If you peeked inside Henry Engelhardt’s wallet you would find a piece of jigsaw. Every worker at Admiral, the insurer he heads, has a piece. But unless you have all of the pieces you cannot see the full picture.
It is Mr Engelhardt’s way of emphasising that business is about more than the individual. The message was really driven home in September 2004 when the group was floated and each worker received an average windfall of £39,000. Now Mr Engelhardt is trying to extend the idea that motor insurance is also about more than the individual, offering policies that cover up to five cars.
Mr Engelhardt, 48, has spent most of his career in the insurance industry. He was part of the launch team of Churchill and, in 1993, founded Admiral, illustrating his fondness for establishment names.
He studied for his first degree at the University of Michigan, double majoring in journalism and radio and television. He did not go into the media, instead working on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. At 29 he went travelling with his French girlfriend, now his wife. It was while travelling that the golf and baseball fan applied to do an MBA at Insead, where he learnt the jigsaw lesson.