Tim Taylor

Job Description

I work with a team of smart, talented colleagues to create new products, improve existing products and make them available to customers. If you have been to the dentist, or someone in your family needs medications, or has had treatment for an injury, then you have probably used one of our services.

While our products are insurance-related, the methods we use to develop them and promote them to our customers apply to almost any career.

I love my job because it has lots of variety and gives me the freedom to find creative solutions to problems. I’ve learned I prefer to work in environments where there isn’t a rule book on exactly how the work gets done, only that it has to get done. I know that’s not everyone’s preference but it works for me!

Relevant School Subjects

• Business
• English
• Mathematics
• Technological Education

Areas of Expertise

• Admin/Business
• Financial/Insurance/Banking
• Marketing/Advertising

Career Story

How I started... Like many students, I didn’t have a specific career in mind when I finished high school. I figured I’d be like my father and work in some kind of an office, so I got a general business degree. When I graduated, I was fortunate to find an entry level position in a large insurance company in Toronto. There I learned the fundamentals of the business. Little did I know at the time that I was picking up key insights that I would call on and apply in different ways throughout my career. I was keen to learn and to find new ways to get the work done. I was again fortunate that my leaders appreciated those skills, and offered me a new role on a project team that was building new technology. While challenging at first, I found that it fit my preferred work style – I thrive on variety and change.

I worked in a variety of roles... From that time on, I found that if I was losing interest in a particular role, it was time for a change, and typically that was every 3-4 years. One of the major benefits of working for a large insurance company was incredible variety of roles that were available, giving me the ability to apply my existing skills and knowledge in new ways, also gain new talents and expertise, and take on progressively larger and more complex challenges. I also found I was attracted to roles that had the freedom to do the work and solve problems in my own way, and avoided if I could positions that were highly structured and relatively routine – jobs followed a “manual on the shelf”.

Then I found my home in product management and marketing... I worked in a variety of positions for about 12 years until I found my true home – product development and marketing. Those roles fit my personality the best – the opportunity to build new products or create enhancements to existing products, and then find creative and attractive ways to launch them to customers. Since then, I have more than 25 years in product development, marketing and project management.

I never stopped learning... I have been a life-long learner and educator for my entire career. I have earned a variety of professional designations in my industry, where I expanded my knowledge, gained new skills, connected with other professionals, conducted numerous training sessions, presented to staff and customers, and become a respected speaker at industry conferences. I have many fond memories studying for my exams at the dining room table, across from my two daughters doing their school homework.