2014 Women in Insurance Leadership Winners
September 30, 2014 7:23 PM
Since 2006, INN's WIL program has honored the extraordinary accomplishments of more than 70 professionals whose leadership and performance have redefined the insurance business and its application of technology. Our 2014 winners are distinguished for the global reach of their endeavors and the international scope of their accomplishments. Diverse in the roles they play, the contributions they have made and the lines of business that their companies pursue, this years winners nonetheless share a laser-like focus on sustainable growth and profitabilityachieved in large measure through technology innovation. As Nancy Mueller, COO at Zurich North America Commercial and one of 2014s WIL award recipients, puts it: We are transforming operations to be focused on the customer, using big data and other technologies. The pace of change is very rapid. To return to the Women in Insurance Leadership main site click here. The ten honorees will be feted at the 7th annual Women in Insurance Leadership Forum to be held in Chicago on October 20th. To learn more about the forum, click here.
<p>VICTORIA CARTER<br> Vice Chairman, International Operations<br> Guy Carpenter and Co.<br> Years in Industry: 35<br> Direct Reports: 6<br> Company Size: $1.1 billion<br> Lines of Business: Reinsurance</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Establishing a market leading team for third-party capital provision that encourages new capital from emerging economies. This has not only generated significant revenue to Guy Carpenter, but has led to additional forms of strategic work, such as M&A, generating further substantial revenue to the company. In her own words: The fundamental of this industry is trust and relationships. Even now, with so much technology in the sector, its still very much a people business.
<p>JUDY COPECHAL<br> Chief Underwriting Officer<br> United Property & Casualty Insurance Co.<br> Years in Industry: 39<br> Direct Reports: 20<br> Company Size: $197 million gross written premium<br> Number of Employees: 94<br> Lines of Business: Commercial and personal coverage</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Sustaining a combined five year annualized growth rate of 18 percent and 18 million in net operating income for her previous employer, Bankers Insurance's BOP business. The BOP book also has a combined ratio that is well below the industry standard for the product line. In her own words: I try to support my staff and their career growth. Im very candid and open in the way I work with others. I like to think that we are all equal partners.
<p>MELISSA CRAWFORD<br> Senior Vice President of Markets, Products and Technology<br> Physicians Mutual<br> Years in Industry: 25<br> Direct Reports: 10<br> Company Size: $703 million gross written premium<br> Number of Employees: 1,000<br> Lines of Business: Individual life and health policies plus annuities</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Entering the Pre-Need market, allowing Physicians Mutual to grow revenues and expand its product portfolio. To date in 2014 sales have increased 20 percent over the prior year. In her own words: I think industry diversity is important. People see problems and opportunities differently. A diverse leadership team enables us to look at situations from a variety of perspectives and leads to better decision making.
<p>PAULA DOWNEY<br> President and CEO<br> CSAA Insurance Group<br> Years in Industry: 20<br> Direct Reports: 7<br> Company Size: $2.84 billion gross written premium<br> Number of Employees: 3,500<br> Lines of Business: Personal P&C, auto, home, renters, personal umbrellas coverage</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Championing the successful push to establish CSAA as separate operating entity from its then-affiliated AAA club, AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah. The separation has allowed both companies to grow and focus on their core lines of business. In her own words: Women play a very large role now, representing at least half of the employees in in the insurance labor force.
<p>KATHLEEN S. ELLIS<br> Senior Vice President<br> Chubb and Son Inc.<br> Years in Industry: 33<br> Direct Reports: 40<br> Company Size: $12.2 billion gross written premium<br> Number of Employees: 10,100<br> Lines of Business: P&C, accident and health coverage</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Taking charge of multinational solutions at Chubb. Since taking on that the role in 2001, non-domestic revenues have more than doubled with consistent profitable operating margins that have grown an average of 40 percent each year. In her own words: I travel to countries where women dont have a prominent role. When I show up at one of my branches, I feel like a rock star. I tell the women, Dont let the differences stop you.
<p>KATHERINE MABE<br> President<br> Allstate Business to Business<br> Years in Industry: 32<br> Direct Reports: 10<br> Company Size: $30.6 billion gross written premium<br> Number of Employees: 70,000<br> Lines of Business: Multiple</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Taking Allstates Western U.S. territory from negative to positive growth in two years by focusing on expanding distribution and marketing to new distribution channels. In her own words: For me personally, nothing can be more satisfying than having your whole team be successful. Its really about are we a success as a company and as a business.
<p>NANCY MUELLER<br> Chief Operating Officer<br> Zurich North America Commercial<br> Years in Industry: 25<br> Direct Reports: 9<br> Company Size: $14.3 billion gross written premium<br> Number of Employees: 9,000 NA; 55,000 globally<br> Lines of Business: Liability, specialty products, workers comp, property and motor coverage</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Driving corporate BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) standards. This is enabling Zurich employees to do their jobs while utilizing their personal devices, achieving greater productivity and employee satisfaction in the process. In her own words: We are transforming operations to be focused on the customer, using big data and other technologies. The pace of change is very rapid.
<p>DONNA PEEPLES<br> Chief Customer Experience Officer<br> AIG<br> Years in Industry: 8<br> Direct Reports: 12<br> Company Size: $68.7 billion<br> Number of Employees: 64,000<br> Lines of Business: Consumer, commercial and specialty coverage</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Leading a corporate transformation from siloed processes and systems to global processes and systems. She sponsored and led AIGs first global initiative, which led to 80 countries deploying the same system, based on an agile, global framework and modularized for local adoption. In her own words: We have a Customer Data Officer who got his degree in archaeology and a Customer Solutions leader with a Masters in HR. Teams comprised of people with such a broad range of life experiences give you better results, because youre drawing from a more complete set of perspectives.
<p>LORRAINE SEIB<br> President, Excess Casualty<br> XL Group<br> Years in Industry: 35<br> Direct Reports: 5<br> Company Size: $6 billion gross written premium<br> Number of Employees: 4,000<br> Lines of Business: Commercial, property, casualty, professional and specialty coverage</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Leading the implementation of a new content management solution across XLs excess casualty business. The system will eliminate all the paper once was associated with a client file for more efficient, electronic based business decision-making, workflow, and support. In addition, her team is helping pilot XLs new Microsoft Dynamics-based CRM solution. This tool enables more efficient and enhanced client relationship interactions, pipeline management and the ability to identify more cross and up-sell opportunities across XLs business units. In her own words: Analytics is helping everyone do everything betterfrom pricing policies to choosing which business you really want to take. So everyone has to figure out how to better leverage all the data we can collect now on economic conditions, crime rates, weather patterns and the other factors that can impact risk.
<p>TERESA WHITE<br> President, U.S. Operations<br> Aflac Inc.<br> Years in Industry: 16<br> Direct Reports: 9<br> Company Size: $5.6 billion gross written premium<br> Number of Employees: 4,600<br> Lines of Business: Voluntary Insurance</p>
A major recent accomplishment: Spearheading a 22 percent increase in Aflac's operational efficiency, a 4 percent increase in employee engagement and 3 percent increase in account retention. In her own words: I dont just serve in a role. I really do try to understand how each of our constituents whether broker, field agent, employer or employee see their job, the market and our company. I see how they fit.