SPECIAL REPORT
ELITE WOMEN 2018 CATHY GRIFFIN
HEIDI VESCIO
Vice president and environmental practice group co-leader
President, owner and founder United Insurance Agencies and Affordable Auto Insurance
Brown & Riding
Cathy Griffin started working on the environmental side of the insurance industry in the 1980s mainly due to personal interest, but it also proved to be good timing on her part. “I am part of the generation that started Earth Day,” she says, “and it was our generation that started becoming more conscientious about the environment – what was being released into the air and in the ground. All of that was taking off at that time.” Since then, Griffin has developed many programs for environmental exposures, including one for doctors reviewing indoor air quality of industrial plants. She also led the development of mold insurance in the 2000s, when few companies were willing to write the exposure. As co-leader of Brown & Riding’s environmental practice group, Griffin demonstrates extensive expertise in evaluating environmental coverages and exposures.
Heidi Vescio has been laying the foundation for a career in insurance since she was a child, spending most of her weekends at her father’s agency; she obtained her agent’s license when she turned 18. In 1991, Vescio saw the opportunity to branch out and fill a niche, founding Affordable Auto Insurance, which became the top seller of auto risk policies in the Omaha metro for many years. After her father retired, Vescio bought his company and began leading operations for both United Insurance Agencies and Affordable Auto Insurance. Today, with more than 25 years of experience under her belt, Vescio is focused on empowering her team of agents to continue the growth of both commercial and personal insurance lines while offering solutions to auto clients struggling to find adequate coverage elsewhere.
PRIYA CHERIAN HUSKINS Senior vice president, D&O Woodruff Sawyer
A nationally recognized expert on D&O liability, Priya Huskins works with fast-growing private and public companies in the technology and life sciences space, focusing on unicorn companies, companies undergoing IPOs and large international companies. A former corporate securities attorney and chair of Woodruff Sawyer’s management liability claims committee, she routinely counsels clients on corporate governance matters, including ways to reduce exposure to shareholder lawsuits and regulatory investigations, and advocates for clients in negotiating complex claims. Huskins is the author and editor of the D&O Notebook blog, a resource for many boards of directors and law firms across the country. She is also a popular guest lecturer at high-profile events such as Stanford’s Directors’ College, the EY Strategic Growth Forum and Directors Consortium. In addition to her duties at Woodruff Sawyer, Huskins sits on the boards and committees of several organizations, including the Realty Income Corporation, the Monthly Dividend Company and the Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance and the Silicon Valley Directors’ Exchange. Active in the effort to increase diversity in the boardroom, she is a member of the Nasdaq/Spencer Stuart/Boardroom Resources Next Gen Board Leaders Advisory Council and has spoken about the topic on the web series Inside America’s Boardrooms.
54
AMY ZUPON CEO Vertafore
As head of Vertafore, Amy Zupon makes enormous contributions to the insurance industry on a daily basis, directly influencing the capabilities and success of thousands of insurance businesses across the country. More than 500,000 insurance professionals use Vertafore’s software, including more than half of the top 100 brokers in the US. Zupon took the helm at Vertafore in 2016 and was tasked with fundamentally changing the direction of the company to place the interest and success of customers above all other priorities. In the span of about 18 months, she has set Vertafore on a path to tackle the company’s – and the industry’s – most pressing challenges. In line with this, Vertafore launched a new headquarters in Denver, hired more than 600 employees and realigned to a ‘centers of excellence’ strategy to provide world-class service and support to its customers. Outside of Vertafore, Zupon is a dedicated member of the Denver community who volunteers with several organizations. She shares her passion for service by encouraging Vertafore employees to use paid volunteer time each year while making matching donations to fundraising causes and promoting a culture of giving.
www.ibamag.com
24-63_Elite Women 2018-SUBBED.indd 54
8/06/2018 3:31:54 AM