By Chris Munro

April 17 - (The Insurer) – Canadian broker Platform is looking at extending its reach further into western Canada and bolstering its existing Ontario and Quebec operations while strengthening in its core construction focus as the company considers longer-term moves into other affiliated industry sectors.

The broker, which is headquartered in Toronto, was founded in 2014 by CEO Charles Quenneville and Matthew Francis, its current executive chairman.

Quenneville and Francis, who prior to launching Platform worked together at Aon, were joined in the broker’s inaugural leadership team by Scott Beitel from Hub, who currently holds the position of president.

Talking to The Insurer, Quenneville said Platform was launched with the aim “to build a business where we can make decisions based on our team and our clients."

“That strategy has served us well, it remains a major focus of our core values to this day.

“We prioritize our people above all else. We have a firm belief in a team first philosophy. If you put your people first, they're going to take care of your clients. It’s that simple.

“Every decision we make at Platform is based on what's best for our people and what's best for our clients. Everything else is secondary, including margin.”

Platform is one of several brokers within Canada that have sought to establish a foothold in a market historically dominated by international players like Aon, Marsh and Willis.

Those startups have looked to offer something different from those multinational brokers, and in the case of Platform, it has been by zeroing in on the development and construction sectors, markets in which the company’s management team have considerable experience.

‘TALENT GROWTH’

Since launching in 2014, Platform now has over 150 staff, and Quenneville said the company has ambitions to increase its talent base and extend its reach.

Platform currently has seven offices spread across Canada. Alongside its Toronto home base, Platform has two other operations in Ontario, one in Ottawa and another in Kitchener, and offices in Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal and Calgary.

Given the founders’ backgrounds in the construction insurance market, that sector has been the focus of Platform’s operations since launch, with the broker also targeting the real estate market.

“We want to be a one stop solution for our clients, and real estate is an adjunct of construction,” said Quenneville.

“We’re naturally dovetailing into the operational side of real estate, with complex clients that focus on asset management as opposed to development or as a compliment to it.”

‘MOVE INTO NEW SEGMENTS’

Going forward, Quenneville said the expectation is that in the long term, Platform will make moves into other industry-specific specialty groups, but touch upon the construction industry.

“If you think of the built environment, there are so many other sectors where heavy capital expenditures and investments lead to managing large scale fixed assets.”

While the outcome of Canada’s federal election at the end of April remains unclear, Quenneville said whichever party takes control, there is an expectation that regulation around industries such as mining and energy will be relaxed.

“Energy is a critical topic these days, and (Canada needs) to invest in its own infrastructure,” said Quenneville.

“We like that at Platform, being a construction-focused firm allows us to be at the forefront of some great opportunities to continue expanding our footprint.”

‘CANADIAN EXPANSION’

While Platform has offices stretched across Canada, Quenneville said the broker is strongest in its native Ontario.

However, Quenneville said Platform’s operation in Alberta “is coming on quick,” while Montreal and the broader Quebec region are a key area of targeted growth for the business.

“We really want to become ingrained in the Quebec market. It's a great place to do business, and we have some amazing flagship clients in Quebec, so it's important to them that we continue to invest there.”

Platform does not have specific headcount targets, with the broker instead opportunistically hiring talented individuals, explained Quenneville.

“We're growing substantially right now, and we just want to continue to fuel that growth.

“With the number of people that have joined in the last 12 months, it's important for us to focus on the operations and execute for our clients. So really the priority is improving the operations, and like at any business, it's a work in progress.”

To support that, Platform will look to bring on additional staff with the broker targeting both experienced and new industry talent.

“Our big priority is to, over the next 12 months, attract a lot of young people who are new to the industry, and train them up.

“Then hopefully, in five years’ time, they’ll want to stay with Platform once we’ve trained them, and they’ll fuel that next generation,” said Quenneville.

‘INDEPENDENCE AN ATTRACTION’

Platform’s CEO said one of the attractions of joining the broker is it is privately owned by its employees with no outside investors.

As a result, Quenneville said Platform can better share its successes with staff. Platform now has just over 20 shareholders, a group that comprises both production and operational staff who are deemed core to the business.

Quenneville said Platform wants to continue adding shareholders, rewarding those who have driven the broker’s success.

“I'm hoping by next year, we have twice as many shareholders,” he said.

“We want (our team) to be successful. And if they're successful, we believe that they should share in the wealth creation and success of the business,” Quenneville stated.

Another draw, Quenneville said, is that Platform does not pay commissions to its staff, instead offering its employees a salary and bonus remuneration package based on individual, team and company performance.

“What we've noticed over the years at other firms is that when you have a commission model, there can be a tendency for people to hold on to the opportunities and not share them because then you have to discuss revenue sharing between teams.

“We have one P&L across the company, and what that results in is you have our captives group, you have our employee benefits group, our high net worth personal lines to cater to our commercial clients, and you have the core construction and real estate group, and everybody works together.

“Everybody is willing to lend a helping hand and to refer business, and there's no discussion on revenue sharing. We really believe in collaboration and teamwork,” Quenneville stated.