Meet the Senior Leadership team

Paula Sheppard-Jones, General Manager of DUAL New Zealand, has 30 years of insurance industry experience across the UK and New Zealand. Her career has encompassed a broad range of roles including Corporate Broker, Account Manager, Claims Handler, Specialist Fin Lines & Liability Underwriter, Technical Resource Support, Group Business Manager, National Distribution Manager and General Manager.

Over her 10-year tenure with DUAL, she has grown the New Zealand business into a multi-line operation employing 50 people across the country. Paula is dedicated to fostering world-class underwriting talent, driving growth, and raising DUAL's brand profile across New Zealand. As a member of the DUAL Diversity and Inclusion Committee, whose mission it is to embed greater diversity, she champions an equitable workplace where differences are essential.

Damian has a long career (over 25 years) in the insurance industry. He has held various roles across different areas of the business, showing a broad understanding of the insurance sector. These have included roles in Sales & Distribution, Underwriting, Operations, Governance, Strategy and Claims Management. Damian joined DUAL in 2021 with a primary focus to lead the integration of the Liability and Property businesses. Damian currently leads our Underwriting Operations, Strategy and Partner Engagement in the market whilst supporting the Governance and Management of the Property and Motor Binders.

Sally Davis is DUAL New Zealand’s National Claims Manager. She joined DUAL in 2015 as a senior claims officer and was appointed the role of Claims Manager in 2021. With 18 years of industry experience - primarily in Liability and Financial Lines - Sally has more recently expanded her remit to include oversight of Commercial Property and Commercial Motor claims at DUAL. 

Sally began her insurance career as a liability underwriter at Lumley, before transitioning to their claims team where she leveraged her legal background to great effect.  

Today, she leads a team of four in-house liability claims specialists and oversees the TPA function for Property and Motor claims. Sally works closely with a range of stakeholders including DUAL’s carriers, legal panel and loss adjusters to deliver high-quality claims outcomes.