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Women to Watch: 2006

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Joy Schwartzman

Joy A. Schwartzman


Principal and Consulting Actuary

Milliman Inc.

New York

Age: 50

Joy Schwartzman joined Milliman in 1988 after working since the late 1970s as an actuary for American International Group Inc. At Milliman, she consults to insurers, reinsurers, banks and regulatory agencies on issues such as company valuation, adequacy of loss reserves and business profitability. Her actuarial work has been used in nearly 100 due diligence assignments, including ACE Ltd.'s purchase of CIGNA Corp.'s property/casualty business. Ms. Schwartzman also helped develop loss reserves as part of the Peoples Insurance Co. of China initial public offering in 2003, which was the first Chinese property/casualty insurance company to go public.

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

A: "I was fortunate that I took a job earlier in my career at AIG. I was surrounded by many people from whom I learned so much, including Robert Sandler, who was the chief actuary at the time, Brian Duperreault...and being exposed to Mr. Greenberg and his brilliance and his great insights, I learned so much from them."

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

A: "Seek out an environment in which you can learn from bosses, peers or clients. Pursue opportunities that take advantage of your assets, what you do well. If you're excelling, you probably will be happy at what you are doing."

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

A: "While I don't think the industry is perfect, nothing is so intrinsically wrong in the insurance industry that I would want to change it."


Lucille Sgaglione

Lucille Sgaglione


Senior Vp, Specialty Claims

Zurich Financial Services

New York

After practicing law, Lucille Sgaglione entered the insurance industry in 1987 working in specialty lines areas. Ms. Sgaglione currently directs what is essentially a small company within a large organization. She manages about 500 claims people in the specialty claims, mass litigation and construction defect areas and has been in her current position for four years.

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

A: "I would encourage the insurance industry to provide more varied opportunities for employees as their careers develop so that people who enter in one discipline can move to another if they choose to do so. That would help maintain talented people."

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

A: "I would tell them that there are many opportunities for career development, and that there is no one clear path for success. Follow your dreams and instincts. Remember that careers are long in development and accommodate many stages of life. They should not feel they are sacrificing their personal life for their careers."

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

A: As a young professional, I worked for two managers who provided me with the flexibility and support I needed during the time I was dealing with my husband's terminal illness and raising my young son. What I have learned from them and carried through my career is that we can be productive and achieve results while still creating a humane environment which allows people to meet the many challenges that come to all of us.


Kelly Smith

Kelly Smith


Executive Vp

Aon Re Americas

Chicago

Age: 41

Kelly Smith has worked in the reinsurance field for 21 years, including 17 years at Aon Re, and six years in her current position. Ms. Smith's responsibilities include ensuring that Aon Re meets its client needs, while generating revenue and managing expenses. Among other things, she led the development of an online system to help Aon Re clients gain real-time claims, accounting and contract information on their reinsurance programs. Before joining Aon, she was employed at brokerage Thomas A. Greene Inc.

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

A: "There's been a couple of people in my career who have been mentors: Michael Bungert, who is the president and CEO of Aon Re, has been a mentor for me for my entire career and continues to be, and Michael O'Halleran, who is chairman of Aon Re. I've been very fortunate to have mentors throughout my career that have made a difference. I really think there's a lot of people who have had a hand in my career."

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

A: "The advice I would give to a young woman is no different than I would give to a young man--working hard, keeping your head down, focusing on what's important to your clients and what's important to your job, as opposed to politics and gossip and rumors. Always focusing on the client and never having your own agenda."

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

A: "To learn from our mistakes--something which this industry does not do. It's incredibly cyclical and we repeat the mistakes of the past constantly."


Karen Sothern

Karen V. Sothern


Senior Vp and Regional Executive Officer

ACE USA

Boston

Age:43

Karen V. Sothern began her career in the insurance industry at CIGNA Corp., where she held various underwriting, business development and management positions including serving as senior vp of CIGNA Global Risk Management. Since ACE Ltd.'s acquisition of CIGNA's property/casualty business in 1999, she served as a senior vp in ACE USA's international division before taking her current position as senior vp and regional executive officer for ACE USA's New England Region in 2002.

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

A: "If I could change something about the insurance industry it would be its image. Ours is a sophisticated global industry which has significant positive impact on our economy. In simplest terms, we help people and businesses fulfill their regulatory obligations to purchase insurance. The greater impact is our industry's affording people and businesses the opportunity to focus on their priorities--home, family, safety, running businesses, developing products, offering jobs and finding cures--rather than on risk, which we help mitigate."

