Kathryn Tazic

Kathryn Tazic

Kathryn Tazic
Senior vice president of client services
Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc.
Chicago
Age: 48

By closely following the workers compensation and general liability claims experience affecting the U.S. retail industry, Kathryn Tazic, senior vice president of client services with Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., has built a reputation as a trend spotter.

“Every month, we're always looking at all the retailers' data to say, "Here's what we see.' We measure hundreds of different metrics, and if we see a trend, we communicate that out to all the retailers, which gives them the opportunity to not just react but to be ahead of the trend,” she said.

For example, through her research, she has found that increasing ethnic diversity and the fact that today's workforce encompasses four generations are affecting the types and duration of occupational injury claims being filed by retail industry employees, Ms. Tazic said.

“I've always leaned on Kathy,” said Dave Haffield, vice president of risk management at Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears Holdings Inc., who has relied on Ms. Tazic's vast retail industry knowledge since 2006. “She sees trends before people are even writing about them.”

Also in her role as senior vice president of client services, Ms. Tazic is responsible for the professional development and performance of 30 members of Sedgwick's client services team, overseeing Sedgwick's retail book of business, which represents more than $250 million in annual revenues to the third-party administrator.

In that leadership role, Ms. Tazic, who joined Sedgwick in 1991, personifies the firm's “can do” culture, according to Chief Operating Officer Steve Penman. “Her passion is unparalleled. She is very dedicated ... a true leader,” he said. “She takes the performance of our company very personally. She truly lives and breathes Sedgwick.”

By Joanne Wojcik