was actually not AI but how experts were describing it, Andre tapped into analogies, real-world examples, and storytelling techniques to explain it in a way that was simple, relatable, and repeatable. “If someone understands the story, they can repeat it,” he explains, “and if they can repeat it, ideas and adoption will spread.” Soon after that, he noted a “dramatic change” in how people responded to AI. As a storyteller, he could make them visualise what AI could do and how it fits into their world. Once that happened, “their fear turned into curiosity, and curiosity turned into adoption,” says Andre. From this experience, he learned that “technology adoption isn’t just about how advanced the tech is, it’s about how well we communicate its value and understanding who’s the audience.”
Handling Multiple Responsibilities at McGill and Partners
Andre joined McGill and Partners in December 2024. What drew him to the firm was the fact that they are not just navigating the insurance industry’s status quo but also redefining it. “In an industry often defined by tradition, McGill and Partners embrace innovation, creativity, and bold thinking,” Andre explains. “They don’t simply adapt to market changes, but they pioneer new paths.”
When he was offered the chance to lead McGill and Partners’ approach to emerging technology, Andre saw it as a “perfect opportunity” to bring his experience and passion to a forward-thinking firm.
As Head of Emerging Technology, Andre helps in making sure that McGill and Partners stay ahead of the curve. He supports their head of innovation by driving their innovation strategy. According to him, he identifies the technologies that will “truly” make a difference in the insurance industry. “I focus on helping McGill and Partners to ensure we don’t just follow trends but actively shape the future of insurance through technology,” he says.
Additionally, Andre evaluates new technologies, runs proof-of-concept projects, and helps determine how they can be integrated into their business to improve efficiency, client value, and market differentiation. At McGill and Partners, he is also responsible for fostering a culture of innovation. He says that a big part of his role involves running hackathons and workshops to spark creative problem-solving, in addition to encouraging teams across the business to experiment with new ideas in a structured way. He ensures that innovation is not just a departmental/team effort, but a firm-wide mindset.
Andre’s role also requires him to work alongside business leaders, their C-suite, IT teams, brokers, and operational teams. By working with them, he makes sure that the technology they implement is adopted, understood, and delivers measurable value. And, as McGill and Partners thrives on collaboration, Andre focuses on developing strong partnerships with major tech firms as well. Relationships with tech giants, such as Google Cloud, Salesforce, AI research groups, and Insurtech startups, help them gain early access to cutting-edge technology, which enables McGill and Partners to stay ahead of industry shifts.
“Ultimately, my role isn’t about tech for the sake of tech, it’s about ensuring every innovation effort ties back to real business outcomes,” Andre says. “Whether it’s improving broking efficiency, automating manual processes, or unlocking new data-driven insights, I focus on making sure innovation delivers measurable results.”
Defining Moments and Great Achievements
One of the most defining moments of Andre’s career was being part of Lloyd’s Lab’s Futureminds Venture 6, where they tackled the challenge of insuring AI risks. “Our team developed and pitched an AI-driven insurance product in a Dragon’s Den-style competition, and we won,” Andre shares. For him, this win opened doors to speaking engagements, roundtables, and industry recognition. More importantly, it validated his belief that “emerging technology can be applied in practical, meaningful ways to solve real business challenges.”
Another major achievement of Andre’s professional journey is leading an innovation lab to develop a secure Generative AI solution for their broker team operating in the London Market. “When we developed this, many firms were hesitant to adopt AI, and some even had blocked GenAI tools entirely,” Andre recalls. He and his team developed a solution that demonstrated how AI could be used responsibly and securely in a highly regulated industry. The solution also addressed every concern of the insurance industry. Andre says, “This experience showed me first-hand the power of embracing emerging technology in traditionally conservative industries.” This achievement led Andre to another pivotal moment in his career. He received a nomination in the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Technology & Innovation’ category for the London Market Forum’s 2024 Market People Awards.
Although he did not win the award, Andre received a ‘Highly Commended’ recognition from the judges’ panel. “This recognition showed that technology is no longer an afterthought in insurance but a driving force for innovation,” he says. “For me, this award reinforced the importance of continuing to challenge the status quo and pushing the industry forward.”
