Changing technologies
OPPORTUNITIES IN INSURANCE IT

Insurance firms' drive for innovation boosts the role of the IT pro

As they vie for market share and work to build shareholder value, insurance companies are turning to the next new technologies to do the job

Companies are working to attract minorities and women as part of their overall hiring strategies

By Susan Clark
Contributing Editor

Georgette Piligian manages technology portfolios for two MetLife businesses.

Kenneth Poinsette heads up support services in Aflac's info tech division.

Javelin Lawrence works in data and info strategies as a State Farm system analyst.

'There's a hunger in the insurance market for integrated business and IT professionals," says Margaret Resce Milkint, a partner in the Jacobson Group. Jacobson is a provider of professional and human capital services to the insurance, healthcare and financial services industries.

Increased competition is forcing insurance companies to differentiate their offerings. As they vie for market share and struggle to build shareholder value, they are looking eagerly for the next new technology to get them there.

Milkint sees the drive for operational innovation as fueling the demand and escalating the role of the business/IT professional. "With that comes more expectations and new challenges and opportunities."

Marietta Cozzi, VP of staffing at Prudential Financial (Newark, NJ), agrees there's a demand for professionals who can lead projects with a technical aspect. "These folks need a blend of technology and business acumen. Their task is to serve as a liaison between core technology and the business, as they support the business agenda of their internal clients," she says.

The war for talent
The war for talent is real. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that by 2012 1.5 million new jobs in IT will have been created. But declining undergraduate CS enrollment could mean that we graduate only half the qualified candidates we'll need.

To prepare for the anticipated demand, companies are taking a stronger stance than ever in attracting diversity as part of their overall hiring strategies. Milkint thinks it's a logical way to go. Creating a message that illustrates the role minorities and women can play and the impact they can have will tend to attract more top-tier candidates, she believes.

SVP/CIO Georgette Piligian manages a technology portfolio at MetLife
SVP/CIO Georgette Piligian manages the technology portfolio for the institutional business of MetLife (New York, NY), which handles policies sold through employers and other organizations, as well as MetLife Bank (Bridgewater, NJ). She's responsible for all aspects of technology and information delivery for these two businesses.

Most important is upgrading the way the organization uses technology to support business goals and objectives. "Technology can be transformational and it can create a significant competitive advantage," she says.

There are three major aspects to her job, she explains: leveraging and developing the current capabilities of the 700-plus employees and 400-plus offshore workers in her organization; understanding what's important in terms of emerging technology; and influencing people to embrace change. "It isn't just technology. I believe the way to effect change is through people - getting others to buy into what is possible with technology and energizing an organization to embrace the change," she says.

In early 2000, before e-business apps really hit the insurance industry, Piligian and a colleague were charged with building an e-business portfolio for MetLife's institutional business. They began by creating a vision of each customer group and its ideal solution. "One of our biggest challenges was skepticism over whether the Internet would help us do business, and if it had the ability to reduce cost and support customer service," she says with a smile.

Piligian earned her BS in business CIS at Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY) in the 1980s. An internship with PC Dynamics in the rental car industry led to a job with the firm after graduation. She joined the financial firm EF Hutton (New York, NY) in 1986, and moved to MetLife the next year as an entry-level programmer in the institutional application development group.

She almost didn't take the job. In an interview with the divisional VP, Piligian told him she didn't think she could work there because their technology seemed outdated. He told her that was just why she should take the job: to bring in fresh ideas and show value. "He followed through by clearing the path for me to introduce new ideas that supported the business with technology," she remembers with pleasure.

In her MetLife career Piligian has moved to a new area every three or four years, working to create new efficiencies and encourage innovation. In her most recent position she was able to work with her tech partners to reduce infrastructure costs by more than 10 percent. "Listening to what people really mean beyond what they're saying is key to driving positive change," she remarks.

Piligian wants to be a positive change agent for the organization and the people who are a part of it. In 1998 she was MetLife's honoree for the YWCA salute to women achievers. In 2001 she was the March of Dimes woman of the year. In 2005 she was one of Computer World's 100 IT leaders and one of Insurance & Technology magazine's elite eight.

Last year MetLife's chair asked Piligian to join the board of Reinsurance Group of America, a company half-owned by MetLife. Having a seat on the board is a significant breakthrough, because it acknowledges IT as a strategic business driver and part of the planning process. "It's a real honor to represent MetLife and to be recognized as a business leader as well as a technology leader," Piligian says with pride.

Denise Singleton, MetLife's chief diversity officer, notes that diversity is truly a business imperative in today's marketplace. "Over the past few years we've made great progress. It's because of the passion and broad experience our associates bring to the table each and every day," she believes.

