Manitoba's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 42
MANITOBA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
42
Red River Mutual treats staff and customers with care
S
onya Woodhall describes
herself as shy but is not
afraid to speak up when
it counts. After 24 years
at a previous insurer,
Woodhall knew that it was time
for a change. When she learned
that Red River Mutual Insurance
Company was expanding its
residential underwriting team, she
applied — but with conditions.
“At the interview I said, ‘All I’m
looking for is to be an underwriter.
I’ve already had more than 20
years of climbing the ladder.
I just want a place where I’m
respected.’” Her honesty paid off.
Since joining in 2018, Woodhall
— who is based in Winnipeg
— works fully remotely for Red
River Mutual, one of Canada’s
largest policyholder-owned
insurance companies. She has
been promoted several times
and is currently a residential
underwriting specialist, which
puts her in a unique position as an
informal mentor within her team.
We want to grow but we
don’t want to lose what
we are good at, which
is the human touch.
— Arun Abraham
Vice-President, Information
Systems and Technology
“Younger employees know I’m
just a phone call away. They can
ask me anything,” she says.
Woodhall thought she might
stay a couple of years and then
take early retirement. “But a
The senior leadership team at Red River Mutual Insurance celebrates 150 years of connection and community
at its anniversary gala event.
year and half ago, I received an
employee championship award
where you are nominated by
people throughout the whole
company. I was floored,” she
says. As for retirement? “I love
the people I work with. I love the
managers and supervisors. We are
like a family.”
Before Arun Abraham
joined Red River Mutual as
vice-president, information
systems and technology, he had
worked in very large, fast-paced
organizations. “In big companies,
you rarely take the opportunity
to sit and think. What I found
very impressive here is we don’t
try to do too many things all at
once. In previous organizations,
sometimes it was not always about
doing it well or doing it right but
just about getting it done and then
doing more.”
His background helped
Abraham accelerate an IT
operating model for Red River
Mutual but one aligned to the
DNA of the company.
“We made some strategic
decisions about what our identity
would be, what our future should
look like and what our journey
should be,” says Abraham. “Being
a smaller organization, we know
we don’t have all the resources
in-house, so we work with
outside partners in an intentional
way.”
The focus and discipline
are yielding dividends. In 2025,
the Red River Mutual team
