Risk & Reward Podcast Series (The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research)

On this episode, these amazing thought leaders bring together their expertise and discuss disparities in American society, the need for collective action leading to change, and how to actively empower underrepresented groups inside and outside of the workplace. Also discussed in this panel is the necessity for companies to invest in a diversified talentpipeline to recruit and continue to support underrepresented groups. Tune in!

Meet the Panel:

Emil Ekiyor is the Founder/CEO of InnoPower Indy Inc, a community development organization that works with stakeholders to create capacity-building opportunities for underrepresented businesses and professionals in education, workforce development, and entrepreneurship. Emil left his home in Nigeria when he was 15 years old to pursue educational opportunities in the United States. He played in the NFL for six years before moving to Indianapolis with his family. While being active in the Indianapolis community, Emil created an ecosystem of minority professionals and #entrepreneurs from around Indiana to help unite and build a stronger community.

Amy C. Waninger is the Founder & CEO of Lead at Any Level. She was the D&I keynote speaker and has authored multiple books. Amy grew up in rural Indiana and now works with companies across the country to improve inclusive cultures and diverse leadership bench strength. 

Jamar Cobb-Dennard is a Business Broker with Indiana Business Advisors. A leadership consultant with 17 years of experience, Jamar specializes in teaching CPA soft skills related to #leadership, business development, and #communication. Jamar is also an attorney and remains active in the Indianapolis community. He has received multiple awards from Indianapolis Business Journal. 

 

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Listen in as host Darren Bloomfield has a conversation with an industry veteran. Paul G. Smith takes a trip down memory lane and covers topics ranging from advancements in technology to the countless opportunities our industry has to offer. After his 30+ years at Aon & Willis, Paul talks about his transition to a privately held company. As Carrier Relations representative for the H.W. Kaufman Group, Paul shares his unique perspective on how carriers expand or retract appetites based on market conditions. Paul believes “Insurance is the DNA of the business world.” Join us to learn what it's made of. Tune in now!Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

In the episode, Mike & Bubba explain the honesty, transparency, respect, & dedication Hylant perpetuates to its employees & clients alike. Through these strong values, the organization continues to innovate as it grows & bring best practices to its clients. Listen in to learn more about Hylant & leadership techniques!

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

In the first episode of 2021, Claire Richardson is joined by U.S. Chief Operating Officer of Lockton Companies, Said Taiym. Said’s passion shows through his 20 years of experience working in Risk Management, Information Technology, & Insurance. During this episode, Said explains how Lockton is innovating its sales approach by engaging new technology like robots and AI, to allow its employees to better serve clients. Said’s outlook on the current shift to a “new better” is only enhanced by the leadership’s entrepreneurial spirit alive in Lockton. Also discussed in this episode is innovation’s “holy war”, reverse mentoring, the importance of getting out of your comfort zone to get involved early in your career, and so much more. Check it out!Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

• Stefan Mathijssen is the Vice President, Engineering Property & Engineering Underwriter at Munich Re. Having trained as an engineer Stefan specialized in semiconductors for solar energy before transitioning into the insurance industry. In 2013 he took a job in the engineering pool at Munich Re in Germany where he began working his way up the ranks of the company. Stefan transferred to the Singapore branch in 2015 and 4 years later accepted his current role at the organization's New York Office.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Tim Fletcher is the Emerging Issues Leader for Gen Re. Based in Atlanta, Tim identifies and communicates emerging issues and exposures to Gen Re clients and internal colleagues. In this role, Tim serves as a strategic thought partner with clients in creating underwriting responses to those issues and exposures.

Tim is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (Bachelor of Arts, Journalism) and the Mitchell Hamline School of Law (Juris Doctor). He has earned his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation and serves as a guest lecturer on Risk Management and Insurance at Georgia State University. He is admitted to the Georgia Bar.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Wayne A. Bates joined the industry in 1988 when he went to work with a Lloyd’s syndicate where he had an entry-level underwriting Role that focused on US Property & Casualty business.  

In 1994 he took a more advanced position with a London-based insurance company again focusing on US P&C.  

