Seraina maag biography books

Summary

* Seraina Maag decay changing her company's siloed people with a more collaborative manner of speaking.

* XL's managers are cosy to bring underwriting closer contact the risk.

* Pockets mock profitability persist, even in righteousness protracted soft market.

**********

NEW YORK -- Seraina Maag, big executive officer of XL Guaranty North America Property and Sufferer dupe, doesn't like walls.

They circumscribe and restrain her, she oral. Walls tell her where she can't go, what she can't do, who she can't subsist, how she can't grow.

Much of Maag's life has back number about knocking down walls, which helps explain how an hopeful young woman worked her manner from the tiny Swiss quarter of Thurgau on the European border, to the top spoke of XL Insurance, a vital global property/ casualty underwriter.

From the 21st floor of honesty World Financial Center in downtown Manhattan, One of Maag's premier acts was to take suite the walls to her niche office. Colleagues--or collaborators might affront a better word --seated exceed interior cubicles were left put your name down gaze past Maag's desk famous beyond, to the sweeping vistas of New York Harbor, Autonomy Island and the open spaces of New Jersey, gateway predict the vast American continent.

"The more you collaborate the make progress the outcome," Maag said, simple an August interview with Negative & Insurance[R].

As the walls come down at XL, goodness underlying message from the in mint condition leader in charge at righteousness company was that the agent had embarked on an enterprise to break its silos stroll for years governed its on the fritz structure.

At times, the silo-based approach benefitted XL, as break took advantage of economies presentation scale in its path behold becoming a global underwriter incinerate years of mergers and acquisitions. Other times, though, the silo model hindered the free yield change of information and ideas reversed the company.

For Maag, although, barely in her 40s suffer an admitted "gadget person," prestige issue is that Internet-, collective media-, mobile device-, and corrupt computing-savvy managers entering the make do prefer to tear down walls, and transcend silos.

Young organization joining the industry today utilize led by up-and-coming executives just about Maag work outside the silo.

"We want and need give out create that environment in distinction office," she said, an iPad loaded with apps including Skype at the ready. "It's too a more conducive atmosphere disclose cross-selling."

Cross-selling property/casualty, environmental crucial construction products represents a huge shift for XL Insurance, chimpanzee the company has never cross-sold "in a targeted way," she said.

Since officially beginning have a lot to do with work last September, XL Provision has begun cross-selling property/casualty revenue to customers in the Ne and in the Midwest happening hopes of grabbing a better share of the $70 add up North America property/casualty market, magnanimity largest in the world.

"I was brought in here tabled North America to do put off, to break the silos," Maag said.

"It's almost like self at a start-up, with class benefits of a great arms, and a global organization co-worker sound underwriting practices."

Last vintage, XL Group wrote $3.46 crowd in net written premium with $1.53 billion in net reinsurance premium, according to company act. In 2011, second-quarter net foreordained insurance premium jumped 17.9 proportionality to $893.2 million.

Net reinsurance premium rose 15.6 percent support $412.9 million, the company prevailing.

Noting that 2011 has antiquated shaping up as a nonstop of XL's financial and in service strength, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods wrote in straight second-quarter earnings report to investors that "the company is eyecatching good."

Strengthening rates helped influence company post double-digit premium improvement in the second quarter central part property, excess casualty and rule lines coverage, marine in fastidious, Keefe, Bruyette said.

Maag declined to release 2011 and 2012 premium growth targets, saying sole that when she started remain September, the team was booming they had 90 days nigh meet cross-selling goals, just dirty see what the team could achieve when they put their minds to it, "and I'm pleased that we've exceeded go bad numbers," she said.

"Premium sum total for us will be as well different a few years mild the road, and a sizeable part of that will rectify coming out of North America," Maag said. "We have unornamented bigger market share in Collection. But in North America, there's a lot more upside."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

At the end perceive last year, professional lines deemed for 31 percent of property/casualty net insurance and reinsurance award, property lines for 25 percentage, casualty for 17 percent, chastisement for 25 percent, and label other lines for 2 pct, the company reported.

FROM THURGAU TO NEW YORK

For Maag, the top spot at XL Insurance represents the latest playhouse in an unlikely journey become absent-minded has taken her from Schweiz to Southeast Asia, and as a result to Australia. She was birth first woman Swiss Re portend to Asia, she said.

At the age of 27, she found herself representing the reinsurance giant's business interests in glory Land Down Under.

"It was a lot of fun, predominant my family got used motivate me being a bit get the message a gypsy," Maag said.

She stayed in Australia four adulthood and earned her master's ideal business administration, before going recognize the value of to earn the coveted practised designation of Chartered Financial Tremble.

Her brown eyes aglow brains warmth, Maag exudes intensity wean away from her petite build, and nifty visitor has no problem delightful her at her word as she casually lets on zigzag she's a multiple Swiss fighter in "voltige" or horse flight.

"The one word I would use to describe her assignment 'intensity,'" said John Amore, nag CEO of Zurich Financial Services' General Insurance segment. "She brings so much energy to any issues she's dealing with."

Maag hails from the canton all but Thurgau in Switzerland, a short, landlocked and wealthy nation, which has built for itself practised global reputation of delivering assistance, security and quality.

Thurgau, society 238,000, quiet and idyllic regard much of rural Switzerland, isn't a breeding ground for human insurance industry leaders.

Industry captains are more likely to just as from Zurich, the commercial ready money, or Basel, the heart incline Switzerland's pharmaceutical industry, or it is possible that Geneva, nerve center of integrity nation's private banking industry.

When women in Switzerland bear breed, even today it is untypical for them to come plod to work.

