Management

TSG’s President and CEO Neil Shepherd is an entrepreneur, innovator and visionary who has his mind set on changing the way people think and feel about insurance. Neil began his career in the insurance industry at the age of 20 working on contract for The Sovereign General Insurance Company in an entry level clerical position. His constant drive, determination and commitment quickly caught the eyes of management and he was offered the opportunity to become a Commercial Lines Underwriter a year later. Neil spent 6 years with Sovereign and his knowledge of the insurance industry continued to flourish.

In 2000, Neil became a Chartered Insurance Professional and shifted his focus to work on the brokerage side in a sales capacity. He took on a role as a Commercial Insurance Producer with JD Shaw Insurance Brokers Limited, which later became Peel JD Shaw Insurance Brokers, and quickly built up a solid book of business comprised of many loyal clients, which generated a large amount of revenue for the brokerage.

In 2004 Neil acquired a percentage of ownership in Peel JD Shaw and continued on to become 50% partner in the company that was formed as a result, Shepherd Messier Group. In 2008 Neil bought out the remaining partner and became sole owner of the brokerage, which now operates as The Shepherd Group.

Neil has vast experience in all facets of the insurance industry, and is extremely well versed in Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, and Brokerage Management and Underwriting. He is a visionary and analytical thinker who always approaches things from a different perspective by continually asking “how can we do this better?”

Michelle Tremblay, a Windsor Ontario native is a passionate leader with a focus on innovation and technology. Michelle, a mom and entrepreneur who now lives in Toronto has an impressive roster of business successes under her belt.

Michelle began her career in the insurance industry in 1994 working in the claims department at Crawford & Company, an independent adjusting firm. While at Crawford, Michelle began working towards her Chartered Insurance Professional designation with the Insurance Institute of Ontario. She decided to shift her focus to sales, and took on a role as a Personal Lines Producer at a mid-sized brokerage firm in Windsor. From 1997 to 2005 Michelle worked for a few different brokerage firms in Windsor, building up her portfolio of experience and moving from Personal Lines to Commercial Lines, managing larger and more complicated books of business.

In 2005 Michelle took an opportunity that changed her career, she met two entrepreneurs who had the idea to start Canada’s first online Insurance brokerage, and needed to capitalize on her many years of experience in the insurance industry, to work with programmers to build the software for this brokerage. That same year Michelle obtained her CIP (Chartered Insurance Professional) status and obtained her Level 2 RIBO license while working with her partners and developers to build the software platform for the online brokerage, and launched in 2007.
Today the software that Michelle assisted in creating is thriving with it’s own identity, and is currently being licensed out to brokers nationwide.

Michelle has always had a love for technology and constantly looks for ways to improve systems and software within the insurance industry. In 2009 at an industry event Michelle met Neil Shepherd, owner of The Shepherd Group and realized they both had similar ideas regarding the insurance marketplace and what it will look like in the future. Michelle eagerly accepted a position as Operations Manager in early 2010 and has clearly identified The Shepherd Group as the “last stop” in her career – as she has found her home.