6 years later he relocated from England to the United States and joined the Kaufman Financial Group, working for Burns & Wilcox Ltd in their in-house underwriting division (Special Risks Department (SRD) International). Here Wayne underwrote risks referred from B&W offices and responsible for B&W’s London placed binding authority portfolio.  

In 2007 Wayne joined a start-up Chicago-based excess & surplus carrier as President.  He then returned to the Kaufman Financial Group as President of Atain Insurance Companies in 2015. 

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Tune in to Risk & Reward as we recognize her valuable outlook on mentorship and get advice on how she transcended from a manager to a great leader. We will also learn how collaborating with industry leaders shaped Roxsann’s technique as a risk professional and how it can do the same for you.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Do you want to enter the RMI Industry? 

Download a FREE Learning Path and we will guide you to a thriving new career.  

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Tune in to learn about captives in today’s market, student opportunities, mentorship, and why you “don’t need to be in a leadership role to be a leader.”

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Michael Costello is the Co-Founder of Evolve MGA , a cyber specialist commercial insurance market. Entering the insurance industry as the 4th generation in the Costello family, Michael worked at the family retail insurance agency, Costello & Sons, with account managers in high school and eventually as a licensed P&C producer in college. Michael formally launched his full-time insurance career as a wholesale broker, and specialized in cyber and technology insurance for three years before launching Evolve in 2016 with his brother, Patrick. In the past five years, Evolve has emerged as a key player in the cyber market, winning Advisen’s Cyber Newcomer of the Year in 2019 and Cyber MGA of the Year in 2020.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

CRC Insurance Services, Inc.

Chad Trainor

Mark Maucere

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

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Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

About Our Guest:

Meg Mckeen– A believer that there is a story within every story, Meg's career journey took a sharp left turn in 2017 when she exchanged a corporate j-o-b for a year of self-discovery. The following year, she launched Adjunct Advisors LLC with the simple belief that the people that buy, and those that sell, insurance deserve a better experience. Meg now leverages her 20 years of industry experience and studies in the social sciences to change the way we interact with insurance. Her journey is not unique - but her ability to make insurance - and entrepreneurship - approachable and relatable, with humility, humor, and heart, is a gift.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Aon Private Risk Management

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Rob Galbraith has been called “the patron saint of insurtech”, “a global insurtech thought leader”, “a wonderful motivation”, “an inspiration”, “a mentor to many in the insurance industry”, “the prophet” and “the most interesting man in insurance”. He is the author of the international bestselling book The End Of Insurance As We Know It which has been a runaway success since its release in 2019. Rob is a popular keynote speaker who has shared his unique insights at numerous events around the globe on the topics of innovation, insurtech and the future of insurance.

Rob has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry in a variety of innovation and leadership positions. He is a recognized thought leader on P&C insurance who is a frequent media contributor and well-known industry influencer. Rob holds a Master's of Science in Insurance Management from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Michigan State University.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Pat Eckler, a partner at Goldberg Segalla, builds superior client relationships to address their litigation needs and applies his wide range of skills to aid in resolving disputes. Pat handles a variety of civil disputes in state and federal courts across Illinois and Indiana. 

In addition to representing lawyers, Pat represents design professionals, accountants, and insurance brokers. His commercial litigation experience involves complex contract disputes and defense of class-action lawsuits. Pat’s coverage practice for insurers and the insured involves commercial general liability and personal lines policies, issues involving the duties to defend and indemnify, bad faith and the application of exclusions. His tort defense work involves representing spans the representations of product manufacturers and distributors, trucking concerns and premises owners. 

Pat is active in the organized defense bar both at the state and national level.  He is a committee chair, columnist and board member with both the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel and the Professional Liability Defense Federation.  He focuses his recent work for the IDC on legislative activities.

Pat has published extensively in professional journals on a wide range of topics.  He has published on substantive areas of law ranging from products liability and toxic torts to premises liability and claims against accountants.  

Pat studied ancient Egyptian language at the University of Chicago, where he earned his degree in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.  After completing his undergraduate studies, he taught history and coached high school and college basketball for three years before attending law school at the University of Florida.

