Mike Walker

• Acting as the single point of contact for discrimination matters in recreational cricket in Surrey – 30 reports so far, many involving sensitive and complex issues
• Gathering and reviewing testimony / evidence, handling sensitive data, and reaching fair outcomes
• Writing clear and balanced reports, guiding informal resolutions or recommending formal action
• Supporting clubs to create welcoming environments and comply with ECB Anti-Discrimination Regulations
• Increasing awareness – resulting in a >100% increase in reports received compared to the same point last season
• Training >100 volunteers, who reported a 30% average increase in confidence responding to incidents
• Supporting with other investigative work, working closely with the Safeguarding Lead and Leagues Manager
• Upskilling internal staff through weekly updates
• Liaising with the Cricket Regulator’s Anti-Discrimination Unit, sharing their resources within our networks

• I performed a mixture of administrative, agricultural, and hospitality work to support my travels

• Providing leadership within a team that worked with a large UK life insurer to promote its safety and soundness
• Engaging with the insurer and scrutinising its management information to identify / mitigate risks - I worked with the insurer on adopting remuneration practices which better incentivised prudent management, for example

• Resolving complex, high-value, and sensitive complaints about financial services, either informally or through final, binding decisions
• Gathering and reviewing testimony / evidence, handling sensitive data, and applying relevant laws, rules and guidance to reach fair outcomes
• Liaising with the parties, guiding them through the process and gathering testimony while ensuring procedural fairness
• Writing final decisions that were published online, and therefore had to make sense to a third-party layperson
• Line management of three training cohorts, then a team of eight investigators. This required balancing a demanding caseload of my own with team leadership
• Maintaining knowledge of laws, rules, and guidance, ensuring my decisions were robust
• Co-chairing an insurance policy group, setting approaches and supporting firms to resolve complaints for themselves
• Interviewing candidates and managing disciplinaries

Key achievement

• My team resolved 400 wedding insurance complaints during Covid-19. Despite upholding 89% of the cases, 96% were resolved without the need for a final decision