Our team |
Our global team at Kennedys IQ has been growing to meet the demand from our clients. The team includes data scientists, web developers, product managers, innovation and commercial managers who are creating smart and innovative tools for our clients to help them manage their claims process more efficiently.
Over the last few years the team at Kennedys has won several awards for our innovative products and solutions. The team led by Richard and Karim, were delighted to win The Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers 2019 award for Innovation in the Business of Law: New products and services, in recognition of the firm’s ability to model insurance/legal claims workflow and replicate them digitally and globally for our clients. We were also pleased to win the ‘Innovation in strategy and digital transformation award’ at The FT Innovative Lawyers’ Europe Awards 2020. For our partnership with our client the AA, Kennedys IQ was awarded a Bronze Award for ‘Technology Partner of the Year – Claims’ at the Insurance Times Tech & Innovation Awards 2023. This Award embodies our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and our unwavering commitment to excellence.
Our team
Richard West
Partner and Global Head of Client Innovation
Karim Derrick
Chief Products Officer
Rhian Gait-Parker
Chief Operating Officer
Bill McLaughlin
Chief Technical Officer
Kimberley Davies
Head of Commercial
Richard West
Partner and Global Head of Client Innovation
Karim Derrick
Chief Products Officer
Rhian Gait-Parker
Chief Operating Officer
Bill McLaughlin
Chief Technical Officer
Kimberley Davies
Head of Commercial
The creation of Kennedys IQ reflects our commitment to true innovation in the insurance and legal services market, and builds upon our proven ability to deliver client-facing software solutions – which we have been doing for the last ten years. |
The creation of Kennedys IQ reflects our commitment to true innovation in the insurance and legal services market, and builds upon our proven ability to deliver client-facing software solutions – which we have been doing for the last ten years. |
Richard West
Partner and Global Head of Client Innovation
Richard is Kennedys Global Head of Client Innovation and is also a Director of Kennedys IQ. He is a Partner at Kennedys and is also Global Practice Head for Kennedys Liability Defence group.
Under Richard’s leadership, Kennedys IQ, a technology driven wholly owned subsidiary of Kennedys, delivers innovative solutions tailored for insurance companies and large corporates.
With a rapidly growing international team of data scientists, academics and developers, Richard and his team at Kennedys IQ are at the forefront of creating cutting-edge innovative solutions. This is achieved through active listening and collaboration with clients, ensuring that their needs are at the centre of every solution created and delivered.
Richard is a recognised voice in the legal and insurtech industry, often invited to speak on innovation and also on the disruption of legal services at legal and technology events. His award-winning client innovation team is known for blending legal expertise, market insights and emerging trends within the legaltech, and insurtech spaces in order “to help clients need lawyers, less”.
Richard and his team’s efforts have been recognised across the industry as evidenced by winning multiple awards for legal tech, legal services strategy and innovation execution. Richard has been recognised as one of Europe’s most innovative lawyers in the prestigious ‘Financial Times Most Innovative Lawyers 2019”. His influence and innovative thinking earned him recognition as being among the top 10 most Innovative Individuals from The Financial Times, as a recognised ‘Leaders of revolutions in legal practice’ in Europe.
The Chambers Legal Directory has noted of Richard that, “He excels at client care, and tactical decisions”. Legal 500 UK has described that, “Richard West is a truly innovative thinker who just gets how insurers work and what they need. He is a pioneer.”
More from Richard
Kennedys recognised across three categories at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2024
Kennedys are proud to have been shortlisted in three highly competitive categories at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2024, which took place on September 12, 2024, at the Natural History Museum, London.
Advancing legal services for the insurance sector: AI-driven empowerment
As legal partners to the insurance industry, we are at the forefront of an exciting transformation, propelled by advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Our vision extends beyond enhancing our own productivity; we are committed to empowering you, our insurance company clients, to manage and streamline your legal processes related to insurance claims more effectively.
Introduction to Kennedys IQ
Video
Kennedys IQ is our new home for client-facing innovation. Human and machine intelligence combined on a single platform.
Kennedys IQ delivers on the promise of technology to help our global claims clients run better and more effective businesses, turning to Kennedys’ lawyers only when expert legal advice is needed. |
Kennedys IQ delivers on the promise of technology to help our global claims clients run better and more effective businesses, turning to Kennedys’ lawyers only when expert legal advice is needed. |
Karim Derrick
Chief Products Officer
Karim serves as Chief Products Officer at Kennedys IQ, the client facing technology arm of Kennedys LLP, creating ‘baked in legal’ technology products for use by financial services clients.
A beacon in his field, Karim’s insights grace industry Insurtech, innovation and tech trends publications. His expertise is also in high demand on the global stage, where he is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences.
More from Karim
Kennedys IQ and Vested Impact collaborate on enhanced ESG data offering
Kennedys IQ and Vested Impact have announced a new collaboration to drive the use of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) data throughout the insurance industry.
Sentiment analysis – the power of large language models
In recent years the focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) has grown and an organisation’s actions in these areas can have a considerable impact on overall reputation.
Artificial Intelligence: exploring risks and rewards
Karim Derrick of Kennedys IQ explores the risks and rewards as the sector looks to an AI future.
The clients benefit from a combination of practical insurance and legal experience within the team, plus technology tools that are created to solve their problems and create efficiencies for them. All of this supported by the legal expertise within the LLP. That in itself, is incredibly exciting. |
The clients benefit from a combination of practical insurance and legal experience within the team, plus technology tools that are created to solve their problems and create efficiencies for them. All of this supported by the legal expertise within the LLP. That in itself, is incredibly exciting. |
Rhian Gait-Parker
Chief Operating Officer
Rhian is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Kennedys IQ, where she brings her extensive expertise in both motor and general insurance. Prior to joining Kennedys IQ Rhian served as the COO for a life insurance company and held a pivotal board-level position within the organisational structure.
With her rich background, Rhian approached project management with intelligence and consideration. Her leadership style is characterised by excellent people management, motivational capabilities, and superior communication skills, as underpinned by her substantial practical experience in business and people management.
The search for new technologies and applications is critical to real innovation. At Kennedys IQ, we are constantly pushing the boundaries with leading edge solutions to power our world-class products and service delivery. |
The search for new technologies and applications is critical to real innovation. At Kennedys IQ, we are constantly pushing the boundaries with leading edge solutions to power our world-class products and service delivery. |
Bill McLaughlin
Chief Technical Officer
Bill is the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Kennedys IQ, managing the Engineering, QA and Service Delivery teams. Prior to joining Kennedys IQ Bill has held senior technical positions in both start-ups and large global brands.
Bill has a passion for merging Architecture and Engineering to create leading edge products and services. He brings a strong focus on business-driven technology strategy combined with a culture of ownership and accountability across the technology function. Bill’s qualifications include certifications in Enterprise Web Applications & Services and Enterprise Architecture, with proficiency in Service Management.
The thing that drew me to Kennedys IQ was the commitment to partner with technologists, data scientists, lawyers and industry experts to solve the business problems of today and the future. |
The thing that drew me to Kennedys IQ was the commitment to partner with technologists, data scientists, lawyers and industry experts to solve the business problems of today and the future. |
Kimberley Davies
Head of Commercial
Kimberley serves as the Head of Commercial at Kennedys IQ since March 2023, spearheading the IQ Platform’s new growth phase. Joining Kennedys in February 2020, she played a pivotal role in introducing the IQ Platform to the market.
Her passion lies in high-growth start-ups, evident from her tenure at a LegalTech start-up from its inception, prior to joining Kennedys. She also holds a first-class law degree.