The growth and development of MDS and Brokerslink have been intertwined, with their journey enhancing the insight and understanding for all of those involved, shaping each other’s cultures, outlooks, and relationships.

It is fair to say that without Brokerslink, MDS’s journey to becoming the international powerhouse it is today would have been much slower; and that without MDS the blossoming of Brokerslink from a simple idea into a respected global network would have been a very different, if not impossible, journey. The significant and positive impact that the two have had on each other is perhaps best understood by looking at the strategic imperative that created this symbiotic relationship in the first place.

Back in 2000, a small, independent, Portuguese broker, MDS, had international ambitions that might have seemed to those on the outside – and even to some of those on the inside – as out of reach. The team of 15 under new CEO José Manuel Fonseca had one major multi-national client – the Sonae Group – and despite gaining business in Europe and even in South Africa, was still a small player, its team largely unfamiliar with conducting international business, the broker having little visibility outside of its own country.

Yet it was out of this ambition that the idea of Brokerslink began to percolate and solidify. The concept was simple – to identify and work with other trusted independent brokers from other countries and support each other in serving clients across borders – in so doing, opening their businesses to the world, providing access to different markets and different insurers, and, importantly, helping MDS deliver on its aims.

The rest, as they say, is history – and today both MDS and Brokerslink are international powerhouses in their own rights. So, how did the two help each other?

Developing an international mindset

For MDS’s international ambitions, Brokerslink was to prove critical, enabling the broker’s then small team to step outside of their comfort zone and learn new skills. And as its membership grew, MDS employees got to travel the world more and more, to engage with different cultures, markets, and insurers. And as their experience and their relationships grew, the world began to open up to them.

Working with brokers from other countries, as well as taking part in international events such as RIMS in the US and FERMA in Europe, also enabled the MDS team to develop an international mindset.

Success by association

As Brokerslink expanded, attracting more and more brokers to its ranks, and its influence and profile increased, so did that of MDS – enabling the broker to open doors that, due to its size and relatively obscurity, would ordinarily have been closed.

For MDS, conducting business for other brokers, and vice versa, was, and remains, a great learning experience – these informal learnings supported by a host of more formal training opportunities provided by Brokerslink over the years – from sessions with insurers, through to events at Lloyd’s, often, also accompanied by more informal, but equally important, networking and relationship building moments.

Brokerslink’s reflective glory had an enormous impact on MDS as a company, and on its teams, enabling it to punch above its weight on the international stage – creating an impression of a bigger, and more influential MDS that it was at the time, that only become later.

A two-way relationship

Yet whilst the Brokerslink network has helped shaped what MDS is today – including the strength of its brand, its reputation, and its visibility, not only in its own markets, but around the world – MDS has also helped fundamentally shape and support Brokerslink.

The key role that MDS, and its CEO José Manuel Fonseca in particular, played in the formulation and development of Brokerslink cannot be underestimated.

In its early years, the fledgling network was very dependent not only on individuals within MDS, but on the practical support the broker provided. Both José Manuel Fonseca, whose idea it was, and his team, voluntarily devoted a lot of their time and energy to the project. And he, and the MDS teams around the world – still do. As do other partners and affiliates, as promoting and supporting the network is in the DNA of them all. For example, all the board meetings, wherever they are held in the world, are always hosted by that country’s broker partner.

Brokerslink has always run a lean operation – at first due to necessity but still by choice. Its first paid employees may have been based in the US, and latterly in Europe, yet the network resisted the temptation to have an expensive head office – and
continues to this day to be based out of MDS’s premises in Portugal.

The team at MDS all understand the value that Brokerslink brings to the business, and to individual employees, providing great learning and development opportunities. Support that is evident on a daily basis – the central Brokerslink team able to access any support they need. And despite being independent and autonomous from MDS, the network team know that they have access to all the knowledge and support they could ever need – be that specialist advice, travel, finance, or legal support or even just a friendly ear. The MDS team know just how important and valuable Brokerslink is to the broker, and vice versa.

Growing in parallel

Despite the very close, almost symbiotic relationship between MDS and Brokerslink, the broker has never, and does not, control or own the network – it is a true, generous, mutually beneficial partnership. They share the same DNA – focused on collaboration, partnership, friendship, and mutual generosity of give first, receive after – and the same understanding that international business needs to be nurtured with high levels of responsive service – no matter what the distance or where the client or issue is.

No matter the level of participation, they all share the same values, and they are all part of the same family.

Brokerslink: lifting up all partners & affiliates

The transformational impact of being part of Brokerslink has not only benefitted MDS – but all of the network’s brokers – many of which have also grown in parallel. Involvement in Brokerslink has also helped them to develop their company culture, their business, their national reach, their teams – benefitting from the increased exposure, visibility, and reputation of Brokerslink. Being involved in Brokerslink is a key differentiator for them all, helping brokers stand out from the crowd and to bring something different.

Looking back, moving forward

As José Manuel Fonseca comments, the plan for Brokerslink was always very loose but critically, based on a strong vision, one which is baked into its mindset. Built from the bottom up, the plan, if that is not too strong a word for it, was to be open to others, to develop the network, to talk, to meet, to discover, and explore. As José Manuel Fonseca says – “that was it, that was our plan. And every year, there was a new surprise.”

This Brokerslink model, there from the very start, had a huge impact on all those that joined the network – especially early on. They felt they were a part of it, a part of something and that they were not just another partner, it was not just another network. It was a transformational process for these regional, but ambitious, brokers. And like MDS, they made the best use of the resources that Brokerslink could provide and capitalised on the opportunities that the network opened – and still opens – up.

“I am very proud of what MDS and Brokerslink have both achieved” surmises José Manuel Fonseca.