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Women to Watch: 2006

Posted On: Apr. 7, 2009 10:16 AM CST

Laurel Ulrich

Laurel A. Ulrich


Senior Vp, Regional Executive Officer Western Region

ACE USA

Los Angeles

Age: 43

Laurel Ulrich began in the insurance industry in 1987 as a workers compensation claims representative at Travelers Property Casualty Corp., and then went to American International Group Inc. later in 1987. In 1990, she took a position at Johnson & Higgins, which was purchased by Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. during her tenure. She began working for ACE in 2001. In 2003, Ms. Ulrich became regional executive officer for the Western region as part of the insurer's coordination of its business units to represent "One ACE" to customers and distribution channels. Her leadership of ACE's Western region has helped it grow from four employees to 70.

Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?

A: "The advice I offer young women entering the industry today is to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. Take advantage of any education that is offered through your company and study and take the tests while you are still young and used to taking tests. The more proficient you are at the technical side of our industry, the better you will be at any job. Work long hours, take initiative, find a mentor and constantly ask questions."

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?

A: "I have been fortunate to have many mentors that have influenced my career. My father was the head of a brokerage firm for many years and he got me into this industry. His true love for the industry and the people he met every day showed me what an enjoyable job it could be. Paul Gibbs, Willis Western zonal leader, hired me at (Johnson & Higgins Inc.) and really taught me business acumen, how to deal with the markets and how to properly service clients. And finally Dominic Frederico--who was the chairman of ACE--hired me at ACE. He believed in me and gave me my chance to shine. I still depend on all of them to give me advice and have found their insight invaluable."

Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?

A: "If I could change one thing about our industry, I would want us to be an industry that does not sabotage ourselves from a pricing standpoint. It seems that minute we start to make a profit and the market begins to harden, we continually turn the tide to a soft market. We are the only industry that I know of that cannot seem to be able to stand prosperity. There is always capacity out there willing to drive the top line rather than the bottom line. It does not seem like there is enough focus on the quality of the companies and their respective ratings and instead, the cheapest price is all that matters."


Maxine E. Walker

Maxine E. Walker


Vp, Western Division Claims Manager

Factory Mutual Insurance Co.

Plano, Texas

Age: 47

Maxine Walker joined Factory Mutual Engineering & Research in 1981 as a loss prevention consultant, and later joined Arkwright Mutual Insurance Co. where she was assistant claims manger of southern operations. After Arkwright joined the other two Factory Mutual companies to form Factory Mutual Insurance Co., Ms. Walker became claims manager for the forest products operation. She was named operations claims manager in New York in 2003 and assumed her current position earlier this year.

Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?

A: "Do not limit your career opportunities based on gender. Determine what your career goals are, and always strive to be the very best. Embrace the challenges and opportunities which may come your way and allow yourself to take risks. You will be amazed to discover what you can accomplish through your hard work and commitment."

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?

A: "It would be difficult for me to name one individual that has had the most influence on my career. I have been so fortunate to have several key mentors at various points during the course of my career, and each one played a pivotal role in my development. Many people are lucky if they have one key mentor over the span of their careers. My work ethic was instilled in me many years ago by my grandparents while growing up and working with them on their farm. That early influence has had a significant impact on my approach to my career over the years."

Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?

A: "If I could change one thing it would be to improve the public perception of the industry. There is so much more good will prevalent within the industry than is perceived by the general public. For example, once a major loss or catastrophe occurs, there is a tremendous amount of effort shared by the insurers with their clients to repair damaged property and restore business operations, which all have an impact on the overall economy. I would like to see more of this type of information/results shared with the public."


Lisa Wall

Lisa Wall


Senior Vp-Account Executive, Risk Management

Lockton Cos. Inc.

Kansas City, Mo.

Age: 40

Lisa Wall began her career as an auditor at KPMG in 1988, before moving to a unit of Seafield Capital Corp. where she eventually became corporate internal auditor and risk manager. She joined Lockton in 1997 and currently she is a leader in Lockton's risk management team that focuses on providing clients with guidance on risk financing and the accounting and tax treatment of risk transactions. She is also chair of Lockton's captives practice where she developed the brokerage's proprietary captive financial forecasting model and consults with clients on the formation and implementation of captive programs.

Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?

A: "This is a great industry. Our work helps the global economy prosper. But the industry isn't well understood. To some, insurance seems like a black box. We need more transparency in the industry, so we can strengthen trust with clients, regulators and public officials."

Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?

A: "Understand what motivates you, and find work that matches your motivation. As a wife and a mother and a professional, the toughest part of life is finding the right balance."

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?

A: "I can say without a doubt that Jack Lockton had the greatest influence on my career. When I joined Lockton nine years ago, I was a competent accountant with some specific expertise about insurance. Jack demanded that we work hard to understand our clients' business, to walk in their shoes. He taught me how to listen carefully to clients, grasp their issues and offer solutions. His support for my professional development helped me bloom."


Shelly Wolff

Shelly Wolff


North America Leader of Health and Productivity

Watson Wyatt Worldwide

Stamford, Conn.

Age: 49

Shelly Wolff has more than 20 years of experience in employee benefits, risk management and insurance programs. Prior to joining Watson Wyatt, she was responsible for workplace absence and disability programs at General Electric Co. for nine years. Among her many accomplishments are leading a companywide cross-functional project to reevaluate GE's paid time off benefits, creating a new program that has become a model in the industry for benefit design and delivery. She joined Watson Wyatt in 2003. Ms. Wolff is a board member of the Council for Employee Health and Productivity at the National Business Group on Health. She has also received the Quality Leadership Award from the Commission for the Certification of Disability Management.

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?

A: "My college freshman adviser. He redirected me to a program that required a masters degree, which extended my college training beyond what was planned. However, it put me on a completely different path which allowed me to move into business, disability and health care, which was not in my career plans."

Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?

A: "Establish a broad base of knowledge in as many health and welfare programs early. Benefits are becoming increasingly integrated in design, delivery and measurement, therefore positioning yourself as an expert with a wide base of knowledge will bode well for more challenging work. Also, gain experience in a wide variety of settings: supplier, purchaser, public, private, etc."

Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?

A: "Health care system reform that results in focused delivery of holistic health services through a coordinated care team that has open access and is affordable for all Americans."


Kathy Woodliff

Kathy Woodliff


Senior Vp-Product Management

Zurich Financial Services

Schaumburg, Ill.

Age: 50

Before joining Zurich, Kathy Woodliff held various positions with CNA Insurance Co. Once joining Zurich, she became senior vp and director for the liability line of business for the North America Commercial Business Division of Zurich Financial Services. Ms. Woodliff was promoted to senior vp-product management earlier this year. She leads the company's Technical Price Initiative in North America to develop a certification and audit process that provides the tools for consistent, correct pricing for the risks assumed. She is a member of the Global Underwriting Council and is part of the team that determines risk policy for global underwriting.

Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?

A: "There needs to be more of a business mentality in the industry. It seems like the industry is still too focused on market share when there should be more focus on operational excellence and performance."

Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?

A: "I would say there's probably never been a better time to enter the industry as a woman. There are many career opportunities today in the industry. Young women should make sure they have good mentors. They should pick a company that meshes with their values and their career objectives in terms of what they want to accomplish. I think it would also be helpful if women just entering the industry pick a company that has a formal training program."

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?

A: "My current boss, Gary Kaplan, the chief underwriting officer, has had a great influence on my career. He takes the time to work with me in a formal coaching approach and promotes what I bring to the table with the rest of the organization. He is a huge advocate of promoting women in the insurance industry."


Millicent Workman

Millicent W. Workman


Research Analyst and Editor of Practical Risk Management

International Risk Management Institute Inc.

Memphis, Tenn./Dallas

Age: 59

As director of corporate risk management for Belz Enterprises, Memphis' largest real estate development and management company, Millicent W. Workman developed state-of-the-art risk and employee benefit management programs. Her effort earned her the 1992 Business Insurance Risk Manager of the Year Award. Ms. Workman then joined residential plumbing products manufacturer Mueller Industries Inc. as director of risk management and human resources. Ms. Workman joined IRMI last year.

Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?

