Words of Wisdom from Women to Watch
Words of Wisdom from Women to Watch Career Reflections from Leaders in the Commercial Insurance Industry Business Insurance
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To Dave North, CEO of Sedgwick, for his steadfast advocacy of gender equality and enduring support of the Business Insurance Women to Watch program. To Kathryn McIntyre, Business Insurance s former publisher and editor, whose Salute to the Top 100 Women in the year 2000 served as the inspiration for Women to Watch. In fact, many of the women recognized at that event, held on October 10, 2000, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, were later named Women to Watch honorees. To all women executives worldwide in the insurance/reinsurance, brokerage, benefits, risk management, and related fields. You are all Women to Watch, preparing the way for others who follow.
Contents Foreword Joanne Wojcik Acknowledgments Chapter 1 I m Strong 1 Ingrid Lindberg Chapter 2 My College-Self Says, What Glass Ceiling?... My Now-Self Responds 15 Lindsey Frase Chapter 3 Building Your Personal Brand 25 Kimberly George Chapter 4 Hear Me Roar 35 Caryn Siebert Chapter 5 Lessons Learned in a 30-Year Career 49 Carol Arendall Chapter 6 The Myth of Work-Life Balance 57 Carolina Klint ix xiii vii
viii C o n t e n t s Chapter 7 Dirty Glass Ceilings 65 Yvette Connor Chapter 8 Integration: The Key to Happiness 79 Janet Pane Chapter 9 Women on Boards 89 Terrie Pohjola Chapter 10 A Growth Story 103 Carol L. Murphy Chapter 11 What If... 117 Linda Lane Chapter 12 Game Changers 129 Artemis Emslie Appendix Women to Watch (by year) 139 About the Authors 151 Index 163
Foreword Joanne Wojcik Head of Event Programming Business Insurance magazine Recognizing that the commercial insurance industry was and still is a largely male-dominated field, Business Insurance magazine launched the Women to Watch Awards in 2006 to identify and shed a spotlight on those women who have the potential to become its future leaders. Each year, a panel of Business Insurance senior editors selects 25 honorees from hundreds of nominations submitted by readers based on recent notable professional achievements, their influence over the industry and marketplace, and their own contributions to the advancement of women. The editors also tried to imagine what likely next steps these already successful women might take to further their careers. ix
x F o r e w o r d For a decade, the profiles of these Women to Watch honorees were published in a December issue of Business Insurance, and awards were presented at a ceremony held annually in New York City. Business Insurance added an educational component to the program in 2011 with the introduction of a Leadership Workshop featuring many alumni of this elite group of female industry professionals. In 2014, this event was expanded into a full-day conference intended to further foster women s progress by identifying the challenges they face and offering advice and actionable solutions. The conference was open to both men and women who support achieving true gender parity among the senior ranks of the commercial insurance industry and related fields. The year 2015 marked the 10th anniversary of this unique recognition program, and Business Insurance held an evening gala to fete that year s honorees. In addition, Business Insurance recognized three prioryear honorees for their continuing contributions to the advancement of women in the insurance industry: 2008 honoree Bonnie Boone, senior vice president at Marsh USA, who launched a networking group for women of color; 2006 honoree Corbette Doyle, lecturer of leadership, policy, and organizations at Vanderbilt University, for her research into the influence of women serving on corporate boards; and 2006 honoree Inga Beale, who in 2014 became the first female CEO of Lloyd s of London, a 350-year-old institution that didn t even admit women until the 1970s. As we have seen from the women we have profiled in this annual feature over the past decade, the pool of talented and dynamic female executives holding key positions within the sector is growing and will continue to flourish as barriers to women s advancement are removed. Unfortunately, there still are not yet enough women at the top levels of management in the commercial insurance industry to represent the diversity of the workforce coming in. In fact, while more than half of entry-level positions in the insurance industry are held by women, just 12 percent of senior managers are women, and only 1 percent of the CEOs in insurance are women. This book, which features a collection of essays by several past Women to Watch honorees, is a tribute to those women who have broken through the proverbial glass ceiling in the commercial insurance industry and are continuing to battle for gender parity among its
Foreword xi executive ranks. Women s advancement in this and other industries is not just a women s issue ; it is an economic imperative. In order to have a competitive workforce and a robust global economy, companies need to leverage the full potential of all of their talent both women and men. Having more women in leadership positions also is good for business. It s not that one gender has any greater ability than the other; it is that a more diverse group makes for better decision making and corporate performance. A recent study by Credit Suisse Research found that companies with higher female representation at the board level or among senior management have better financial performance and higher stock market valuations. Moreover, the more female board members there were, the better the companies performed. Those whose boards included at least 25 percent women delivered a 22.8 percent greater annualized return than those with no female representation. Another study by Catalyst found that companies with the highest number of female executives outperform those with the fewest number of women executives, yielding a 26 percent greater return on invested capital and 16 percent more in sales. Given the small number of women currently in the high-level roles in the insurance industry, men are a crucial part of the equation. The fact is, when male leaders participate in gender diversity initiatives, they are far more successful than they would be otherwise. Research by McKinsey & Co. identified three key attributes shared by organizations that have made significant strides toward achieving gender diversity: First, companies with more women on the board in 2007 had more women in top leadership positions in 2011. Second, industries that attract more women, such as health care, are more likely to have more women in top leadership positions. And last, but certainly not least, when the CEO demonstrates a personal interest in cultivating gender diversity through both speech and actions, the organization tends to have more women in leadership positions. It is for that reason that Business Insurance and all of the Women to Watch who have been recognized owe special thanks to Dave North, the CEO of Sedgwick, for the publishing of this book. It was
xii F o r e w o r d his vision that the Women to Watch not only be recognized, but heard. He thought that by giving them the opportunity to share their personal experiences and the lessons they have learned, they might make the journey easier for those women following in their wake. By sharing words of wisdom from past Business Insurance Women to Watch honorees, this book is intended to inspire all women who are looking to advance their careers or who would benefit from hearing their peers personal perspectives. The book addresses the various issues and obstacles that historically have affected women s careers such as childbearing, achieving work-life balance, or breaking through the glass ceiling while also offering some advice and direction. The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race. Susan B. Anthony
Acknowledgments This collection of stories represents not only the women who contributed them, but also everyone in our industry who has supported the progress made in gender equality over the years. These advancements have been driven by industry leaders such as Sedgwick. Without their passionate commitment to the intrinsic value the female perspective brings to every facet of our business, our industry could not have achieved so much in the last three decades. This book is a tribute to all of the women and men who cherish the unique talents and experience each individual contributes to the whole. May this momentum continue! xiii
Words of Wisdom from Women to Watch
Chapter 1 I m Strong Ingrid Lindberg Customer Experience Officer Chief Customer http://chiefcustomer.com/ Building the Framework of Steel I was a little girl who loved to wear tutus and play in the mud with my army figurines. Growing up on military bases around the world, I was encouraged to be strong. All of my authority figures were strong. From my dad, who was in charge, to the Military Police who surrounded us every day, to my mother who packed up our lives every 18 to 36 months and moved us across the world. They were mentally and physically strong. In addition to that military influence, my father was an attorney and my mother was a teacher; coupled with an outstanding vocabulary, I learned to joust effortlessly at the dinner table. Having strong 1