Pat is the co-host of the Podium and Panel podcast with Dan Cotter which is a weekly podcast focusing on oral arguments before courts of review in Illinois and Indiana, the 7th Circuit and SCOTUS.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Richard L. McCathron, CPCU, CIC, brings more than 25 years of P&C experience to his role as President of Hippo. Rick joined the company in 2017 to establish Hippo's insurance operations team and bring Hippo’s smart, simple and proactive home insurance products to scale. In just over four years, Hippo has become a national leader in the U.S. homeowners market, reaching more than 80% of the total U.S. homeowners population. Hippo’s integrated platform, which includes a growing suite of proactive services designed to prevent loss, is a modern approach to home insurance that brings customers greater peace of mind.

Prior to Hippo, Rick held senior executive positions at well-respected insurance companies including First Connect Insurance as its President & CEO, Superior Access Insurance as its President & CEO, and Mercury Insurance Group (NYSE-MCY) as its Regional Vice President. Rick is both a Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter and a Certified Insurance Counselor and sits on the Board of Directors of Hippo, Spinnaker Insurance Company, and First Connect Insurance. He is an advisor for several other InsureTechs.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Patrick Gallagher Jr. 

As chairman of Gallagher’s Canadian and Caribbean brokerage operations and CEO of its Latin American operations, Patrick is charged with building and executing strategies for growth and innovation in these rapidly expanding markets. Patrick works with the leaders of Gallagher’s Canadian, Caribbean, and Latin American offices to help support growth and profitability. As part of his responsibilities in this area, Patrick is also a member of Gallagher’s worldwide global brokerage leadership team.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Trcia Hudspeth:

Tricia Hudspeth, Senior Advertising & Marketing Coordinator at Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance (IFBI), is a creative, empathetic problem solver. Since joining IFBI, she has facilitated many marketing projects and events, including the Horsepower promotion with the Colts in 2017 and the former Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park. She enjoys mentoring with Pass the Torch Foundation for Women and serves on their Developing Professional Committee as the social media and marketing chair.

 

Kristen Gibson:

Kristen graduated Ball State with a degree in Journalism Graphics. She has been working for Indiana Farm Bureau since 2009. Her focus is on the design and concepts behind marketing and advertising materials.

 

 

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Ryan Hanley is the founder and president of Rogue Risk, a national, tech-enabled independent insurance agency helping small businesses put their insurance on autopilot. Ryan is also the creator of The Ryan Hanley Show, the insurance industry's most popular podcast. Ryan has performed over 200 keynotes to insurance audiences over the last decade, helping independent insurance agents across the country digitize their business.

https://ryanhanley.com - podcast

https://roguerisk.com - website

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Roddy Graham

Dan Heywood

Matt Jarrett

THB Group Ltd. 

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

This episode’s sponsor, empowering the next generation of insurance professionals, is Hylant. Listen in to hear more about Hylant’s values, history, and opportunities. 

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Brad Robinson is the Associate Director of Insurance & Financial Risk Management for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and tasked with management of the Association’s various insurance programs. Prior to joining the NCAA in early 2016, he spent six years as an associate corporate risk manager for a large insurance company in Bloomington, Illinois. He has earned various insurance industry designations including the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM). Robinson earned his bachelor’s degree in risk management and insurance from Ball State University (’10) and his M.B.A. in insurance from Olivet College (‘15).

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Establishing credibility when entering a new job is difficult. This is especially true for insurance producers. It is hard to walk into an insured office and tell them to trust you without having a proven track record. Our guests from Gregory & Appel Insurance, Brad Dumbauld, Tyson Vaughn, and Reid Putnam share some advice on how to ease this challenge. They cover the importance of having a set of stories, the power of using “we”, and how to be of service. The role of an insurance agent is changing into that of a risk management consultant: “Insurance is just how we get paid”. Join us to learn more about the other ways to add value to your client. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Join us as Claire interviews Karen DeToro, Chief Actuary & Chief Risk Officer at CNO Financial. After Karen graduated from Butler University, she fell into the insurance industry. Listen as she provides key insights on the value of leadership and dedication, career planning strategies, & the impact COVID-19 has had on her role.Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

