GERRAN GEYSER | Age: 41 Vice president, risk control

CNA Financial Corp.

Chicago

Gerran Geyser had every intention of becoming an accountant but became a financial analyst after a job offer from Arthur Andersen fell through when the firm collapsed during the Enron Corp. scandal. In 2007, he joined the insurance industry in a financial planning position at CNA and has since held a variety of financial, underwriting and risk control positions.

What’s your advice on navigating the current insurance market?

Always keep an open mind and continue to learn. The market is changing and evolving so quickly, and as an organization you need to stay very nimble and always approach with the humility to learn. Incorporate new insights into how you underwrite and how you approach your customers.

How will your work change going forward?

The whole concept of going virtual is being pulled forward and accelerated because of COVID. We had to quickly adapt what we were doing and we saw a lot of new capabilities, but that’s just a microcosm of where the world is heading. Increasingly leveraging data, technology and virtual solutions and incorporating that into your service offering is probably the biggest change I see on the horizon.

What is something about you that would surprise people?

I grew up in South Africa. It was a fascinating time to grow up there because we were going through a lot of change with South Africa coming out of the apartheid years. People sometimes find that surprising because I’ve lost most of my accent by virtue of living here for a long time.

What’s one habit or hobby you adopted during the pandemic?

I lived in a large condo building and running up and down stairs was one way to stay fit.

All-time favorite movie?

“The Shawshank Redemption”