Councilcast

In this episode we meet Belen Tokarski, President and COO of Mylo. Tokarski shares inspirational stories of family members who inspire her, how she fell into the insurance industry. And why she’s sticking around.

In the latest episode of Politics & Risk from The Council’s government affairs team, SVP Joel Kopperud interviews Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen, who has represented Colorado’s 7th Congressional District since 2023. Having served in the Colorado state legislature for a decade prior to becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Pettersen shares the top issues for Coloradans, including housing and climate change. As a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, Pettersen also dives deep into the systematic issues that Congress faces when getting work done.

This Spring has seen protests pop up on college campuses all over America. As a result of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, student organizations have been demanding action from their universities to divest from Israel. Meanwhile counter protests have also occurred. While some protests have stayed peaceful, others have broken out in violence. Lucy Straker, Focus Group Leader of Political Violence & Deadly Weapons Protection at Beazley, and Matthew Westhoff, Head of North American Commercial Property at Beazley discuss strike, riot and civil commotion policies (SRCC). Additionality they share the risks associated with the upcoming 2024 election and current heightened political climate.

A conversation with GameStop’s Co-founder Video games, eccentric personalities and past presidential candidates have all made their way through Gary Kusin's career. The entrepreneur and business mentor is the former CEO of FedEx Office and co-founded the company now known as GameStop. Kusin shares how he started the first large-scale video game retailer, why GameStop surged in the financial market during the meme stock craze of 2021, and how a summer internship at an insurance company changed his outlook on leadership and life. We spoke with Kusin ahead of the April 30 publication of his new book, Always Learning.

In this episode we meet Tim Hall, CEO of Relation Insurance Services. Hall shares how he got his start creating a business in high school, what life is like in his home state of Nebraska, and how the insurance industry needs to sell itself to a younger generation.

Donnacha Smyth, president of global excess casualty for AXA XL, discusses pressure points in the market and his takeaways from brokers. In the newest addition to our AXA XL podcast series, Donnacha Smith, president of global excess casualty for AXA XL, discusses ongoing claims litigation and nuclear verdicts, geopolitical tensions, climate change and renewables, and how to remain relevant for clients dealing with these pressures.

Creating efficiency and speed for agents and brokers is a major topic in this podcast sponsored by BrokerTech Ventures. Jeff Lobeman, assistant vice president for digital and head of innovation, and Bob Pick, CIO and executive vice president, both at Tokio Marine North America, discuss how they stay on top of brokers’ operational and customer service needs, balancing automation and human interaction, and what’s next for insurers and the internet of things.

"I like to be where the rubber meets the road." In this episode we meet Jenni Lee Crocker, President of PCF Insurance Services. Crocker shares how growing up in a small town in Virginia shaped her outlook on life, and how experiences from her local community gave her the tools and can do attitude to tackle whatever her job and the industry demands of her. She also explains what characteristics contribute to good office culture.

With a reduction in deals and dollars, insurtech investment going forward will favor companies with a proven track record and products that will be widely usable across the insurance industry, says Kylie Hubbard, director of innovation at Insurica. In this podcast, sponsored by Ascend, Hubbard also provides a broker perspective on the state of data connectivity and discusses whether and how the insurance industry will use technologies such as blockchain and AI.

A conversation on digital evolution with IVANS CEO Reid Holzworth. We discuss connectivity, carriers data evolution and how AI is really being used in the insurance industry.

A discussion with Pamela Wheeler, Chief Diversity Officer at NFP. In this episode we meet Pamela Wheeler, who shares stories about her early career in the sports industry working for the WNBA. Then Wheeler dives deep into why she traded in sports for insurance, and why its important to understand DE&I as a business imperative.

In this podcast sponsored by finance automation platform Ascend, we talk with Andrew Wynn, Ascend co-founder and CEO. In between conversations about digitization, integration and what good looks like, we discuss the nature of relationships, community and the thread between his time in the Peace Corps and insurance.

What kind of knowledge and benefits does a past minor league pitcher wish he had? Slade Smith, Employee Benefits Specialist at Cobbs Allen shares stories about the early days of his career as a professional baseball player, drafted by the Detroit Tigers, and how he pivoted to working in the insurance industry after an injury. The 33-year-old also shares his thoughts on what major trends the employee benefits space could see in the near future.

Will Democrats or Republicans flip or flop The House and Senate? The Council’s SVP and VP of government affairs Joel Kopperud and Blaire Bartlett kicks off their Legislative Summit with a run down of today's hotbed of political issues. They talk flipping the house and senate, regulatory issues in the healthcare space, reauthorizing tax cuts, PBM transparency and cannabis.

Keith Schuler, CEO of InterWest Insurance Services shares his background and brokerage history, industry issues, as well as his new focus as Council Board Chair.

art of our AXA XL sponsored podcast series, we talk with Lucy Pilko, CEO, Insurance in the Americas for AXA XL. Just a couple months into the role, Pilko talks about beginning the process of executing AXAL XL’s long and short term strategic visions. She discusses market opportunities and areas of challenge, and learning how to really use the data and technology we now have access to.

Wick shares what he learned from his short comings in brokerage relationships, and how that prompted him to start his own firm. He additionally talks about the importance of vulnerability, the process of change, being a community focused agency and acquisition strategy.

In this podcast sponsored by AXIS, we talk with Jay Hamilton, Global Head of Accident and Health Insurance at AXIS. He discusses the eclectic mix of product lines in accident and health, current lines of interest including employee benefits, pet insurance, and travel, among others. He also discusses market headwinds, the outlook for 2024, and aligning with market and client needs.

In this special podcast episode, the Leader’s Edge art team dissects work created by AI art generator Dall-E. Using our October cover story on artificial intelligence as the basis for our own AI experiment, we gave the same exact instructions to a human illustrator and the AI art generator tool, then compared the results and chose one for our October cover. This conversation is our post-mortem on the process. Contributors include Leader’s Edge creative director Brad Latham, associate art directors Raeanne Hytone and Ted Lopez, content specialist/AV producer Zach Ewell, editor in chief Sandy Laycox, and publisher Susan Rushford.

The Council’s SVP of government affairs Joel Kopperud interviews Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY). Son of an insurance agent, Rep. Ryan discusses his relationship with the insurance industry, the important issues impacting his constituents and global ramifications of national security. Additionally, the team shares exciting news on PBM reform.