Women to Watch: 2008
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 | Jacqueline KosecoffChief Executive Officer Prescription Solutions, a unit of UnitedHealth Group Inc. Cypress, Calif. 59 Jacqueline Kosecoff has led Prescription Solutions' growth since joining the company in 2002 as executive vp. Then, it was a unit of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., which UnitedHealth Group acquired in 2005. Previously, Ms. Kosecoff founded and was president of Protocare Inc., a Santa Monica, Calif.-based clinical development and health services consulting firm, for four years; founded and was co-CEO and president of Value Health Sciences, a Santa Monica-based specialty managed care provider and unit of Value Health Inc., for 10 years; and the chief executive of two health services consulting firms in Santa Monica, Chassin & Kosecoff Medical Systems and Fink & Kosecoff Associates. Ms. Kosecoff is a board member of the Alliance for Aging Research and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Assn. She also is a member of the Dean's Advisory Board of the UCLA School of Public Health. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "I was an applied mathematics major in college. I loved mathematics, but I didn't want to go into the military industrial world (like many applied mathematics majors). I went to my research adviser, who essentially turned me on to the fact that medicine was an area where people with my skill set might find a home. (While obtaining my master's degree), I tried to define the model for creating a seedless watermelon--it was kind of a genetics experiment as it were. Thereafter, I was always interested in mathematical applications to health care and fell in love with health care. That is how I got into health care." THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED: "We work in health care. It's a unique privilege to be in health care. Caring is good, but doing something is better. When we hear about a problem that affects a provider or member, we ask what we can do to fix it, not just what we can do to empathize." ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "I would tell them to continually ask themselves where they want to go and what they want to do in the industry. What skill sets, what experiences do they need to acquire to get there and do that? Very seriously, ask yourself once a year, 'Is this where I want to be and what do I need to do to earn that opportunity?' and then go do it." WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "Like many young girls of my generation, I don't think I gave my self permission to think I could be whatever I wanted to be. I thought I could be a nurse and teacher. Girls today have many more options that they're aware of, and I think that is fantastic." |
 | Diane LarriveeCorporate Risk Manager S&B Engineers & Constructors Ltd. Houston 50 Diane Larrivee is responsible for the procurement of all property, casualty and specialty lines of insurance as well as benefit programs at S&B. Within the organization, she advises the general counsel, assistant general counsel and other directors and managers on all risk management, coverage and claims issues. Ms. Larrivee also has given back to her community by providing risk management services to the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department for more than 10 years. She also is a lifetime member of the organization's auxiliary and served as its president for four years. She also works with women in developing effective communication skills in creating relationships that work personally and professionally. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "My father owned an insurance agency in Port Angeles, Wash., and I worked for him in high school. I worked for him for about five years, then I ended up buying the agency and running it with my sister for another five years. I then got married and moved to Seattle and worked for a commercial brokerage there for about two and a half years. Then I moved to Texas and worked on the S&B account, and S&B offered me the position as risk manager. That was 19 years ago." THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED: "I'm really into reading and quotes. I have a quote by Wayne Dyer and it's, 'The attachment to being right creates suffering. When you have a choice to be right or to be kind, choose kind and watch your suffering disappear.' I don't always remember to do that, but when I do, it's a beautiful thing. Conversations always work out and it's satisfactory on both sides. There's also another one that I got from a leadership program I took, and it is, "You can say just about anything to anyone as long as you love them while you're doing it." When I remember to do that, that works too." ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "Straight authentic communication absolutely works. People can handle the truth, so just be straight with them. Don't be afraid to admit when you're wrong. That's how we learn. When you're honest and forthcoming like that, it allows them to be the same and really furthers your relationship." WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "I wanted to be three different things. When I was really little I wanted to be a ballerina. Then I wanted to be a teacher or a writer, because I learned to read when I was four years old and I loved reading and wanted to write. But I ended up living happily every after in risk management and insurance." |
 | Ann LongmoreExecutive Vp Willis Group Holdings Ltd. New York 50 An authority on managing liability and developing corporate risk and insurance, Ann Longmore is a global resource for carriers, clients and colleagues on the topics of directors and officers liability, fiduciary liability and employment practices in the Willis Executive Risks Practice Group. Before joining Willis, Ms. Longmore spent 10 years at a large multinational insurance company. In her last position there, she oversaw risks relating to corporate, nonprofit, multiemployer and public plans while consulting on international exposures and mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Longmore's legal experience includes positions at the Department of Labor's ERISA Enforcement Division, the New York Stock Exchange and the Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of New York. She holds a law degree and master's degrees in finance and economics. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "I got into the industry by accident when a friend recommended that I interview at a 'noninsurance insurance company.' What a recruiter told me was that as we neared the 21st century, the business of transferring risk would take many forms--sometimes utilizing insurance, but at other times through the creation of a financial guarantee or possibly a security. It was this expansive view of risk transfer that initially intrigued me. (My first) position was as a financial underwriter in the financial guarantee side of the house." THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED: "The best advice I ever received was never be afraid to ask a question. There isn't a bad question to ask. I've seen in my own career and in business that not asking a question can be a fatal error." ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "Insurance is a wonderful world and never be afraid to spread your wings and try new things. You can find myriad different aspects of insurance. Never be afraid to find something new. It can be endlessly interesting when you're on the inside." WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "I wanted to be an astronaut--that goes without saying. Still, my goal is to be in space at some point. It was appealing because the sky was the limit and you could do anything and be anything you wanted to be." |
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