About the author

Michelle Harris, CAIB

Insurance executive
Educator
Observer
Writer
Artist

Michelle Harris is a Canadian insurance executive with more than 20 years of experience across Canada and Australia, spanning commercial insurance, international brokerage, wholesale operations, professional liability, underwriting and executive leadership.

Her career has taken her through some of the world’s largest insurance brokerages, specialist wholesale operations and independent businesses. Along the way, she’s developed an appreciation for the people, relationships and decisions that sit behind every insurance transaction, and a particular interest in what makes organizations work well.

Currently Chief Operating Officer of ProForm Insurance, part of the Reliance Group of Companies, Michelle leads a specialized Brokers Errors & Omissions program and its accompanying Risk Academy, an educational initiative built around real Canadian E&O cases. Her work brings together insurance protection, professional education and risk governance, helping brokerages strengthen not just their coverage, but the practices and judgement behind it.

Throughout her career, Michelle has been drawn to opportunities to build something better. Whether developing insurance programs, solving difficult placement challenges, mentoring colleagues or improving the way businesses operate, she brings curiosity, independent thinking and a willingness to question established practices.

Abstract painting by Michelle Harris with scraped white and pink layers, black and ochre arcs and textured crosshatching.

She believes that strong organizations are built through thoughtful leadership, capable people, clear expectations and the courage to make difficult decisions when they matter.

The Ethical Broker is an independent home for the ideas, experiences and lessons collected throughout that career. It’s a place to explore professional responsibility, leadership, organizational culture and the human side of an industry built on trust.

Beyond her executive work, Michelle serves as Interim Vice President of the Westcoast Women’s Association of Insurance Professionals, supporting education, mentorship and connection across British Columbia’s insurance community.

Outside of insurance, she’s an abstract artist, enthusiastic renovator and collector of records and magazines. She lives in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, with her husband, four sons and their dog and cat.