Our People
The Direct Markets Customer Office maximizes capabilities to best serve our dealership customers.
While delivering for customers is a top priority across Zurich and throughout Direct Markets, our Customer Office has a clearly defined mission statement:
Zurich Direct Markets’ Customer Office leads the evolution of our customer experience through essential functions like brand marketing, training and development, customer insights, delivery of value-added solutions, and key relationship management to foster an innovative, high-performance, customer-focused culture.
Marie Knight heads this team of business relationship leaders, training experts and marketing specialists. The Customer Office was officially formed in July 2024, but really it is an enhancement of longstanding previous team structures, with a more efficient alignment of roles and responsibilities.
“The Customer Office was created to help ensure we’re maximizing our ability to meet the needs of our current and prospective customers, and effectively highlight the unique benefits, programs and solutions Zurich offers,” Knight explained. “We also look for opportunities to share valuable information and insights, engage with our customers, and get feedback to help guide our business.”
The Customer Office also works to make sure investments and resources are directed appropriately to help drive profitable growth.
Knight, who celebrated an impressive 30 years with Zurich last year, praised her Customer Office leadership team, all of whom she has worked with in various capacities prior to the new team structure.
“I have the good fortune of working with some incredibly high-performing individuals and teams,” she said. “Each one of them is tasked with executing on a variety of objectives that align with our value proposition.”
Galal Hamdy, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions, marked his seventh year with Zurich this spring. He manages relationships with industry partners and vendors to provide services to our mutual customers. He also collaborates with Zurich field representatives to create reporting, develop unique programs, identify business opportunities, improve efficiencies, and offer consulting services for dealerships.
“Since my first day here, my work has focused on creating value for our dealers,” said Hamdy. “That hasn’t changed with the establishment of the Customer Office. What has shifted is how I work across the organization to further those goals. We can cover much more ground together as we collectively touch all areas of Direct Markets.”
Galal Hamdy, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions, marked his seventh year with Zurich this spring. He manages relationships with industry partners and vendors to provide services to our mutual customers. He also collaborates with Zurich field representatives to create reporting, develop unique programs, identify business opportunities, improve efficiencies, and offer consulting services for dealerships.
“Since my first day here, my work has focused on creating value for our dealers,” said Hamdy. “That hasn’t changed with the establishment of the Customer Office. What has shifted is how I work across the organization to further those goals. We can cover much more ground together as we collectively touch all areas of Direct Markets.”
14-year Zurich veteran Michael Zuniga is our Training and Business Development Manager. He leads a team of national specialists who develop and deliver customized training programs and learning resources, both for dealership customers and internally for Zurich’s market-facing sales team. He also works with senior leadership to help identify and assess learning opportunities and build strategies to enhance sales effectiveness.
Zuniga said with the Customer Office, “I think there can be even more direct and strategic opportunities for our team to create and deliver training and coaching solutions that drive long-term success for Zurich customers.”
Tricia Wiese, Assistant Vice President of Marketing, has supported Direct Markets’ initiatives throughout her 17 years in various brand and marketing communication roles at Zurich. She leads a dedicated team with diverse responsibilities. These include producing a wide range of engaging and compelling communications, including website content, thought leadership articles, risk management guides, sales and services collateral, videos, e-newsletters, and this magazine.
Another key area is managing our Zurich Advantage programs and effectively conveying the benefits that differentiate us from other providers. The team also plays a vital role in coordinating regional and national customer events, serving as valuable forums for networking with customers outside the typical dealership environment.
Tricia Wiese, Assistant Vice President of Marketing, has supported Direct Markets’ initiatives throughout her 17 years in various brand and marketing communication roles at Zurich. She leads a dedicated team with diverse responsibilities. These include producing a wide range of engaging and compelling communications, including website content, thought leadership articles, risk management guides, sales and services collateral, videos, e-newsletters, and this magazine.
Another key area is managing our Zurich Advantage programs and effectively conveying the benefits that differentiate us from other providers. The team also plays a vital role in coordinating regional and national customer events, serving as valuable forums for networking with customers outside the typical dealership environment.
“Our team is focused on executing strategic marketing initiatives that drive brand awareness, customer engagement and business growth. We support our market-facing team, providing the tools and resources dealer customers need to generate more profit, enhance the customer experience, and protect their legacies,” said Wiese. She sees the Customer Office as “an even stronger commitment to helping our dealer customers thrive.”
Jason Todd has been with Direct Markets for 18 years, but this past February he was promoted to the Customer Office as Relationship Manager for one of Zurich’s largest mega-dealer customers. He manages five Regional Relationship Leaders who are focused on developing and executing the business plan for this customer group.
“The dedicated team allows us to provide specialized support to give our customers access to more resources while building stronger ties with them,” Todd said.
Direct Markets Customer Office exemplifies our commitment to leveraging industry expertise to build enduring customer relationships that demonstrate tangible value. As we continue to evolve and adapt, our focus remains steadfast on fostering a high-performance, customer-centric culture that drives long-term success and growth for both our customers and Zurich.
_____________
7 OUR PEOPLE