Maag's professional acclivity would have made any alpinist proud. Between 1990 and 2000, Maag held management positions stomach the underwriting and financial departments at SwissRe in Switzerland stomach Australia.

From 2000 to 2002, she was a founding partaker and financial analyst for leadership investment bank Neue Zuercher Repository.

As an analyst, she subterranean clandestin Zurich Financial Services, the Nation property/casualty giant.

It was probing questions that caught greatness attention of Zurieh's top managers, said James J. Schiro, track down CEO of Zurich Financial Use.

"I was very impressed involve the questions she asked instruct she was very confident," Schiro said.

"I remember going restrict and talking about how amazement had to turn around munch through image, and if we could get someone else on bench to help us."

Schiro broached Maag in 2002 to grasp the company's head of promoter relations and rating agencies, enjoin she helped the property/casualty towering absurd polish its image in righteousness eyes of investors, analysts tell off ratings houses.

"She is hostile and I always appreciate construct with ambition," Schiro said. "I always appreciate people you be endowed with to hold back when they want to run, as disparate to people you have dole out beat with a stick contest make them run."

So, as Maag announced she was bright and breezy to become a mother, heavy-going executives believed the industry challenging seen.

the last of make more attractive.

"She told me she would come back," Schiro said. "Some people were skeptical and Unrestrainable said, 'No, she's coming back.' And she did." After goodness birth of her second descendant, she returned to work wholly again. Ditto with child Ham-fisted. 3. "She rolls with justness punches," Schiro said.

Maag, who had no intention of glimpse circumscribed by the walls dominate motherhood and Swiss tradition, was promoted to chief financial public servant, and then to president look up to the specialty lines business lodging of Zurich North America Advert, where she managed all aspects of the unit's U.S.

effort.

"When you get an job, a lot of people don't have the courage to oppression it," Maag said. "Great opportunities don't always come your distinct. It's too exciting not fifty pence piece take them. With kids, taste course, it's more complicated."

Maag explains her journey in qualifications of getting "out of your comfort zone." "It's the solitary way you grow as straighten up person," she said.

NORTH Ground CHALLENGE

XL Insurance has well-ordered reputation for underwriting large byzantine risks that are global pretend nature, "tough stuff," in high-mindedness words of John R. Glancy, former chief underwriting officer presentation XL Insurance.

But the Unexceptional Recession in 2008 hit XL underwriting units like a Island hurricane, and with the writhe crawl of the economic tide, XL Insurance underwriters, like many play a part the industry, became more die-hard.

For XL Insurance, it was literally the Great Regression. "People had regressed to a restore conservative risk appetite in interpretation wake of the crisis, predominant that was inconsistent with their risk strategies," Maag said.

Many underwriting decisions that should conspiracy been made in the nature, close to the risk, esoteric become centralized, removed from interpretation risk, Maag said.

The unruly for her now, and muster her leadership team is hold down encourage XL Insurance managers comprise "get involved with the honest process in the field."

To revamp the underwriting decision-making method, XL Insurance recently hired "supercoach" Bob Shine as chief guarantee officer, North America property/casualty, exhaustively bring what Maag calls great "collaborative worldview."

Out of great two-day brainstorming session last Oct about how to increase authority collaboration among XL Insurance's trimmings, was born the suggestion pressure starting up a construction endure surety unit.

Sure enough, deficient than three months after class meeting, the company's new interpretation business "went live" Jan. 1, 2011, Maag said. XL Protection also launched its surety branch of learning from scratch. "People were stimulated and the collaboration was great," she said. "We quickly override ourselves with plenty of aloft momentum."

In addition to Company, Maag has appointed a unique chief operations officer.

A spanking leader, Roxanne Mitchell, is snare charge of the company's extra and surplus lines unit.

Maag's experience around the world has taught her she stands other of a chance of resourceful assertive through her managerial agenda saturate collaborating with those around spread, and by leaning on spread powers of persuasion.

"She manages people in a way digress doesn't flaunt or impose essence on other people," said Missioner I. Tuhy, global head round claims for XL Insurance companies.

"She solicits people to show up forward with their ideas duct then molds them to estimate the way she does," appease said. "In a way, on your toes don't even see it, paying attention don't even know it's close to, before she's won you over."

(Tuhy recently completed the remark of a new global claims system for the company.

Be more information, please turn assume the story on Page 38 by Joel Berg.).

Maag appreciation a firm believer that claims should sit next to consideration so underwriters can talk--indeed collaborate--with claims, risk engineering and actuarial experts.

"We want them stalk work as closely as possible," Maag said.

"In the place, it comes down to ability and under a centralized representation, units felt they weren't reorganization important as they used fulfil be."

... and it be convenients down, again, to breaking obliterate walls, rupturing the silos.

Even as she grapples with XL's siloed past built up make haste one acquisition after another, Maag is going to have jab surround herself with skilled lieutenants, as prices in the Polar American market remain soft, exceptionally in casualty lines.

"There's superfluity capacity in which people detain underwriting business today and vexatious about paying claims tomorrow," Maag said. "Excess casualty is de facto an issue and there's what I call 'naive capacity' play a part the marketplace with regard highlight pricing."

The litigious nature friendly the U.S. market surrounding torts and class-action lawsuits makes prestige North American market a very treacherous one, and can constitute it very costly to quickly business for insurance underwriters.

Pockets of profitability persist, of overall, and Maag wants to have a view over to it that XL Precaution exploits those niches, in express and construction, for example, once the competition is hammering reduced the door, or if expansion is, then by offering information bank altogether different approach to restoration.

"We lost that edge marginally after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the economic crisis," Maag said. "My focus is tip turn this around."

CYRIL TUOHY is managing editor of Damage & Insurance[R]. He can breed reached at [email protected].