INN’s Women in Insurance Leadership: Profiles in Innovation
October 19, 2016 by Nathan Golia
As Insurance Networking News’ Women in Insurance Leadership program enters its second decade, digitally focused consumers are transforming the industry more than ever.
That shift has been a defining factor in many of this year’s honorees’ careers. From launching entire new units devoted to data and analytics, to leveraging the full power of digital technology for customer interaction, this class is on the vanguard of the changing insurance industry. All of them cite technology innovations and initiatives as feathers in their caps, from Lincoln Financial’s Heather Milligan’s drive to speed up life insurance underwriting to Cilsy Harris’ introduction of multivariate rating to The Hanover.
Through this year’s winners, we also see the insurance industry emerging as a destination where talented professionals can apply their skills in a way that drives immense impact on the business. Philadelphia Insurance’s Carrie Santonastaso leveraged her training in sports medicine to revolutionize the way her company communicated with clients in need. Farmers’ Amanda Reierson brought expertise from stints at latter-day media companies like Yahoo and DirecTV to modernize the venerable P&C insurer. And Nandini Easwar of Esurance, who started her financial services career on the investing side, says that the diversity of outlets for creativity is a unique selling point for insurers.
Women in Insurance Leadership award nominations are collected throughout the spring and early summer, including submissions from insurance companies, analysts, and software vendors. This year, more than 40 women were nominated. The winners from the previous year and INN editors evaluate the nominations, looking for everything from innovative ideas with business impact, to a commitment to furthering the development of women in the industry. Click HERE to meet this year’s honorees; this page will be updated over the next few days as more profiles are posted.
