Forbes McKenzie, CEO, McKenzie Intelligence Services

Today we're meeting Forbes McKenzie, CEO at McKenzie Intelligence Services Ltd. They specialise in providing geospatial and intelligence-focused insurtech solutions for the global financial services sector.

Over to you Forbes - my questions are in bold:

Who are you and what's your background?

People often ask how I fell into my field, given that I spent much of my early career – almost ten years –in the British Army.

After studying Geography at the University of Glasgow – graduating in 2001 – joining the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst was a natural decision for me, given that much of my family – including my father – had served.

I quickly passed special intelligence duties, leading teams in high-risk operations around the world – some of which saw me tasked with the protection of President Barack Obama. I was decorated for Gallantry and Leadership in the face of the Enemy during this time, as well as being Mentioned in Dispatches in September 2009 for exceptional bravery as a leader.

It can be difficult to find new direction after seeing so much and working under enormous pressure at such high levels. So, when I left the army in 2010 – on the back of the financial crunch – it only seemed natural to use the skills I had to carve out my own opportunity. It was pretty much sink or swim.

Experience in the field had already taught me so much about the benefits of intelligence and I'd realised that this kind of data could be invaluable in business, particularly in insurance. I guess that explains why you get so many former members of the military entering the FinTech arena. We have the capabilities and know how to handle the high stakes.

I was lucky enough to use government satellite data during my time in the army – and this is what awakened me to its wider benefits and potential applications.

Founding McKenzie Intelligence Services in 2011 felt like a natural progression, where the leadership skills I'd gained in the army provided me with the experience I needed to operate effectively as a CEO.

My time in the military also put me in contact with all the people I needed to work alongside me, with almost half of the original MIS team being a former member of the army or intelligence community. So, when the startup community began to thrive after the summer Olympics in 2012, I had everything I needed and was able to use my eye for business to ride that wave.

What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?

As the CEO of MIS, my job is to resource the company effectively, looking after my staff, clients and future shareholders. Now we're beyond the initial innovation stage, I've moved away from the shop floor and being hands on with the product to more analytical involvement, thinking – not about what's happening now but what will likely be happening in 12 to 18 months' time. That's what keeps the company moving forward.

Can you give us an overview of your business?

One of the main functions of MIS is to deliver actionable insights to insurance and commercial companies around the world, when faced with catastrophic events and natural disasters. Unfortunately, these events are growing in both frequence and severity – and our service recognises this by empowering the organisations affected to make informed decisions quickly. We're essentially accelerating and enhancing their response to natural disasters and conflicts.

The past few weeks have been a great example of this, as we mounted a full-scale response to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. MIS essentially exists to analyse catastrophes and natural disasters like this one for insurance companies and help to assess the impact. The clients we work with send us the policies they've signed with their clients, then we use our satellite and ground intelligence to analyse the entire area affected – not on an individual basis but as one. This is great for businesses that tend to operate on standard contracts, as it's much faster than assessing each case one by one.

Our Global Events Observer (GEO) platform, which is a proprietary SaaS solution that systemically tracks and responds to catastrophes, enables this, integrating data from multiple sources, such as satellites and drones, radars and ground sensors, to produce a comprehensive, digital representation of worldwide perils in real time. Clients can then assess damage more accurately as they expedite the claims process, regardless of how challenging the scenario is.

Over the past week alone, we've used our intelligence and AI capabilities to process 20 to 40,000 policies each day. In the past, this would have taken us two weeks – but the advancements we champion now mean we can deal with things in just 24 hours. This has really helped given that fires spread so quickly, with our services helping affected companies to stay on top of each location.

We were incumbent in the Lloyds Lab®, turning out to be one of the standout successes of the programme. And thanks to that success – and the fact that the relationship allowed us to build so well for the London market – we've since moved from a position where, rather than Lloyds contacting us on behalf of its members as it would in the past, the vast majority of those members now contact MIS directly. Our entire business model had to switch from being focused on the product to being commercial based to support this growth, with this critical development allowing us to operate seamlessly day to day.

Tell us how you are funded?

McKenzie Intelligence Solutions was completely self-funded until 2017, which is why we initially did consultation work for other organisations – like Google and AON, where I facilitated the first recorded satellite imagery analysis to assist litigation – alongside our own pursuits.

My favourite bootstrapping experience has to be between 2016 and 2020, however, when half of MIS would run the business in London as the other half flew out to Africa to fulfil a contract with African Parks Network. We used our intelligence skills to assist with research and prevent poaching in 22 national parks across the continent, protecting giraffes, elephants and pangolins – the latter of which have no natural predators, just humans.

The funds we gained were then reinvested, before we completed a VC round with Eden Rock, later earning investment through […. Capital]. Then, we were lucky enough to receive a large sum from the European Space Agency, building our product line hand in hand with them.

This was all between 2017 and 2019 and honestly, it was a bit of a slog. Initially, I had to do all the work myself, running everything in Africa and even remortgaging my house. The good news is that once you've got all the information you need together – compiling all the relevant points in your data room – it does get easier. It's simply a case of getting your product to market without going bust in the meantime. That requires knowing how much money you need and how much of the business you're willing to give up for each funding round – and because I wanted to hold onto 75% of the company, I skipped initial rounds when I could.

What's the origin story? Why did you start the company? To solve what problems?

As I mentioned, when I first started out in the FinTech industry, there was no other company like MIS on the market. We've brought military-level intelligence tools and experience to a field that previously lacked access, not to mention the analytical capacities needed to make sense of any data that insurers and reinsurers could get their hands on. You need services like ours, if nothing else, because information exists in such vast amounts.