A: "I think you can't overemphasize the importance of continuous learning--learning about the industry. It's something you do every day. The broader your knowledge of the industry, the better equipped you are" to handle a variety of opportunities. "You come out of college and you think you want to be a risk manager. But you're not going to be a risk manager for a major corporation the day you get out of college."

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?

A: "There were actually two women who had a great influence in my career." The first was Reese Moses, an insurance agency owner for whom (I) worked part time during college. Ms. Moses "clearly demonstrated to me what a woman can do--being independent and doing what you wanted. She always encouraged me--showing me what to do to advance your career." The other influential woman was Margaret Thompson, the first woman in Tennessee to earn a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters designation. "Both of them just showed me there are opportunities. You just have to seize them, but there aren't limitations on what you can do."

Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?

A: "The public's perception of our industry. I think the public's perception of our industry has never been great. It's understandable, in some ways, because their interaction with us often is negative--they have to buy insurance, file a claim."


Lisa Zeitel

Lisa Zeitel


Senior Consultant

Mercer Health & Benefits L.L.C.

Norwalk, Conn.

Age: 47

Lisa Zeitel provides health care and prescription drug consulting services for big corporations, state governments and employer coalitions. Prior to joining Mercer, Ms. Zeitel worked for five years at Metropolitan Life Insurance Co./MetraHealth Cos. evaluating the effectiveness of managed care products and networks.

Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?

A: "The industry needs to provide more career development opportunities and the appropriate training to help people to achieve those different opportunities."

Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?

A: "Find a mentor with good leadership, management and people skills, as well as strong problem solving and communications skills. Plus, never get locked into doing the same things."

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?

A: "At each stage of my career, I've had several mentors. At Mercer, my mentors were Tom Ferguson, who hired me, Mindy Fox and my current boss, Dave Rahill. What they all had in common is that they really believed in me and challenged me to be the very best I could."


Liz Zlatkus

Liz Zlatkus


President of International Wealth Management and Group Benefits

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.

Simsbury, Conn.

Age: 47

Liz Zlatkus joined Hartford in 1983 working on the property/casualty side of the business before moving over to the life insurance operations in 1990. In 1996 she was tapped to head the disability and group life business. Earlier this year she was named president of international wealth management and group benefits.

Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?

A: "I would love to see the industry work more collaboratively. Insurance is a vital part of the economy. Commerce can't happen without it. The public doesn't understand this as much as it should.... I would like to see the industry work more collaboratively on educating Americans about insurance."

Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?

A: "I would tell them to really be true to themselves, to own their own destiny and career, and to do what makes them happy and what engages them."

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?

A: "My dad instilled in me his love of learning. He was very focused on doing what made him excited about his career. He took positions because he wanted to learn something new. Now, when I'm offered an opportunity, I ask myself whether it is going to be something I really want to learn about and engage in."


Marita Zuraitis

Marita Zuraitis


President

Hanover Insurance Group Inc.

Worcester, Mass.

Age: 46

Marita Zuraitis' nearly 25 years experience in the insurance industry includes leadership positions at national and super-regional insurers that provide personal and commercial lines products. From 1982 to 1993, she held management positions at Aetna Life and Casualty Co. She then held senior positions for five years at United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., which merged with the St. Paul Companies. She then served as president and chief executive officer of St. Paul's commercial lines division beginning in 1998. She was named president of Hanover in April 2004.

Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career and why?

A: "Steve Lilienthal, CEO of CNA, Jay Fishman, CEO of St. Paul Travelers and now Fred Eppinger, CEO of The Hanover Insurance Group. I have had the opportunity to work directly for three of the best minds in insurance today. It just doesn't get any better than that."

Q: What advice would you give young women entering the industry today?

A: "There is no 'silver bullet.' Whether you are a man or a woman, it's about competency, hard work, execution and results."

Q: If you had the ability to change one thing about the industry what would it be?

A: "I would change the regulatory environment in which we operate to allow more creative thinking and solutions on the spread and the pricing of risk. I believe we have the intellect, the talent and the commitment within the industry and the regulatory community to solve even the most challenging issues if given the opportunity. Moving to a more free market-based regulatory system would help create that opportunity."

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