Bret Stewart implements new systems at Harleysville

Bret Stewart.

As a project manager in the IT department at Harleysville Insurance (Harleysville, PA), Bret Stewart manages the implementation of new systems. One example: Microsoft Excel worksheets and Access databases are being replaced by SQL Server and .NET technology. "These systems are more scalable and allow IT to get more involved with backups and disaster recovery," he explains.

Stewart is currently managing the implementation of a client/server vendor solution for the reinsurance unit. It will mean that all reinsurance contracts now stored in boxes and file cabinets can be entered in the system, then stored and viewed electronically. The system also calculates premiums and losses automatically. "It makes it easier and more efficient to determine who owes us money," Stewart says.

He is also managing development of a Web app for Harleysville Life Insurance Co. It's being developed by an offshore team. Working with folks in a time zone that's ten hours different is rather challenging, he notes. "I can't always pick up the phone and call when an issue arises."

The members of his team are shared resources, not his direct reports. But he's continually assessing them to evaluate their contributions. "If I have people for only 25 percent of the time, I have to figure out how to make the best use of their skills and abilities while they're working on my project," he says.

Stewart earned his 1993 BS/CIS at the State University of New York-Binghamton. He added a 2001 JD from Brooklyn Law School (Brooklyn, NY) and a 2003 MBA from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. About the JD, he explains that he always thought he wanted to be a lawyer. Halfway through the four-year night program he changed his mind. "But I finished the program anyway because I don't like quitting things," he says.

He got his start in the insurance industry in 1993, as an actuarial assistant at Insurance Services Office (Jersey City, NJ), and joined Progressive Insurance (Mayfield Village, OH) as an underwriting analyst in 1996. Both jobs involved a lot of technical work, which he found he enjoyed, so he decided to move into IT instead of pursuing underwriting. He worked as an insurance and financial industry IT consultant between 1997 and 2001.

He joined Harleysville Insurance in 2002 as an application developer and was promoted to his current position as project manager associate in 2005.

Stewart stresses the importance of staying a step ahead from a business and technical perspective. Clients, internal and external, may know exactly what they want, but they may not be able to communicate it to you. "Knowing the business helps you find the right questions to ask," Stewart says.

Harleysville president and CEO Michael L. Browne sees the benefits of new ideas and new ways of thinking generated by a diverse workforce. "They lead to better products and services for customers, allow us to attract and retain the best employees, and produce superior results for all stakeholders," he says.

Kenneth Poinsette: IT VP in Aflac's info tech division

Kenneth Poinsette.

Kenneth Poinsette is second VP of IT support services in the info tech division of Aflac (Columbus, GA). He leads a team of forty associates in areas of software configuration management, database admin and vendor management. He also leads the business intelligence (BI) initiative of the IT strategic plan. "We recently launched a tech solution that lets management access info faster and make decisions more efficiently," he says.

It's Poinsette's job to create, develop and implement overall strategies to streamline costs and increase operational efficiencies. His software configuration people track and maintain source code for administrative processing apps, and the DBA team sizes repositories to be sure the flow of info is consistent. "The ultimate goal of the teams is to avoid disruption in operational activities," Poinsette notes.

He also serves as principal corporate advisor on procurement and analysis of initiatives that require significant investment of capital. For example, he worked closely with the vendor management team on negotiation and implementation of the company's long-distance telecom contract. "This business talks more than sixty million minutes a year!" he says. "Our telecom system is critical to business operations."

Poinsette earned his 1985 BSEE at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point, NY). He served in the Army for ten years, the last four of them managing several Army automation programs and projects. His 1995 MS in IS management is from Bowie State University (Bowie, MD) and his 2003 MBA is from Emory University (Atlanta, GA).

He joined the power systems business unit of General Electric Co
(Schenectady, NY) in 1996. As global leader in desktop computing at the company's Rockville, MD location, he was the primary technical contact in enterprise software licensing negotiations. He went on to implement uniform PC hardware procurement processing standards, successfully applied Six Sigma methods and directed the ISO 9000 info management program for the IT division of GE power systems' ISO effort.

Poinsette met Aflac's CEO and CIO when they visited Emory University. He knew that Aflac had received awards and accolades as a great place to work in IT, including Fortune magazine's top fifty for minorities and top fifty for women, and the top 100 in Computerworld and CIO magazines. So when he saw the Aflac CIO quoted as saying the company had forty openings in IT, "I sent him my resume with a note that I wanted one of those jobs," he says with a smile.

Poinsette explains that there are many worthwhile IT jobs in the insurance industry, from software development to infrastructure services. Insurance companies process huge volumes of data and rely heavily on information flow. "It's a great place for IT pros like myself to create business solutions that will help deliver on our promises to our customers," he says.

