Women to Watch: 2008
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 | Jodi ProhofskySenior Vp Operations CIGNA Corp. Eden Prairie, Minn. 43 Jodi Prohofsky oversees all operational aspects of CIGNA's strategic health service businesses, including behavioral health, employee assistance programs, health advocacy and lifestyle management programs, as well as case management and disease management. Under her leadership, CIGNA has earned the Business Insurance Readers Choice Award for best EAP for the past four years. The business unit has experienced growth under Ms. Prohofsky's guidance, expanding from about 16.4 million members at the end of 2006 to approximately 18.6 million members at mid-year 2008. Most recently, she was responsible for merging CIGNA Behavioral Health and CareAllies, CIGNA's behavioral health and advocacy business, into a single operational unit. Within her community, Ms. Prohofsky has been recognized with the Women in Business award from the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal and the Elaine McCormick-Wray award from the Working Family Resource Center of St. Paul for her support of work/life parent education programs in the Twin Cities. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "I got into it by accident of all things. I started back with CIGNA in 1992. At that time, we were deliverers of service. I had just finished my Ph.D. and I was going to storm the academic world but I was off the academic calendar cycle. A friend of mine called and said 'Do you want a part-time job in my practice?' I started working for the company and about three days later I learned I was working for an insurance company. And...from there, I really started to enjoy the business part of it more and more." THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED: "Be true to yourself. Do what's good for you, but most importantly maintain your integrity. Also, always know when you're in over your head. Make sure your ego doesn't get in the way of your success." ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "Really know where your passions lie. Know where your talents lie. Don't try to over-engineer your career path. You really have to be open to any opportunities because you never know where they may take you." WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "Veterinarian, lawyer, musical theater actress, psychologist/counselor." |
 | Sharon RitcheyExecutive Vp and Director, Global Operations and Technology Hartford Life Inc., a subsidiary of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. Simsbury, Conn. 49 Sharon Ritchey is the highest-ranking female executive at Hartford Life. Appointed in May, she oversees the global operations and technology organization for the company. Prior to joining Hartford Life in 2007 as senior vp and chief operating officer for its U.S. wealth management group, she was senior vp of property and casualty operations for Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. She joined Hartford in April 1999 as the chief operations officer for the affinity unit in personal lines. Before that, Ms. Ritchey, who has 20 years of operations management experience in the financial services industry, worked at GE Capital and Citibank. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "I spent (the) majority of my career in financial services. Hartford approached me about nine years ago. The beauty about being an operations person is it's very transferable and marketable across industries. The challenge is what intrigued me about joining The Hartford. From a comparison perspective, the insurance industry has always been behind financial services, relative to operational performance. When (the company) contacted me, it wanted me to come in and transform where they were to where they wanted to be. They saw an opportunity in looking outside the industry to someone with years of experience who could come in and apply those same skills from another industry within the insurance industry." THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED: "I think the best advice I ever received was do the job you're doing very well and the next job will come. Do what you do really well and people will notice, and you'll move to the next job." ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "Find a mentor that you think you can build an effective relationship with and bounce ideas off. Get some coaching from that person who would be outside your line of command." WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "I grew up with eight other siblings and we were a pretty competitive family. The one thing I always knew I wanted to be was a winner. The question was all about how to win." |
 | Chelley SchaperSenior Vp and Client Service Executive Lockton Cos. L.L.C. Denver 36 Chelley Schaper has spent nine of her 14 years in the insurance industry at Lockton. She was one of the youngest employees to be named a senior vp in Lockton's history, earning the title at age 32. She is a leader and contributor to two of Lockton's global practice groups, the global property practice and the risk management group, where she places complex insurance programs for large national and international firms. Ms. Schaper also has been heavily involved in recruiting and training other young, talented women for Lockton Inc. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "It was actually by happenstance. I went to the University of Georgia. All general business students are required to take introduction to risk management. I thought it would be good preparation for me for law school, so I changed my major from general business to risk management in insurance. I thought it was interesting. It was a field where you got to learn about many different industries instead of just your own." THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED: "In life, my parents taught me to work hard and do the right thing and all else will follow. It seems cliché, but it's really the way I was raised. Chuck McDaniels, president of our office, taught me to listen more than I speak because it gives me more opportunities to learn." ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "I think it's important they be themselves. If you try to be someone you're not, people know that. It's a people business. Invest in and get to know your clients, your carrier partners, your co-workers and the community where you do business to be successful. Always thirst for knowledge because you'll never know everything in insurance. Believe in the company you work for because it makes working so much more fun." WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "I wanted to be a brain surgeon. I left that dream behind in grade school. All of high school and college I really did want to be a lawyer." |
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