Andre has worked previously with Google Cloud in a hackathon environment, which, according to him, is another defining moment of his career. He led an offsite event where 30 brokers identified their three biggest challenges. Andre says that they spent two days in a hands-on hackathon, experimenting with Google’s latest AI and cloud capabilities. For him, this experience was a “game-changer,” as it showed him the power of AI when placed in the hands of business users, not just developers.”
And he was also invited to Google’s Moonshot Factory, formerly Google X, which is Google’s semi-secret innovation lab in Silicon Valley. He feels that this visit to Moonshot Factory is the highlight of his career so far. “Being there, learning from some of the most brilliant minds in technology, and seeing cutting-edge innovations in development was a surreal moment,” he shares.
“While all these achievements are important milestones, I see them as steps in a larger journey,” Andre says. “There’s still so much more to do.”
Goals and Plans
Andre intends to continue pushing the boundaries of emerging technology in insurance. He does not want to merely ensure the adoption of new tools, but he wants to fundamentally reshape how the industry operates. Some of his goals include expanding the use of AI, automation, and digital innovation to improve efficiency, decision-making, and client experience. This is to ensure that technology a core driver of business success, not just a support function.
“More importantly, I want McGill and Partners to be known as the broker that leads the way in innovation, inspiring the rest of the industry to rethink what’s possible,” he adds.
Andre is passionate about driving change across the insurance sector. This industry has largely remained unchanged for decades, and he believes, it is their responsibility to modernise it.
Andre wants to continue mentoring and inspiring the next-generation tech professionals. Ultimately, he aspires to be at the forefront of AI and innovation in insurance. He is eager to shape the future of the industry, in addition to ensuring that emerging technology is used for meaningful, practical change. “There’s still so much potential to unlock, and I’m excited to be part of making that happen,” Andre says.
Emerging Trends in Tech Space
Andre notes that some of the most exciting trends are those that fundamentally change how businesses operate, make decisions, and build trust. At McGill and Partners, they are actively adapting these trends and finding ways to apply them in the insurance industry.
Andre feels that Agentic AI and AI-driven Automation are the most transformative innovations. Unlike in the past, when AI was mostly used for the automation of tasks, it is now proactively making decisions, managing workflows, and optimizing complex processes. “This has huge potential in insurance, where traditionally manual tasks like risk assessment, claims processing, and policy management can be enhanced with AI-driven intelligence,” Andre explains. In February 2025, McGill and Partners launched its own AI agent, making it the first broker in the London market to introduce Agentic AI technology using Salesforce’s AI system, Agentforce.
The rise of AI and Data-Driven Decision Making is another major trend, according to Andre. He explains that insurance has always been a data-driven industry, but firms are now moving into a space where AI can analyse vast amounts of information in real-time, offering deeper insights and enabling more accurate underwriting. “This changes how we assess risk, price policies, and predict future trends, ultimately leading to better outcomes for clients,” he adds.
Cyber Risk and AI in Insurance is a trend that Andre finds particularly interesting. “It’s a trend that didn’t exist just a few years ago,” he says. The insurance industry is grappling with new types of risks, such as algorithmic bias, AI-driven fraud, and system failures, and it must now adapt to protect businesses against them.
Andre believes that trust and transparency in AI is the most important trend. “As AI adoption grows, so do concerns about bias, ethics, and explainability,” he says. “Clients and businesses need to trust that AI-driven decisions are fair, transparent, and accountable.”
He feels that McGill and Partners is at the “forefront of these trends,” because they see technology as a core part of how they innovate, compete, and create value.
Advice to Aspiring Leaders
“If you want to make a real impact in technology, don’t just focus on the tech, focus on the people,” Andre advises aspiring leaders in the tech industry. As someone who has used storytelling to change people’s perception of AI, he encourages aspiring leaders to develop the skill of storytelling. “It’s not enough to understand emerging technology, you need to communicate its value in a way that inspires action,” he says. “The best ideas often fail not because they weren’t innovative, but because they weren’t understood.”
“Stay curious and commit to being a lifelong student, technology moves fast, and the moment you think you’ve mastered it, you’re already falling behind,” he adds. “And don’t wait for permission to push boundaries, if you see an opportunity to drive change, take the lead.”
