PLUS Special Section

Diversity and inclusion

Incorporating diversity into perpetuation plans

By Phil Zinkewicz

At next month’s PLUS annual meeting, one particularly pertinent panel discussion will focus on diversity and inclusion. At a time when Baby Boomers are nearing retirement age, insurance industry representatives will be looking for ways to replenish the talent pool, and recognition of the competitive advantages of diversity will go a long way towards achieving that goal.

That message will be delivered by Corbette S. Doyle, Lecturer in Leadership, Policy & Organization at Vanderbilt University, during a panel discussion titled “The Secret Sauce: Using Diversity for a Sustainable Competitive Advantage.” Panelists, who have been chosen from outside the insurance industry, include: Michael Hyter, president and CEO, Novations Group; Tyronne Stoudemire, Global Director D&I Talent Acquisitions, Hewitt Associates; and Claudia Wolf, partner & Mid-West WIN Leader, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services.

“The goal of the panel will be to give the audience a different perspective on diversity and inclusion,” says Doyle. “We want to encourage the audience to think outside the ‘compliance’ box. The panelists have been chosen from outside the insurance industry so that PLUS attendees will be able to hear how other firms are creating a sustainable competitive advantage through a more diverse workforce.

“The knowledge our panelists will impart will enable attendees to differentiate between firms with a truly inclusive culture and those that merely check the boxes on an EPL or D&O application,” she continues. “This knowledge will also arm attendees with strategies to improve their personal leadership effectiveness and that of their organizations.”

Doyle says that her panelists will present three distinct approaches towards diversity and inclusion. For example, Deloitte was one of the first of the major accounting firms to become serious about diversity because of a noticeable lack of available talent in the area, she says. “Claudia will address the talent issue,” says Doyle. “And Hewitt developed a seven-figure consulting practice to advise firms on diversity and inclusion,” she says.

“Moreover,” adds Doyle, “the audience will consist of professional liability underwriters and brokers. In terms of directors and officers coverage, how does an underwriter weed out the firms that are truly diverse as opposed to those that are only trying to comply with existing regulations? That will be one of the questions we will address.”

Doyle says that diversity and inclusion is a subject particularly important to the insurance industry. “The insurance industry, as a whole, has not been known for talent development. This is especially true on the brokerage side,” she says, “where firms have traditionally been family-owned,” she says.

As far as format is concerned, Doyle says that each panelist will have about seven minutes to respond to planned questions and then there will be a Q&A session with the audience.