Leader's Edge

In this episode, Leader's Edge hosts its second conversation at The Council's Employee Benefits Leadership Forum, with Jochen Körner, CEO of Ecclesia Group, a Germany-based brokerage. Körner dives into detail about the Krankenhausversorgungsverbesserungsgesetz, which is changing how the German hospital system operates and funds itself. Körner also shares how his family’s history of working at brok...

“Nobody wins when the insurance company can’t afford to sell insurance and the homeowners can’t afford to buy insurance.” In this episode of the Politics & Risk podcast, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) discusses the increasing pressure that wildfires are placing on insurance companies and their clients. Westerman for years has been a chief champion of the Fix Ou...

In this episode, Leader's Edge hosts a conversation at The Council's Employee Benefits Leadership Forum with Jonathan Hsieh, CEO of Pacific Prime Americas. Hsieh shares how his background in law helped him break into insurance industry, how medical inflation and tariffs are impacting his clients, and what trends he’s watching in the benefits market.

A conversation onsite at The Council’s Employee Benefits Leadership Forum with Prudential’s John Trevisan, Head of Distribution for Group Insurance, and Mark Devine, Vice President, Head of Life, Absence & Disability Product. Having recently surveyed employers and employees about modern benefits, Prudential gathered data on the disconnects between the two groups. In addition to discussing the surv...

In this podcast, Scott Goodreau CEO of Brightstone Specialty Group, shares childhood stories of waking up at 3 a.m. to help his dad's canteen truck business, and how that informed his entrepreneurial nature. Goodreau also dives into why higher education changed his life and how he started his company.

In this edition of our AXA XL podcast series, head of large commercial Donna Nadeau sits down with Leader’s Edge to talk about the latest on large-business risk. Nadeau discusses how clients are dealing with the impacts of tariffs, potential supply chain disruptions, AI algorithm bias, and much more.

It’s been nearly five years since Leader's Edge began the Falling Into It podcast. Our purpose is to interview up-and-coming insurance talent to find out why they chose this industry. These professionals have pivoted to insurance from careers on the fields of Major League Baseball and sailing the seas for the U.S. Coast Guard, to name just two. In this episode, we’re going back to school. We meet...

In this episode, Kristina Talkowski, head of commercial lines, middle market for Nationwide, shares takeaways from a recent survey of small and medium sized businesses. Among the range of risk management issues covered are economic concerns, supply chain disruptions, cyber threats and regulatory compliance issues. She also discusses gaps in risk preparedness for middle market businesses, industry...

A conversation with the president of McGohan Brabender. A native of Ashland, Ohio, Beth Ferrin shares how growing up in Amish country shaped her formative years, what it's like being the first female president of her firm, and the importance of advocacy in her role.

In this episode Leader's Edge talks with Matthew Scally and Grier Dienstag from McKinsey. Both authors of “Investing in insurance: The value imperative,” discuss recent private investment trends in insurance. They also evaluate what made 2024 M&A unique, and share why they expect increased deal activity this year.

The BrokerTech Ventures 2025 Accelerator startups are putting artificial intelligence to work in new ways, rethinking back-office processes from telephony support to employee offboarding, says Accelerator Executive Director John Jackovin. Talking to Leader’s Edge on the eve of the multiday, in-person BTV Mania, Jackovin shares insights on new areas of startup focus, investment trends, and what BTV...

A conversation with Ryan Specialty’s chief compliance and privacy officer and head of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this episode, Michael Blackshear discusses how growing up in New York City shaped him, how his consistent pursuit of education informs his role, and finding out that his father was an undercover detective.

At the start of 2025 the AI industry and stock market were both blindsided. By the end of Monday, Jan. 27, nearly $1 trillion in value had been wiped off the Nasdaq 100. U.S. tech companies that had invested billions of dollars in AI now faced new competition from DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup. Supposedly only costing $6 million to develop, and as intelligent as OpenAI’s reasoning models, the ope...

In an interview conducted on-site at The Council's Insurance Leadership Forum last Fall, Leader's Edge spoke with Mike Krzyzewski, former head coach for Duke University men's basketball and the Team USA Olympics team. Krzyzewski shares stories of leadership, talent, and rivalries with Editor-in-Chief Sandy Laycox, who attended the University of North Carolina, Duke’s primary rival. Although Krzyze...

A conversation with the president of The Partners Group. In this episode, Sarah Friend shares how and why she started her own podcast, the importance of community in retaining young professionals, and her philosophy on leadership.

While on assignment to cover the disproportionate impact of natural catastrophes on low-income families and small businesses, journalist Russ Banham was evacuated from his own Los Angeles home. A Los Angeles County native, Banham himself was forced to evacuate his home with his family as the Eaton Fire edged toward his neighborhood in January. After the fire was contained, Russ was able to return...

In this episode, Council VP of Health Policy & Strategy Katie King sits down with Dave Kerrigan, founder and CEO of benefits solution aggregator BenefitPitch, to get his take on the trends driving brokers and employers to prioritize solutions that thread the needle on controlling costs and retaining employees. From AI in benefits to the growth of individual coverage HRAs, Kerrigan discusses which...

In this episode we meet Benjamin Verlingue, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Adelaide Group. Verlingue shares his story of becoming the 4th generation to run his family’s insurance business. He discusses what changes he wants to see during his time of leadership, and differences and misconceptions between U.S. and France.

In this podcast episode, we discuss women’s health and healthcare with chief medical officer Dr. Janet Choi and chief development officer Julie Stadlbauer from Progyny, a fertility, family building and women’s health benefits provider. From the history of exclusion in medical research, to the fragmented system and myriad point solutions now available, women’s healthcare requires expertise and navi...

In this episode, Matt Waters, head of US Middle Market for AXA XL, shares what it has taken for his team to build out its business over the past couple of years. Waters also discusses what characteristics impact the middle market and what industry segments the company is focused on.

In the second interview conducted on-site at The Council's Insurance Leadership Forum in October, Leader's Edge spoke with Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Goodwin offers insights on the political strife, past and present, that has challenged numerous generations of Americans. She also offers anecdotes concerning the history of the presidency, a message on the im...

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the 2024 Insurance Leadership Forum, Leader's Edge held open mic hours in the magazine's podcast booth where conference guests could sit down and share thoughts on any topic. First to join in conversation was Kevin Davis, president of Kevin Davis Insurance Services, who shared how he uses his own podcast to help his business. Next, Leader’s Edge’s book revi...

A Christmas miracle on Capitol Hill keeps the federal government funded through March 14, 2025. In this year-end episode of Politics & Risk, The Council’s senior vice president and vice president of government affairs, Joel Kopperud and Blaire Bartlett, discuss the turmoil in Washington, D.C., as Congress struggles to keep the government open through the new year. Additionally, Bartlett interviews...

Mark Siebold, SVP and head of workplace solutions at Wintrust Workplace Solutions, offers a comprehensive overview of health savings accounts (HSAs) and the benefits to both employers and employees.

Soldiers engaging in combat with native tribes in post-Civil War America. The free press waging a war of words on companies in the Wild West. A massive parade celebrating the tricentennial of the Massachusetts colony. These are all scenes that shaped the way American’s think about risk, from author Katherine Hempstead’s new book Uncovered: The Story of Insurance in America. The book shares how the...