David Stirling joined Crawford in September 2024 straight from the Army, bringing with him a great deal of highly specialised experience in artificial intelligence, cyber and drone technology gained on operational deployments across the globe.
While David happily describes his military career as dynamic, exciting and deeply rewarding, after 14 years of exemplary service he nonetheless found himself keen to find a position which would provide more stability while still allowing him to leverage his deep expertise – but one that would still continue to challenge him. He also wanted to find a role that would align with his interest in people and managing risk. As the icing on his career-change cake, David was equally keen to work with a values-based organisation and he believes he has found all this at Crawford.
David explains:
“The more I looked at the insurance industry, with its increasing use of advanced insurtech and AI, the more convinced I was of the transferability of my skillset – and I’m pleased to say that Crawford saw it that way, too.”
That’s because Crawford prides itself on attracting and retaining talent with deep technical expertise and then exploring opportunities to support these colleagues at every juncture of their careers. For David, this support meant overlaying his already impressive skills with knowledge of the insurance sector. “Initially, I thought that this would take a while – but the team around me has been exceptionally supportive and helped make the process both fast and enjoyable. This has empowered me to apply my technical skills at the forward edge of insurance and to deliver on Crawford’s RESTORE values. Supporting people as they recover from setbacks and rebuild their lives is tremendously fulfilling.”
David is a clear example that this philosophy pays off not only for Crawford but – more importantly – for its people. William Gow, Crawford’s international cyber technical director, agrees: “David’s growth and accomplishments to date reflect his commitment to excellence. His ability to transfer skills from his military background to develop his insurance career and to provide an outstanding service to our clients is very much aligned to our values at Crawford. We’re excited to see his many future successes on this great journey with us.”
The respect is mutual, according to David. “Will Gow has a sharp instinct for the insurance market and is eager to embrace change – actively seeking and seizing opportunities, especially where traditional loss adjusting intersects with insurtech, crypto and AI. He’s created a dynamic, entrepreneurial space that fosters learning, growth and delivery. With his encouragement and the support of my team, I’ve been empowered to leverage my skills to help both colleagues and customers by streamlining processes, improving communications channels and standardising outputs for ease and speed of understanding. Right now, I feel that I’m ticking all my career boxes.”
