Mylo's Belen Tokarski sees leadership as 'confident humility'

To continue the growth of Mylo, an independent broker insurtech, Belen Tokarski, its president and chief operating officer, takes a humble but firm approach.

"It's leadership not 'likership,'" she said. "Leadership is being able to provide very clear goals to people and help them understand what it is that they do every day, how what they do every day has a direct impact to what our goals are, so that they have a very clear line of sight on what they're doing." 

Tokarski calls her style "confident humility." "Because of the family I grew up in, I generally speak in a way that's very declarative, like, 'This is the right answer.' I often have to pull back and say, 'But I'm not sure.'"

She joined Mylo in 2019 after four years in executive roles at Insureon, preceded by 15 years in a variety of roles at CNA Insurance. As a leader, Tokarski continued, she lets Mylo's more than 100 employees know that it's alright to try things as long as they work toward the company's goals – and that it's alright to fail. 

"You have to be able to pull back and then course correct – confident humility, setting clear directions for people – not in how they need to do something, but in how what they do every day matters to the big goal," she said. "It's being there when they have questions. I would never want someone on my team to get themselves into a situation where they felt like they screwed up in some way and they couldn't tell me."

This doesn't mean trying just anything, and quickly failing at it, Tokarski clarified, adding, "Take the time to learn from failure."

At CNA, Tokarski's focus was bringing technology into their insurance business. With Insureon, Tokarski gained experience in the sales aspects of the business. She connected with Mylo while working for Insureon to implement its technology for Lockton, a global insurance brokerage that was a backer for Mylo at that time.

"What attracted me to Mylo was that it wasn't just commercial lines. They had commercial lines, personal lines, small group benefits," Tokarski said.

As president and COO of Mylo, Tokarski reports the company has been growing over the past 12 months by finding and pursuing the most profitable opportunities. 

"Our tech is really built around making recommendations to consumers so that they're getting matched with the right coverage at the right moment," she said. "I'd rather provide the right solution for somebody by listening to them and asking them questions rather than forcing a solution down their throat."

Going forward, Mylo aims to grow by 15% as it scales and improves its margins, according to Tokarski. Its Amplifi platform for recommending coverages, launched in 2023, is working well, she added.

Tokarski attributes Mylo's success to its ability to serve clients through its channel partners. "You have to be able to speak to the different, unique client," she said. "You have to make sure the technology is sophisticated enough to identify that a particular type of insured is going to need certain coverage as a recommendation."