Linda Fallon has spent about 37 years in the insurance industry and the last 15 years with Arch Insurance Group, in various roles at the executive level. Initially, she started as SVP for travel and then SVP of travel and accident & health. In August, she assumed the role of division president, consumer, which includes travel, accident & health and warranty and lenders solutions.
"I get to work with a lot of amazing clients, very large tour operators, travel providers and suppliers," Fallon said. "I also have a great team, from our frontline staff to the executives in my division. We are all very passionate about doing what's right for the customer, being able to provide a high degree of service excellence. It's palpable in our organization."
Fallon shared it's important to ask forward-looking questions that highlight the vision like: What is the North Star? What do we want to be as an organization? How do we want to differentiate ourselves? What is the build requirement that we're going to need between now and then?
"I always say vision without execution is a hallucination," Fallon added. "So, it's about executing on the vision, and you won't get everything right, so being able to be nimble enough and flexible enough so that you can make adjustments quickly, is important."
Fallon added that she is a part of setting the overall vision, which she considers a part of being a leader. "Good leaders possess vision, the ability to ensure it's executed. That means clearly articulating what is everybody's role in that execution and why it matters," Fallon said. "A good leader also understands the market and competitive environment because it's always changing. … I think culturally, I have to set an environment of teamwork, I have to be willing to roll up my sleeves and work just as hard as everybody else because it's not about me telling people what our vision is. It's about me assisting in and enabling that execution."
Fallon said she sees the insurance industry evolving and it's necessary to understand incoming risks.
"We're actually, right now, looking at a product for the hotel marketplace … the cost for more luxury type stays are getting very expensive and are often non-refundable so building in insurance for some of those channels will be a really nice opportunity for us," Fallon said. "It's really seeing where new markets could be exploited or new products could be leveraged or technology could help gain competitive advantage–all to the benefit of the consumer and building in efficiencies and quality service."
To people interested in the insurance industry and looking for early-career advice, Fallon said to take advantage of career development opportunities like education programs.
"Embrace each new role or responsibility with passionate ambition," Fallon added. "For me, there is nothing more exciting as a leader than watching a new employee who comes into the job with enthusiasm."
