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Prepared for Paul Haylor-Smith at AmTrust International · November 2026

More than 230 people from Wakam have just joined AmTrust. The deal is done, and the part that's yours is making it feel like one team.

This report covers where we'd expect the people side to wobble in the first year, what that could mean for your people and revenue, and how we'd go about fixing it. It's built to sit alongside your talent and engagement work, so the win lands with you.

See the biggest issues Ways to work with us
Measured from start to finish

A baseline at the start and a clear before and after at the end, so the change is something you can show.

Rolled out through your managers

It reaches far more people than one workshop could, and it builds the managers who keep it going.

Yours to take the credit for

We work in the background. You bring it in, you present the results, and your teams remember who made it happen.

Who you'd be bringing in

Meet Ross Neal. Ten years of pro rugby, and now 3 million views a week.

Ross spent ten years playing for Wasps, Saracens, London Irish and London Scottish, so he's lived through new coaches, new owners and squads that had to rebuild trust fast. He's spent the decade since helping business teams do the same thing.

3Mviews a week across all platforms
50k+followers across social media
10years as a professional rugby player
10+years working in team performance
WaspsSaracensLondon IrishLondon Scottish

That audience matters for you. When the invite says a former Wasps, Saracens, London Irish and London Scottish player is in the room, people turn up curious, and that's half the battle with any session.

Trusted by teams from MSIG to NATO.

Professional rugby players celebrating a try together
Ten years as a pro
Ross Neal leading a live session in front of a team
Live in the room
What the public record shows

The people joining you have had quite a few months.

We've only used what's public here, and it only ever tells part of the story. It does hint at what your new colleagues are carrying with them as they arrive.

25 SepWakam SA received the French regulator's order to stop writing and renewing business for a time
26 OctAmTrust International announced it had acquired Wakam, now fully capitalised and writing in every jurisdiction
3.2out of 5 on Wakam's public Glassdoor page, from a small number of reviews
61%of those reviewers would recommend Wakam to a friend

What that means for you. In about a month, Wakam's people went from a regulator's pause to a new owner. Reviewers there praise the flexible working, the pay and the interesting projects, and the criticism is mostly about management and direction. So there's a strong base to build on, and there's also a group of people who'll need to see stability before they believe it.

Trust gets rebuilt through what people experience, not what they're told. We've seen this exact situation before, and we know how to help.

What we'd expect the biggest issues to be

It's rarely dramatic. It's four quiet things that cost you people, partners and revenue.

None of this means something's wrong at AmTrust. It's simply what we see over and over when two insurers become one. Everything in the blue boxes comes from work we've actually done.

Two ways of working under one roof

The pain

Wakam grew up running pan-European programmes with decisions made centrally. AmTrust has its own rhythm. Until people know which way applies where, decisions slow down and partners feel it.

We've seen it

At MSIG, two insurers became one, and the biggest headache was a running argument about what gets decided locally and what gets decided centrally.

What we do

We map how work and knowledge really move between the two teams, find the gaps, and agree clear shared goals so people pull in the same direction.

Managers explaining the same plan differently

The pain

In the first 90 days, managers on both sides explain the plan in their own words. Teams compare notes, and every small difference starts to look like something being kept from them.

We've seen it

At BAT we started with the most senior leaders. Once that went well, the work grew to the next two levels of leaders.

What we do

We give managers practical tools and support over several months, not a single workshop, so they tell one story and lead with confidence.

Keeping the people the deal was built on

The pain

Wakam's value sits in its partner relationships and the people who know the platform. RGP asked 120 CFOs this year, and 74% reported moderate to high turnover of leaders or critical talent in the first year after a deal.

We've seen it

In a recent engagement a sales office was losing around three people a month, and only two people in the office were producing real revenue.

What we do

We measure where commitment is slipping early, well before resignation letters arrive, then fix the specific things holding those teams back.

Engagement dipping on the AmTrust side too

The pain

While attention goes to the people arriving, your existing teams quietly wonder what it means for them. It rarely shows up as complaints. It shows up as focus drifting.

We've seen it

At MSIG, people weren't leaving. The problem was misalignment and slow ways of working that would have started costing revenue over time.

What we do

We bring both sides into the same room, with sessions that feel like something being done with them and not to them.

Why it's a good move for you

A win with your name on it.

This is the kind of project that makes talent development visible. It tackles something the whole business cares about right now, people enjoy it, and it comes with a before and after you can put in front of leadership.

People talk about it

Sessions your teams look forward to and mention to colleagues afterwards. That reflects on whoever brought it in.

It reaches further

It runs through your managers, so the benefit spreads across teams instead of staying in one room.

It proves its value

You get numbers and stories to show the business, which answers the question of what engagement work really delivers.

You stay in front

We fit around your plans and your language. You present the results, and we're happy in the background.

Built around your values, not ours. Everything we design would hang off the six values AmTrust already asks people to live, so it lands as an AmTrust programme and gives your new colleagues from Wakam a practical way into them.

ExcellenceInnovationIntegrityResponsibilityInclusionTeamwork
Where AmTrust International compares

What the benchmarks say about deals like this one.

These come from RGP's 2026 research with 120 CFOs and 15 CHROs. They're a fair picture of what most acquirers are up against.

81%of CFOs say culture, talent and knowledge are critical to whether a deal succeeds
18%believe their organisation is effective at protecting them
74%saw moderate to high turnover of leaders or critical talent in year one
5 to 7years for cultural integration to fully embed, against two or three for the financial side

And where your own teams sit. We run company-wide diagnostics across large teams and have built our own benchmarks from them. We can't score AmTrust honestly from the outside, and we'd be wary of anyone who said they could. With one mixed group of AmTrust and Wakam people taking part, we can show you exactly where you compare across five performance drivers and 50+ indicators.