Aflac CIO Gerald Shields adds that diversity is critical to the company's makeup. Different ideas, views and insights help both Aflac and its employees move ahead. "I'm not looking for people who look, think and act like me," he says. "That doesn't make me any better."

Ajoy Kodali directs IT at Humana

Ajoy Kodali.

"We strongly believe that data is the differentiator," says Ajoy Kodali of Humana (Louisville, KY), the health insurance company. "The better the data quality, the better the customer service and customer satisfaction levels."

As director of IT, Kodali manages all development activities related to Humana's enterprise data warehouse (EDW), operational data store and BI apps. The sixty-plus associates and consultants on his three teams include architects, data modelers, developers and DBAs.

Two of the teams support the thirteen-plus terabyte EDW, one of the largest in the state of Kentucky. The BI tools they develop help clinical staff members identify high utilizers, underwriters develop rates for groups, and actuaries identify trends. "For example, if the data shows a high cost around respiratory conditions, the customer might want to institute a smoking cessation program," Kodali says.

The third team supports the operation of the data store, the foundation of Humana's real-time e-business.

Kodali earned his 1989 BSME at Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani, India). A scholarship from the University of Oklahoma brought him to the U.S. where he earned his 1993 MSIE while working as a teaching assistant.

Software development courses and an MS thesis sponsored by NASA led to his IT career. He was offered a consulting assignment by International Data Group (Louisville, KY), and his success on a mission-critical project led to a management role. Much of the company's work involved turnkey projects by new grads, and Kodali trained the grads.

He joined Humana in 1999 as a technical project manager to stabilize a new system. Next he led the development of a system to make Humana HIPAA compliant and reduce the time to route claims. This project, which is still used as a model for other apps, propelled him to IT manager and then director. "They assign me to areas in crisis because I've quickly turned around several areas with quality or morale issues," he says with a smile.

Kodali sees IT as a melting pot of people from every culture and every country. He believes his background gives him an advantage in relating to people and understanding their issues. "I'm surrounded by talent at Humana and I enjoy mentoring people and helping them grow," he says.

Humana believes in growing diverse talent from within. Through its "infusion" program the company recruits top undergrad and grad students, many with diverse backgrounds, and offers them accelerated development opportunities. "It's a great way to jump-start your career," says Leslie Lathon, director of diversity.

Vicky Boller manages network services for Philadelphia Insurance

Vicky Boller.

As AVP and manager of network services in the IT department of Philadelphia Insurance Companies (Bala Cynwood, PA), Vicky Boller is responsible for strategic planning and direction. The network services team supports more than 230 servers spread over thirty-six sites plus the Microsoft infrastructure apps for active directory, e-mail, WAN and SAN. Boller views the network as the foundation for technology. "All our businesses applications are built on our infrastructure," she says.

The network infrastructure team maintains three data centers and the WAN across thirty-six sites. Its recent projects, led by Boller's team, include coordinating the relocation of 150 servers to a host facility, connecting thirty-six regional offices, and using technology to reduce the time to generate a commercial insurance policy from two months to fifteen days.

Boller grew up in Shanghai, China and earned her 1987 BS in physics at East China Normal University. For several years she taught physics, then she came to the U.S. to pursue her 1994 MSCS at Saint Joseph's University (Philadelphia, PA).

While she was still working on her MS she got a part-time job in sales at MicroMedia Corp. She didn't like sales, but she loved what the PC technicians were doing. She transferred to a job repairing PCs and then moved into networking. "Working hands-on while I was learning CS theory at school helped me put it all together," she says.

When she joined Philadelphia Insurance Companies as a network engineer in 1996 there were only three servers, and not all the regional offices were connected. That changed very quickly, of course, and in 1999 Boller was promoted to manager of network services. She became an AVP in 2000.

Philadelphia Insurance has grown from 200 employees to 1,300 over the past ten years. "As the company grew, the system and the support team grew as well," Boller says.

She feels it's important to involve people in the planning stages of projects because more input leads to a better plan. "When you enjoy what you're doing, you've got the best job," she concludes.

Tama Gnerre directs business systems analysts at Sun Life Financial

Tama Gnerre.

Tama Gnerre is director of systems within the IT group in the service center at the Wellesley, MA U.S. HQ of Canada-based Sun Life Financial. Functioning as a resource manager, she leads a team of twenty-eight business systems analysts.

The analysts develop requirements for new apps and systems projects within the distributive computing space. "I work collaboratively with the development and project managers to staff projects and oversee them," she notes.

