Christine Frendo

At a glance

Joined Baringa in
2010

Works across
Financial services, primarily in Insurance

Worldly wisdom
‘Speak your truth - if you believe in what you do, are authentic and passionate, it will shine through, creating impact that lasts. The advice I’d give to my younger self is follow your interests, keep asking and learning, and bring all of yourself to work.’

In detail

Christine started her consulting career working for the Prime Minister’s office in her native country of sunny Malta. Little did she know her education would transport her to the UK insurance industry!

After successfully landing a Chevening scholarship to read a Masters in Corporate Strategy and Governance at Nottingham University, she joined one of the Big Four consulting firms, starting in the public sector team before transitioning to financial services. Here, she met someone moving to Baringa. Excited by the opportunity to build out the insurance team, Christine joined 12 years ago and has not looked back since.

At Baringa Christine works with insurance clients to help them articulate their business strategy and priority change areas, advising and supporting them shape and deliver strategic change programmes - whether that’s assisting a global health insurer form the pillars of their strategy and operationalise it, or working with a global commercial insurer’s executive team to define what’s needed to win in the SME customer segment.

One of her earliest Baringa projects remains one of the most visible and impactful ones. Christine and the Baringa team were instrumental in TfL’s Oyster roll-out, building the business case behind the payments process that lets us all simply tap in and out when boarding a London bus, tube or train.

Whatever the project, she sees her strategic advisory role not too dissimilar to a musical conductor - tapping into people’s individual insights and business knowledge to create the harmonious ‘whole’. To Christine, the syllable ‘co’ is the secret to effective consulting: co-creating, co-designing, collaborating. She believes the best strategies and ideas are those that result from a fusion of different minds.

Outside work, she balances her high-energy, professional personality with mindful activities like yoga, running and gardening. She’s proud of the raspberries and herbs she’s grown over lockdown, which come in handy for her other joy, cooking. In another life, or even in retirement, you’d find her spending time sailing the seas, or in nature, perhaps living off the land in a vineyard in France!