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2017 Break Out Awards, Midwest: Prasad Gunturi

Posted On: Jun. 5, 2017 12:00 AM CST

2017 Break Out Awards, Midwest: Prasad Gunturi

PRASAD GUNTURI

Executive vice president, catastrophe analytics

Willis Re

Minneapolis

Age: 41

Prasad Gunturi has used his education in engineering and his interest in disaster risk mitigation to build a career in the insurance industry. He views insurance as a mechanism for risk reduction and mitigation. A talk with a friend lead him to Willis Re, which has proven to be a valuable experience. Prior to Willis Re, he was with Risk Management Solutions Inc. He also co-authored the ArkStorm study, an official report of the U.S. Geological Survey containing a scientific examination of the impact and losses caused by a potential storm to strike California.

Top industry concern

We have seen Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. The one thing that concerns me is when we might need to wake to a big earthquake event. The concern for me is that I hope it is not like Katrina, that would uncover a lot of unknowns associated with earthquake peril, such as the extent of the shaking, the chain reaction of the event to various other industries, the overall economic impact and also the impact on technology, because Silicon Valley holds a lot of this technology. Another event could be a Katrina-like cyber attack that could have a significant impact on the insurance industry and people in general.

Next big thing in insurance

I expect big data and predictive analytics to play a significant and extensive role in our industry. Some companies are already using big data analytics for target marketing and research purposes. However, I see big data being put to day-to-day use due to significant advancements that we have been seeing in computing power and data technology, and volume, variety and veracity of the data that insurance companies are be able to gather these days.

Something people don’t know about you

I drink coffee most every day before going to bed. It never bothers me. I sleep well after drinking coffee.

 

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