Her staff bridges the business and IT worlds, serving as business advocates while working with the tech team to develop solutions. For example, they often create user-friendly Web-based front ends for legacy admin systems.

One of these efforts, Gnerre says, is expected to reduce by half the intense six-month training for users of annuities new-business processors. "The newer technology also helps employees do their jobs more efficiently," she adds.

Gnerre received her 1979 BS in accounting with a minor in CS from LeMoyne College (Syracuse, NY). She worked as a staff accountant for a few years, then became a systems auditor. It was her first exposure to the systems environment and she liked it.

In 1983 she took her first really technical job, as a Cobol developer for a software company. In 1986 she joined a consulting firm and soon moved to a project management role. She became an independent contractor shortly after.

A Y2K consulting assignment brought her to Sun Life in 1997. She transitioned to actual employee in 2003 and continued as project manager until her promotion to director in 2004.

Gnerre has seen the role of business systems analyst become more highly valued over the years. As her team grew she added structure to help new members fit in. "To be successful they need to understand our processes and know who to ask for help," she says. "Technology is changing so quickly that we all have to be flexible and open to new ideas."

Bob Salipante, president of Sun Life Financial U.S., notes that as an international financial services organization, "We create a culture that celebrates our differences, enables all employees to flourish, and ultimately helps us better understand our customers."

Sara Parthasarathy is a technology manager at American Family

Sara Parthasarathy.

Sara Parthasarathy is information services application technology manager at American Family Insurance (Madison, WI). She oversees development of apps that automate agency sales processes for property and casualty, health, life and commercial lines of business. The development is done by project teams that generally include a project manager and a dozen or so programmers.

"We work with our business clients to enhance performance and make the agent's experience more positive," Parthasarathy says. "Automating the business process makes it user friendly. The information collected is more accurate and legible, and the system ensures that all required information is collected and validated."

Parthasarathy did not set out to work in IT. Her 1978 BS from the University of Madras, India was in botany. But an uncle in IT wanted her to join that growing industry. "He didn't nudge me into the field, he literally pushed me!" she says.

She went back to school for a certificate in Cobol programming from the Computer Society of India. Later she pursued a 1986 post-grad diploma in management studies from the Indira Gandhi National Open University in New Delhi.

An internship led to her first job, at a petroleum product marketing company in India. "I was the only woman in an all-male world," she says. Starting as a developer, she moved on to analysis and design, requirements gathering and project management. She managed the implementation of an online transaction processing system to track customers, sales, billing and inventory.

In 1994 Parthasarathy followed her software developer husband to the U.S. A consultancy with Compuware (Madison, WI) led her to American Family as a tech lead in 1996 and she's been there ever since. The company hired her on as application technology advisor in 2001, and she moved to her current managerial position last year.

Parthasarathy is considered the subject-matter expert on rational unified process, an iterative software development methodology. The objective is to be sure business expectations will be met when the product is delivered incrementally. "If adjustments are needed they are made at milestones along the way," she explains.

No two days are alike for Parthasarathy. She enjoys the challenge and the continual advances in her field. "When you jump on the IT train, you have to keep running along with it," she says. "The younger generation does everything online and the insurance industry has to keep that in mind when vying for their business."

Strategic staffing director Leslie Even says that embracing diversity and appreciating differences are important to American Family's future success. "Having a diverse workforce brings creative ideas, different perspectives and new insights," he remarks.

Harshida Patel is an info engineer at Travelers

Harshida Patel.

Harshida Patel is an associate information engineer in the Hartford, CT personal lines management info department at Travelers Insurance (St. Paul, MN). As tech lead in customized software apps development, she provides guidance and serves as the bridge between business customers and the technical team. "One of the systems we developed helps the business determine the best price for a new product before it's released," she notes.

Patel also serves as practice lead. She mentors team members in agile software development and extreme programming practices. Ongoing feedback and collaboration with customers during the development cycle leads to a higher quality solution, she explains.

Patel earned her 1999 BSEE at Birla Vishwakarm Maha Vidhayalaya (India). Marriage brought her to the U.S. in 2000, and she pursued a 2003 MS in EE and computer systems engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Hartford, CT branch. "I discovered that software engineering was not just science, but an art that would allow creativity," she says.

She joined Travelers in 2002 as an entry-level programmer while working on her masters. She liked the company's red umbrella logo. "I didn't know anything about the company or the insurance industry, but I decided that I wanted to work for this company," she says with a smile.

Patel credits her manager, Raykoff Taavo, for her rapid rise to info system specialist, senior info specialist, and now associate info engineer. "He gave me opportunities to stretch and prove my abilities," she says.