It's free, and the findings are yours to keep either way.

How we'd go about fixing it

A 30, 60 and 90 day plan from where you are now.

The announcement was on 26 October, so you're a couple of weeks in. This is how we'd use the next three months.

First 30 days

Listen and baseline

  • Run the free diagnostic with one mixed group of AmTrust and Wakam managers
  • Map who really works with whom across the two teams
  • Agree the handful of questions every manager should answer the same way
You get a baseline nobody else in the business has.
Days 31 to 60

Bring people together

  • A live session with Ross for the combined leadership group
  • Practical tools for managers on both sides
  • Clear agreement on what's decided locally and what's decided centrally
You get the session people are still talking about in the new year.
Days 61 to 90

Embed and show it

  • Short follow-ups so it sticks in the day job
  • Measure again against the baseline
  • A one-page before and after, ready for leadership
You get a result to present, with your name on it.
Ways to work with us

Start with one session, or build something longer. Both are made for AmTrust.

Every option is designed from scratch around AmTrust International, the Wakam people joining you and your six values. Nothing is off the shelf. You can start small, see how it lands, and decide what comes next. Either way, you bring it in and you present it.

Short term

One-off sessions

A single, high-energy moment with a clear purpose. Length and format are agreed with you.

Combined leadership session

A live session with Ross for AmTrust and Wakam leaders together, built around the questions both sides are really asking.

One story for managers

A focused session that gets managers on both sides explaining the plan the same way, using the six questions above.

An all-hands moment

Ross live for the wider group, in person or online across France, the UK and Europe. It says welcome and gets people talking.

A mixed-team day

A hands-on day for one team made up of AmTrust and Wakam people, working on a real problem together.

The free diagnostic

One team, 50+ indicators and a clear baseline, with nothing to commit to afterwards.

Longer term

Built to last

For when you want the change to stick and the result to be measured.

The 90 day integration plan

The 30, 60 and 90 day plan above, from baseline to a one-page before and after for leadership.

The 16 week improvement programme

A baseline, targeted work on the few gaps that matter most, and a re-measure at the end so you can see what changed.

Manager development through the first year

Practical tools and short follow-ups across the year, so new habits carry on well after the sessions end.

Re-measure and report

Repeat the diagnostic so you can show leadership exactly what moved, and where to focus next.

Not sure which fits? Many people run a one-off session now and decide on the longer work afterwards. A short call is enough to shape it around you.

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Something you can use this week

Six questions your managers are being asked right now.

If managers on both sides answer these the same way, most of the noise goes away. A good answer has three parts, which are what we know, what we don't know yet, and when people will hear more.

Is my job safe?

The question behind every other question. Silence gets read as bad news, so even "here's when you'll know" beats nothing.

Who decides things now?

People can live with a new answer. What wears them down is getting a different answer from each manager.

Are we AmTrust now, or still Wakam?

It's about identity more than branding. Give people something to belong to before you ask them to let go of the old one.

What changes for our partners?

Partners will ask the people they already know. Those people need a confident answer ready.

Why do they do it differently?

Both sides are asking this about each other. Curiosity is useful here, and it turns into frustration if nobody explains.

What's expected of me this quarter?

Clear short-term goals do more for engagement during change than any message about the long-term vision.

How we work

Diagnose. Target. Intervene. Embed.

The order matters. A one-off session can lift a whole room on the day, and it works best when it's the start of something you can measure. That's why we pair the two, and you can begin with either.

STEP 1

Diagnose

We measure where the team really is across the five performance drivers and map how knowledge flows. You get a baseline before anything else happens.

STEP 2

Target

We pick the few gaps that matter most to results, not a long wish list. The ones that move people, partners and revenue.

STEP 3

Intervene

Live sessions and coaching built around those gaps, designed from scratch for your people. Energetic, interactive and nothing off the shelf.

STEP 4

Embed

Months of short follow-through so it sticks, then we measure again so you can see exactly what changed.

Free

The Team Performance Diagnostic is free. Really.

Start with evidence instead of a proposal. We look at one team across 50+ performance indicators and five drivers, so you can see exactly where it's strong and where it's stuck.

  • A clear baseline for one team or leadership group
  • Where you compare against our benchmarks
  • A measure you can repeat later to show what changed
Claim the free diagnostic
50+

performance indicators

5

performance drivers, tracked from baseline to re-measure

What it could mean for your people and revenue

Move the sliders and watch the number change.

Everything here is adjustable. The 230 comes from the public announcement, and the rest are placeholders for you to swap for your own figures. It's a scenario to play with. It isn't a forecast, and it doesn't say AmTrust is losing this money.

Keeping key people £0

Fewer unplanned exits among the people who hold the partner relationships and know the platform.

Manager time back £0

Hours managers currently spend re-explaining decisions, chasing answers and smoothing over mixed messages.

Holding output through the change £0

The dip in focus that tends to follow a deal, kept smaller because people know where they stand.

Proof

Results that show up in the business.

£450k

added in a single quarter

A recent organisation and people intervention delivered about £450k of additional revenue in one quarter, through people interventions alone.

Helping MSIG through their merger right now

We're working with MSIG's leaders as two European insurers combine into one, building a shared leadership plan across the group. The work has grown from the senior leaders to the next two levels.

The next step

Want to talk it through? We'd love a second opinion from you too.

This report is yours to keep either way. On a short call we'd go deeper on everything above and shape it around what you already have planned.

Book a call Back to the numbers

Thomas DoddHead of Partnerships, The Culture Chain