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October 03, 2019

Cheryl Yakey

San Francisco-based senior counsel, Clyde & Co

San Francisco-based contract partner, Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP

Insurance is vital to our country's and the world's economies, so it will always play an important role in detecting, mitigating and covering risks both long-established and newly emerging. The industry is undergoing rapid transformation. Both longstanding insurance companies and insurtech startups are devising ways to use data more effectively, improve products and processes and more, all with the customer's experience front and center. Technology is allowing insurance to evolve at an unprecedented pace.

Foremost, my role will be to expand Clyde's insurance regulatory practice group by providing value-added services to existing firm clients as an available regulatory resource. I'm also excited to expand the firm's presence in the emerging technologies offered by insurtech startups. I began participating in the insurtech movement from its early days about five years ago, with the notion that the technology entrepreneurs could benefit from my deep knowledge about this highly regulated industry.

Insurance companies, like all businesses, will continue to grapple with the interface of new technology with existing infrastructure. Most are meeting this challenge internally and/or by partnering with startups. At the same time, startups face the challenge of operating in an industry that is heavily regulated in nearly every aspect of the business, the complexity of which is compounded by a state-based system composed of laws and regulations from 50 states, D.C., and five U.S. territories. This creates an enormous challenge for any startup, especially if they aspire to becoming an insurance company. The barriers to entry require tremendous amounts of capital and multiple operational systems to assure compliance. So there is advantage in return for startups to partner with legacy insurers, which not only have that capital and infrastructure, but are rich with decades worth of data.

My first experience in the insurance field occurred before I attended law school. I worked in training and development for Alexander & Alexander, one of the large insurance brokerage companies, which was later acquired by Aon PLC. It was in this role that I first learned about the role of agents and brokers on behalf of the insurance industry, particularly on the large commercial business side.

Be patient, as there is a great deal to learn. Most of us who have multiple decades working with the insurance industry continue to learn new things we didn't know about an aspect of regulation and compliance. And, while a casual observer may think insurance is boring, the reality is that it is an immensely sophisticated and complex business, no matter which line of coverage you're looking at. And I like to say that insurance is like the mortar between the bricks on a wall; when you look around, there is no business that could afford to operate without the protections afforded by insurance. It's vital to the economy.

I'd like to run a nonprofit with a focus on social justice.

I was fortunate to attend Hamilton College, an excellent liberal arts college, and major in English literature. I had a minor in government. My intention was always to attend law school (or become a talk show host).

Working with colleagues from a multinational firm.

There are just too many good things to choose from (especially here in San Francisco), though oysters and lamb chops are often on the top of my favorite restaurant orders. But my favorite food is actually something much simpler - eggplant. There are infinite ways to prepare and enjoy this versatile food with its delightfully pungent flavor. I never tire of it.

I love biographies, and always recommend David McCullough's “John Adams” (for those who think partisanship is a recent invention), “No Ordinary Time,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin (FDR, Eleanor and Churchill - each more interesting than the next), and “Lindbergh,” by A. Scott Berg (such an amazing story of the man and our country). For business, I have many, but if I have to select one that I think every person in business should read, it would be Stephen Covey's “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”

Cooking is my current passion. I enjoy preparing ever better and healthier meals from the abundance of amazing produce available here in the Bay Area.

“The PBS NewsHour” with Judy Woodruff

I like to enjoy some aspect of San Francisco or California, generally - be it a walk in Golden Gate Park, enjoying live music at one of the city's many and varied music venues, a drive along the Pacific Ocean, or a visit to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I like to enjoy at least one such delightful aspect of this area each weekend.