Patel and a colleague have initiated a weekly meeting where developers share skills and new technology during lunch. The first group of seven grew to thirty in just a few months. "Everyone looks forward to our meetings," she says. "They are eager to know what the topic is this week."

Javelin Lawrence is a system analyst at State Farm

Javelin Lawrence.

At State Farm Insurance Co (Bloomington, IL), Javelin Lawrence works in data and info strategies as a system analyst. She supports and services the front end of a tool to improve the productivity of product model developers. "I work with a team of analysts who are supporting and servicing a very complex application," she says.

Lawrence earned her 1994 BA in English at the University of Illinois. She got interested in IT, and returned to school for a 2002 MSIS at DePaul University (Chicago, IL).

She married a career military man, which meant relocating and looking for a new job every three or four years. "I wanted a career that had more transferable skills than I could get with my liberal arts degree, so I wouldn't have to start at entry level each time we moved," she says.

Lawrence spent three years in Japan. She taught English in a school where the kids had never had a woman teacher, a black teacher or any kind of American teacher. "It was an awesome experience," she says. She spoke very little Japanese and the kids spoke very little English but they were very receptive.

While earning her MS Lawrence worked for the Orthopaedic Research Society (Rosemont, IL) as an information coordinator/Web developer, designing and updating the website. "I also managed every technical aspect of the society's annual conference, from getting the computers set up to producing their CD-ROM," she recalls.

Another move in 2003 brought Lawrence to Logista in Virginia Beach, VA where she worked as a consultant. She also worked part-time as a Web developer at Hampton University (Hampton, VA), then moved to a fulltime job there as manager/access coordinator. She was in charge of the school library's circulation department and system and managed their website. "The library is still using the website I created," she says.

Lawrence established her own Web development company so she could continue working remotely for Orthopaedic. When her schedule allows she takes on contract work for other nonprofits.

A move back to Illinois landed her a job as system analyst at State Farm in 2005. She worked in the fire, property and casualty area, developing small apps to streamline processes. She moved into her current position late last year.

Lawrence and her husband are committed to bringing technology to young people. They tutor junior high kids in math and find them IT pros as mentors. "We're doing our part to ensure that U.S. children are prepared to face the challenges of the future," she says.

Lawrence also coordinates the local high school computer camp for BDPA and teaches at the camp. "In 2006 our kids placed fifth in the country," she says proudly.

Diversity is a state of mind at State Farm, says chair and CEO Ed Rust, Jr. Different experiences and points of view strengthen the organization and help it serve the marketplace and customers better. "It helps ensure our future," he says.

Alberta Riley is senior telecom analyst at Health Net

Alberta Riley.

Alberta Riley is senior telecom analyst in the Rancho Cordova, CA data center of Health Net (Woodland Hills, CA), a publicly-traded managed healthcare company. She works with a team of engineers responsible for enterprise engineering design and maintenance of voice and call-routing network services for the company's commercial and call center locations. "It's our job to ensure uninterrupted service," she says.

Riley's job requires project management, voice engineering and call-routing skills as well as effective negotiating. She monitors capacity in accordance with demand.

For example, if she recommends moving voice services to a larger facility, she has to engage local and long-distance carriers, negotiate a schedule with the carriers and her customers and trace out the voice services. "My job requires a lot of coordination," she says.

Riley joined Health Net early last year after a ten-year career with AT&T where she had progressed from service order admin to service manager. She was recruited by her present manager, who had been her customer for three years. "My manager appreciated my tenacity and my ability to get positive results," she says, and her knowledge of the carrier's capabilities and thresholds for negotiation were appealing as well.

Riley has attended college but hasn't completed a degree. She learned her skills through on-the-job training. "Working at AT&T was great, but I feel confident that my career with Health Net will be just as great," she says.

Health Net works to recruit and retain a diverse group of associates by fostering a climate that respects and values diversity. "Diversity allows us a richer and more productive workforce," says Steven Boettcher, director of staffing and diversity. "This in turn leads to better products and services for our customers."

More diversity champions speak out
"Having a diverse workforce ensures our success at better serving and understanding our customers' needs as a niche insurance business," says Philadelphia Insurance Companies president and CEO James Maguire, Jr.

HR VP Cheryl Kozak notes that Travelers is committed to acknowledging and valuing the diversity of its workforce, its business partners, its customers and its communities. "We are committed to diversity in everything we say and do," she says.

Cigna Corp (Philadelphia, PA) also focuses its diversity approach on community, customers, employees and suppliers. Diversity isn't a program at Cigna, "It's who we are," says Priti Dheer, director of diversity.

D/C

Susan Clark is a freelance writer who makes her headquarters in Hewitt, NJ.

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