KAMP Leadership Award

From Zurich colleagues to brokers and customers, Gerald Chiddick is universally admired for his integrity, optimism and exemplary leadership. He embodies Zurich’s values, fostering a culture where everyone feels included and valued.

Chiddick is known for engaging deeply with challenges and opportunities, leveraging individual expertise and delivering thoughtful solutions to benefit Zurich, customers and distributors alike. 
Beyond Zurich, Chiddick impacts organizations like the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, the National Council on Compensation Insurance and the National African American Insurance Association. Chiddick’s leadership style exemplifies Zurich’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and personal growth, making him a role model for aspiring professionals.

Chiddick is a member of Zurich North America’s African American Advisory Board and chair of the U.S. Middle Market Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging Council. His vision for attracting diverse talent has resulted in relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) where he represents Zurich, develops meaningful connections and enhances recruitment efforts.

Chiddick serves on the board of Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan, volunteers for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Michigan and is a former member of the Board of Trustees for Walsh College.

Chiddick’s leadership, character and passion create a brighter future for everyone around him. His contributions to Zurich, the industry and the community, coupled with his passion for diversity, inclusion and sponsorship, serve as an inspiration to others.

Kathy Malamis typifies Zurich’s values and fosters a culture of inclusion and belonging within the Zurich North America Legal Services team. In her low-profile, humble fashion, Malamis makes everything look easy, which is ironic because what she pulls off every day is anything but easy.

Malamis is known for cultivating a team culture that is collaborative, caring and focused on delivering results. She emerged as a strong leader in 2023 by seamlessly steering her team through a significant reorganization that involved assimilating new teammates and assuming additional responsibilities.

Malamis also serves as executive sponsor for the Legal Services Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging Council. But what truly sets her apart is her leadership of the award-winning North America Legal Services Pro Bono Program. Malamis began leading the pro bono program within a few months of joining Zurich. She quickly expanded the program’s productivity and influence by connecting with other law firms and legal aid organizations to enable Zurich colleagues to provide more pro bono legal services to people who can’t afford legal support. Under her leadership, the Corporate Law team achieved 100% participation in pro bono activities in 2023, enabling over 500 legal pro bono service hours.

Charles Newman is a leader known for empathy, integrity and servant leadership.

Professionally, Newman strengthens Zurich’s operations and internal processes through implementing new technology platforms and resilient systems. Beyond the work itself, Newman’s colleagues note how he shows up as a leader, acknowledging how his transformation mindset keeps people motivated and inspired. He exemplifies passion and commitment for service quality improvements to influence a seamless customer experience.

The way Newman leads by example with empathy and, through coaching and mentoring, has had a profound influence in how his team achieves their goals. His colleagues recognize Newman’s ability to foster settings where everyone’s voice is heard. He holds deep beliefs in creating inclusive environments where input from diverse perspectives leads to the most collaborative solutions and he recently joined Zurich North America’s African American Advisory Board. This role is an extension of Newman’s commitment to developing talent.

Newman cultivates a shared vision, passion and ownership in the teams he works with within Zurich and in his community involvement. He uses his influence for good, helping to create pathways to education, healthcare and hope in his work with organizations like Foster Love, Feed My Starving Children, Compassion International and Joshua House.

Newman exemplifies the true spirit of servant leadership. His commitment to both corporate and social responsibility leaves a lasting impact with his teams and outside of work to foster transformation and positive communities.

Dave Schmitt is a builder — specifically a builder of relationships. He is the Regional RCIS Sales Manager for Big Sky — a vast territory encompassing the enormous states from Colorado to California and Washington to Texas. He leads a team that maintains relationships with hundreds of crop insurance agent-customers.

Schmitt recognizes the value of collaborative working. He once encouraged his team to include an IT developer on a customer visit to discuss policy processing. He also cares deeply about his RCIS colleagues. Teammates say he has created a culture of respect and inclusion by making himself available, being present in the moment and actively listening. He is consistently described as trustworthy and hardworking, a person with courageous character who delivers on his promises.

Schmitt also helps employees understand the RCIS strategy. He sets clear expectations and holds his team accountable. He believes in the power of personal growth and he’s known to say, “Have passion, acknowledge mistakes, apologize for them and learn from them. Failure is okay if we can be better because of it.”

Fair, respectable and always willing to help when and where he can, Schmitt’s dedication to creating the best experiences for customers and supporting employees with integrity is unquestionable.