Of course, other companies would like to follow in our footsteps – the issue is that they lack the scale and pace to do so successfully. Our unique combination of advanced tech and top-level expertise – where the integration of real-time data, machine learning and analysis by former military intelligence come together – gives us a niche that's entirely unique. And that niche is incredibly valuable to our client businesses, with our intelligence-led approach allowing them to respond efficiently and effectively to complex scenarios that would otherwise be out of their reach.

Who are your target customers? What's your revenue model?

We mainly help the tier 1 and tier 2 insurance sector, as insurance companies and reinsurance companies around the world – be it in America, Asia or Europe – are looking for better insights into the risks associated with the individuals, properties and businesses alike that their policies protect. Though we can use our intelligence to help other commercial businesses and official agencies, as well.

Contractors tend to charge exorbitantly for such insights, which are often, not available in real time. MIS offers something much better, collating all the possibilities of what could happen into one dataset then analysing this in a single afternoon, allowing us to quickly assess entire areas. This is far more efficient than examining things case by case, property by property when large areas are simultaneously affected, as is typically the case with catastrophes and natural disasters.

MIS improves reserving estimates, whilst also making claims processes more efficient and reducing the associated claims costs. The proven impact we have had for our clients speaks volumes, which is why we've proven so invaluable to those we serve.

If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change in the banking and/or FinTech sector?

That's easy: the adoption of new technologies within an annual financial cycle. It typically takes 18 to 24 months to sell to an insurance company. But, you've got to sustain the product line in that period. So, if I could shorten the procurement cycle to 12 months or under, I definitely would. That would stop so many small companies capable of offering unprecedented value from going bust before they were able to bring their benefit to the world. So many startups close and so much amazing tech is lost all the time, just because businesses capable – not just of serving but of really revolutionising – FinTech struggle to stay afloat for long enough to reap the benefits on the other side.

What is your message for the larger players in the Financial Services marketplace?

My message would be simple: the way you assess risk needs to evolve.

We already have the tools we need to transform risk from something theoretical to something that's unfolding before us, in real time. Everything from climate events and conflict to supply-chain disruptions have significant impact on business – so why continue to rely on traditional risk assessment models that fail to keep up? None of these events wait for anyone, and they certainly don't wait for quarterly reports.

So, if I could share one message, it would be that banks and insurers need to update with live intelligence, adding data-backed confidence to their decisions – whether that's assessing asset exposure, verifying claims or determining how global events might impact portfolios. Companies that heed this advice will not only protect their capital better and serve their clients with more accuracy but will also move much faster. Those that don't will be playing catch-up in a market that no longer tolerates delayed response.

I'm also a firm believer that larger players, particularly in financial services, need to do more to support and integrate with tech startups. The most transformative innovations aren't coming from existing institutions. They're being built by specialist, agile firms that can move quickly, provided they can secure the right backing.

Where do you get your Financial Services/FinTech industry news from?

The Financial Times is pretty much a staple for anyone in finance – much like the Banker, which can provide a good overview of industry insights and macro-economic trends. Whilst these are great for broad coverage, Finextra can be good for more specialised news on regulatory updates and major industry deals. I also like Sifted by the Financial Times, which focuses more on European tech startups and FinTech disruptors. But the key is to look at a number of sources and maintain a mindset of curiosity, also learning how to spot new trends relevant to you – before they've reached mainstream reporting.

Can you list 3 people you rate from the FinTech and/or Financial Services sector that we should be following on LinkedIn, and why?

• John Neal – the current CEO of Lloyd's of London, who is soon to join insurance broker, Aon, is a big one – having made significant waves throughout his career in the insurance and reinsurance market. Heading up Lloyd's for more than six years, after acting as CEO of insurer QBE, he has a lot of expertise to bring to the table.
• Then, there's Phil Godwin, Head of Claims at Lloyd's of London, who plays a significant role setting up new consulting businesses, including ours. We actually met in 2016 and was honoured when he said he felt the whole market should be using our services. His career is incredible, with Phil doing all the political work within Lloyd's across managing agents to ensure MIS was used.
• Finally, I think Tim Collins is an important figure to follow as one of McKenzie Intelligence Services' investors. He's an interesting man who has turned over more than 650 million, boasting an equally exceptional military career – showing just how to combine skills to succeed in business.

What FinTech services (and/or apps) do you personally use?

I personally like Xero Accounting, as it gives me the ability to deal with everything, even from my phone. As a CEO, I'm always on the go and dealing with a lot, so any service that makes things that bit easier and more accessible is a win.

What's the best new FinTech product or service you've seen recently?

Addresscloud – which helps insurers to adopt true address-level underwriting using accurate risk information – and Babel Cover – a British financial engineering and insurance-tech startup – are both big ones to watch within my field. The more insurers can understand geographic risk, the more successful, profitable and sustainable they will become moving forward.

Finally, let's talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years in the FinTech sector?

We need to talk about AI here, given that it is set to have such a transformative impact, particularly when it comes to replacing lower-middle management roles, which currently form a significant part of any payroll.

AI will drive major efficiencies across all sectors and for FinTech and insurance, this means faster handling of contract variations at scale, making processes much speedier and more affordable.

Another major shift will be AI's role in remote sensing. Satellites are now being launched with NVIDIA chips, allowing data to be processed in space rather than being transmitted back to Earth – a previously bandwidth-inefficient process. This breakthrough will enable more frequent and accurate observations for the entire insurance industry, as AI models also improve imaging capabilities vastly. By removing cloud cover, for example, businesses will get clearer, more reliable insights, allowing them to do much more with fewer resources – something that will completely revolutionise the industry.

Thank you very much, Forbes!

Read more about Forbes on LinkedIn and find out more about McKenzie Intelligence Services Ltd at mckenzieintelligence.com.