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

A: "Focus not on the fact that they are women but rather on the job at hand and positively impacting results; specifically on hard work, team work, making a contribution and understanding well the critical objectives of and results achieved by the company and operating division for which they work."

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

A: "A long-time family friend named John Baney who passed away in 2001. He was a second father to me during my growing up years and in particular during my father's battle with cancer and eventual death when I was 21. Mr. B. had long been a success in our industry as measured in traditional terms. He was a demanding leader though a fair and honest one who never asked of others what he was unwilling to do himself. He guided and advised wisely and thoughtfully; he always understood the value and priority of family and, in particular, of time--something one can never give back--even as the demands of executive leadership became greater when he was rewarded with increased responsibilities. And he had a terrific sense of humor."


Robin Sterneck

Robin Sterneck


Head of Commercial Insurance

Swiss Reinsurance Co.

Kansas City, Mo.

Age: 49

Robin Sterneck held several leadership positions at GE Insurance Solutions before the unit was acquired by Swiss Reinsurance Co. earlier this year. As head of Swiss Re's commercial insurance segment, Ms. Sterneck leads the strategy and operations of the $1 billion unit, which includes small business workers compensation, programs and general binding authorities, excess and surplus lines insurance, agents and lawyers professional liability and the medical expense group product lines. Ms. Sterneck also serves as president of Coregis Insurance Co., Westport Insurance Corp. and First Specialty Corp.

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

A: Firstly, "my parents. They lived by the quote from Louis Pasteur, 'Chance favors a prepared mind.' This has become my mantra." Secondly, "Jack Welch (former chairman and CEO of General Electric), who said, high-impact ideas can come from anywhere. He heard about something I was doing early in my career with GE and within months had me translating it for all GE businesses. As a result, the teams delivered $100 million dollars in additional revenue in 12 months."

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

A: "I would urge you to recognize it will take at least five years until you truly understand a business, and then you'll still have a lot to learn. During that time be a sponge and offer to go above and beyond if it won't negatively impact your ability to meet your own deliverables; specialize; become a 'go-to' specialist person first and then a generalist. Narrow and deep skills add value, open doors and give you credibility on which to expand and grow."

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

A: I would like to see the industry achieve a level of data sharing, transparency and innovation that takes the chaos out of renewals while enabling all of us to work on a much broader spectrum of cross-industry solutions. I would also like to see a more uniform, universal rate and form construct for admitted insurance companies--a standardization that would drive better efficiency.


Kathleen Swendsen

Kathleen Swendsen


President, Travelers Global Technology Underwriting

St. Paul Travelers Cos. Inc.

Age: 49

Kathleen Swendsen's career began 22 years ago when she joined The St. Paul Cos. as a programmer and has since worked on special projects related to corporate mergers and acquisitions as well as a major restructuring. Before beginning her new role in July, she served as vp and chief administrative officer for the Travelers Financial and Professional Services unit that sells executive liability and professional coverages to public companies, financial institutions and various professionals. As Travelers' new president of global technology underwriting, Kathleen Swendsen oversees a division with $495 million in gross written premiums and more than 200 employees.

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

A: "Throughout your career, the degree to which you can be effective in your job will be a measure of your ability to work with...colleagues and customers. You don't have to like them. You don't have to agree with them on everything. You do have to find a way to build and sustain working relationships to achieve business goals. Don't burn bridges."

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

A: "The person who has had the greatest influence on my career was an individual who was an informal mentor over a long period of time, even though I didn't always appreciate his advice and counsel. He helped me learn some important lessons that I continue to use and that I've shared with others. He strongly...advised me to take an assignment when there was another job path I was set on pursuing. It was the best career advice I've ever had, and fortunately, I took it. That assignment opened up a new set of rewarding career opportunities through which I've found many more ways I could contribute to the organization's success and continue to learn and grow as a person and as a leader. His name is Wayne Hoeschen."

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

A: "For large segments of our business, we continue to handle underwriting transactions much the same today as we did when I started in the industry 22 years ago. I would eliminate more of the redundancy between the carrier and the agents/brokers in processing the insurance transaction. Also, there is power in diversity, and I'd like to see the staff and leaders working in our industry better mirror the customers we serve."