About Our Guest: Tim Kenesey

Timothy J. Kenesey has spent a significant part of his career helping businesses define their strategy, improve their market position, and grow profitably. Since early 2001, Tim has been the President & CEO of MedPro Group Corporation. During the summer of 2005, in connection with GE’s publicly announced exits from its insurance businesses, Tim helped engineer a sale of MedPro Group to Berkshire Hathaway. In what was described as a “win-win” transaction, GE CEO Jeff Immelt remarked that MedPro Group was an “excellent business… moving into a bright future… with great owners,” while Berkshire’s Warren Buffett stated that the “MedPro Group team has successfully navigated through difficult insurance cycles by consistently delivering the nation’s best defense for doctors and solid results for shareholders.” Since joining Berkshire, in addition to maintaining his CEO position at MedPro Group, Tim is a director of certain other Berkshire subsidiaries. Before joining Berkshire, Tim was an officer at GE Insurance and a Global Business Development Manager at GE Healthcare (where he focused on aiding strategic growth initiatives and was responsible for helping to complete acquisitions and alliances in MR, CT, ultrasound, x-ray, nuclear medicine, and related services businesses throughout the world). Prior to his tenure at GE, Tim helped a variety of clients execute growth and strategic alternatives as a member of the Mergers, Acquisitions, & Corporate Finance Team at global law firm Sidley Austin. Tim began his professional career with KPMG in both audit and tax positions. Tim holds a BBA from the University of Notre Dame and a JD from the University of Illinois and was both a CPA and an attorney. He supports various community service efforts, including his role as the Founder & Chairman of Fort4Fitness, a 501(c)(3) organization that champions active, healthy living in Northeast Indiana. Tim and his wife have three daughters.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Andrew Rosenberg

Andrew is the Office Business Leader of Mercer’s Health business in Indianapolis and Cincinnati with responsibility for client services and management of the consulting team. He actively leads client relationships and assists in the development of clients’ long-term benefits strategies, including consulting on healthcare funding strategies, benefit design and cost analysis, multi-year strategic planning, consumer-driven strategies, and international benefits. Andrew also supports Mercer’s Central US Health business with multinational opportunities. 

 Prior to joining Mercer’s Health business, Andrew was a Client Manager within Mercer where he was accountable for understanding Fortune 1000 or equivalent clients’ business objectives, scoping their problems and solutions, and managing projects. He has previously worked in Mercer’s workforce communication and changes business in Detroit where he developed employee communications related to health plan and retiree medical changes, retirement education, and annual benefits enrollment.

 Andrew holds an MBA through Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in management from Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana.

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

Mike Roy is an experienced automation and operations expert in the E&S industry. As CIO for three of the largest E&S platforms in the U.S., Mike’s visionary leadership has yielded significant results for his employers and the broader non-admitted marketplace.

Mike’s industry contributions include 15 years of membership and management of the AAMGA/WSIA Automation Committee for which he was presented with the Earl S. Dillard award in appreciation of his significant ongoing involvement and impact. Mike founded the E&S Joint Working Group, a collaboration between AAMGA, NAPSLO, Lloyd’s, ACT, and ACORD to further automation and interconnectivity within the E&S industry and which led to the first ACORD API standards for E&S carrier rating and forms distribution along with the first complete round-trip electronic policy transaction proof-of-concept. Mike has served on many carrier advisory boards including Nationwide E&S, XL Catlin, Markel’s Producer Council, and Nautilus’ Technology Advisory Committee.

A highly skilled team-builder, Mike helped CRC grow from a four location, $225M wholesaler to over $3B in gross written premium, over 50 locations, significant M&A integrations, and the rollout of their entire Binding Authority strategy through mergers with Southern Cross and Tapco. At RPS, Mike oversaw the consolidation of more than 28 management systems plus over 40 acquisitions allowing the centralization of business process outsourcing and a newly created CRM and data analysis platform while co-leading the creation and deployment of what is now the most successful Digital platform in the E&S industry. In less than a year at RT Specialty, Mike helped bring in significant revenue from a key acquisition partner along with a new technology platform that can be leveraged as the basis for RT’s Target Operating Model inclusive of end-to-end business process workflows, support, and future scalability.

Dark Matter InsurTech

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

How a $450 Scholarship Built 50 Years of Success: An Interview with Dr. William T. Hold

Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.