Spencer Looks Back with 2015 Gala Honoree Chris Maleno
"It’s incredible to think about how much has changed since I was honored at the Spencer Gala back in 2015. On a personal level, I’ve gone from running the Major Accounts practice for Chubb, to taking over North America Field Operations. They’re very different roles, going from underwriting management to distribution management. The industry at-large has also changed massively since then: we’ve seen broker consolidation; continued emphasis on making underwriting profit while balancing growth and exposures; more collection, analysis and application of data in decision-making; and the development of self-service tools that agents, brokers and clients can utilize.
At the same time, there are many things that have remained the same since 2015. Personally, I have been married for 27 years to the same person, I have three kids that continue to amaze me (none of which have given me an award, but there’s always next year!), and after 32 years in insurance I still find myself challenged, building new skills and learning the business. I’m very grateful for this consistency.
Looking back on my quote from the 2015 Spencer Gala, I’m amazed at how relevant those same issues are today: recent college grads still face increasingly large amounts of debt and a disappointing job market, especially at this particular moment with the crushing economic consequences of the pandemic. It’s for these reasons that the Spencer Educational Foundation is so essential.
Spencer’s mission to fund the education of tomorrow’s risk management remains a fixture of our industry, helping students tackle debt and employability challenges, and maintaining a healthy talent pipeline for our industry. Spencer builds that bridge between carriers, risk advisors and the educational institutions that are developing our next generation. Not to mention, the Spencer board is made up of seasoned professionals from all different areas of our business, which ensures they get creative in how they engage with students and their schools. It's a terrific link to young adults already interested in risk management.
Since I spent over a decade as a board member, I witnessed firsthand all the good work that Spencer does. DeAnna Young, for example, caught my (and the entire audience’s) attention with her Spencer Scholar speech the same year that I was honored. She is now a successful Chubb underwriter in our Medical Risk group. Knowing her experience and those of many other students, I felt especially privileged to accept the honor in 2015.
My advice to this year’s Spencer Scholars: join our dynamic industry. It has so many facets, from risk taking and risk advising, underwriting and loss control, to technology, analytics and all the other support required to design and deliver our products and services. If you have an interest in business, there's something in insurance that will attract you, and then keep you in."