Claudia Temple

Claudia P. Temple


Director of Risk Management

Brunswick Corp.

Lake Forest, Ill.

Age: 44

Claudia P. Temple began her career in risk management in 1985 when she joined General Electric Co.'s health and safety department. In 1989 she moved to BorgWarner Inc. where she rose to the position of director of risk management before moving to her current position at Brunswick in 2002. In addition, she became chairman of the risk management council of Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Inc.

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

A: "Geraldine Fielder, her former boss at BorgWarner. "Besides being a strong manager and great leader, she once told me that if you are given a job, you need to understand your authority and take responsibility."

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

A: "Take hold of your own career; tell people what you want to do and ask people what you need to develop in order to get there."

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

A: "Bring the insurance industry into the 21st century and start using technology. While we've started to see a shift in the past couple of year, we as an industry are still way behind."


Ellen Thrower

Ellen Thrower


Executive Director

St. John's University, School of Risk Management

New York

Age: 59

Ellen Thrower is a professor and the executive director of the School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science at St. John's University's Peter J. Tobin College of Business. The School of Risk Management was formed following a merger with The College of Insurance, of which Ms. Thrower was president. Before joining The College of Insurance, she was a professor and director of the Insurance Center at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Ms. Thrower was the Assn. of Professional Insurance Women Inc.'s Insurance Woman of the Year in 1993.

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

A: Improving the image and understanding of the industry is one thing she said would like to change. "There's a negative image that gets in the way of attracting talent."

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

A: There are great opportunities in the insurance industry and young women interested in insurance should do thorough research on companies they are interviewing with to learn as much as they can about the companies, including whether they have demonstrated a commitment to the advancement of women in the industry by placing women on their boards or in senior leadership positions. "Do your homework and be selective."

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

A: Joe Johnson and George Flanigan, two insurance professors at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where Ms. Thrower earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, helped guide her toward a career as an insurance professor. Robert Clements, co-founder of broker Integro Ltd., was another huge influence later during her career when they worked together during a period of "remarkable transformation" for the College of Insurance.


Karen Beldy Torborg

Karen Beldy Torborg


Global Practice Leader-Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice

Marsh Inc.

New York

Age: 40

Karen Beldy Torborg joined Marsh in 1993 from Chubb & Son Inc., where she worked in underwriting. At Marsh, she started in the casualty practice before transferring to the private equity and mergers and acquisitions practice in 1996. At PEMA, she took on progressively more complex roles, including global chief operating officer and North America PEMA practice leader. She was named to her current position in 2005 and, that year, she was also appointed to the Marsh board.

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

A: "I would improve the industry's ability to efficiently provide important risk-related data to consumers. I look forward to the industry's continued technological advancement in the area of data aggregation so that consumers can make decisions with the best information possible."

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

A: "This is a dynamic industry that offers a wealth of opportunities to men and women alike. I would tell anyone entering the workforce that this is a business in which hard-working, inquisitive and entrepreneurial individuals can be successful."

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

A: "I have been fortunate to work with very capable people in my career. I have great respect for individuals who strive to deliver more value to the customer than that which is traditional. I have emulated this approach in my day-to-day experiences."


Sarah Turvill

Sarah Turvill


Chief Executive

Willis International

London

Age: 52

Sarah Turvill has spent all of her 28 years in the brokerage sector working for Willis, which she joined in 1978 as an in-house lawyer. During her time at Willis, Ms. Turvill was an instrumental member of the team that built the European network of Willis Group Ltd. in the 1990s. Ms. Turvill also led the team that obtained a license to trade in China through a joint venture company, Willis Pudong Insurance Brokers. Ms. Turvill in 2001 became chief executive of Willis International in 2001, where she is responsible for 34 subsidiary companies with total revenue of $447 million and more than 3,800 employees.

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

A: "The perception that (the industry) is really rather dull."

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

A: "I would say three things. I think that they should consider focusing their career on the broker side internationally rather than in the London market where there is still a considerable macho culture. I think they should celebrate the fact that they are women and be utterly confident that there is no job that they should not aspire to. I think that they should make sure that they have or will have excellent childcare provisions."

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

A: "Several people have had a considerable influence: My father, who worked at Willis and seemed to me to have an interesting and indeed exciting international career; Graham White who took a brave step in believing there might be a role for a lawyer in Willis and recruiting me; and, of course, Joe Plumeri, who is an outstanding role model and mentor."

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