The next holiday Julie Preece takes, she wants to ride elephants through Assam in India while looking for tigers.

She is a high-octane traveller, keen to try new things, always seeking adventure and a thrill a minute with her chef husband of 13 years.

And as the new head of the Bermuda Insurance Institute, Mrs. Preece is expected to inject some of that enthusiasm and high-level energy into the well-established business school.

But she said she is not going in ?guns blazing? but instead wants to make sure that she knows the ropes before making any radical changes to how things are run.

?I have lots of ideas, but I am also realistic,? she said. ?I first want to get my feet under the desk and see if anything needs to be looked at. I want to see how things work out. Change for change sake isn?t good, first lets get things going.?

Mrs. Preece took over the post of director of education and training at the BII at the beginning of the month, after a last minute scramble to fill the post.

In December the BII named Tania Stafford as its next director of education and training and successor to Peter Doyles, who held the post for the past nine and a half years and was due to retire at the end of last year.

But at the last minute Ms Stafford, who was head of secondary at the Bermuda High School for Girls, pulled out, leaving the school without someone to run it.

Outgoing director Mr. Doyles delayed his retirement to give them time to find a new successor, ensure a seamless hand over and to provide uninterrupted service to the institute?s many students.

It was then that bosses at BII turned to Mrs. Preece, who was working at the Bermuda Monetary Authority, to see if she would be interested in the post.

?I was approached,? said Mrs. Preece. ?I had never applied for another job while I had been at the Registrar of Companies, and then I moved with the Insurance Division to the BMA. I sat down and wrote a list of pros and cons and thought, this job will not be available in two or three years? time. I have always had longevity in what I do, and I would hope to leave this post when I retire.?

The director of education and training at the BII is responsible for assessing the overall education and training needs of the member companies and ensuring that the programmes and seminars offered are current and relevant in today?s business environment. Mrs. Preece will be responsible for the overall management and daily operations of the institute as well as providing student counselling and career guidance.

Mrs. Preece, a Bermudian, was educated at Bermuda High School for Girls and is a graduate of Queen?s University and Webster University where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts respectively.

After returning from her studies in Canada, she got a job with Bank of Bermuda, where she rose through the ranks during her 12 and a half years with them, working in areas from corporate banking to trust and credit.

And one day she saw a job advertised at the Registrar of Companies that she thought would be right up her street.

?It was as if the job description had been written for me,? she said, and soon moved over to the Registrar and into supervision of insurance, where she has been for the past eight and a half years.

And it is the in-depth knowledge of insurance that she had gleaned over the years that made her the obvious candidate for the post to the executive at the BII.

?I am now dealing with exactly the same clients ? but now in a capacity that they want to hear from me,? she joked. ?I have essentially been working in this field since 1983, with the same people for 20 years. We are very professional, but we are friends.?

Mrs. Preece left the BMA, where she was head of insurance, with a slightly heavy heart, but determined to make a difference.

And she said it was important for her to feel that she was making a contribution to Bermuda, and the future of Bermudians through her work.

?I feel I can contribute to Bermuda in another aspect,? she said. ?I can contribute to Bermuda through education.?