NAME: Mark Tainton
NEW JOB TITLE: Chicago-based global head of decision analytics, Ventiv Technology
PREVIOUS POSITION: Chicago-based global head of data & analytics, Calamos Investments
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK: The insurance industry continues to face several headwinds, with the most notable coming from COVID-19. Despite the widespread rollout of the vaccine, it continues to reverberate worldwide. There are several ongoing business interruption court cases as a result of the COVID pandemic and its still too early to determine the impact these claims will have on the insurance market. We also continue to see major disruptions to supply chains as a result of the pandemic and war in Ukraine, the impacts of flexible work models and the great resignation on the labor market, as well as spiraling energy and labor costs as a result of rising inflation. As a result, the economic outlook is still tempered despite moderate gains in several industries, with the U.S. GDP growth forecasted to be between 3% and 4% in 2022. We can also expect to see a continuation of hard markets, alongside rising premiums in 2022 for personal and commercial finance lines, in particular in the property/casualty market spa
GOALS FOR NEW POSITION: Ventivs decision analytics is focused on three key areas to ensure our clients can make better decisions, for better outcomes. First, we will continue to grow and strengthen our core performance, insights and self-discovery reporting solutions. In addition, we will continue to broaden our services beyond our proprietary benchmarking database and geospatial solutions. Lastly, we will look to drive significant growth and savings for our clients by expanding our suite of advanced analytics solutions, such as our Ventiv predict and our straight-through processing solutions.
CHALLENGES FACING THE INDUSTRY: Our industry, like most others, is facing several key challenges from attracting and retaining talent in an evolving hybrid work model, to balancing technology and analytics adoption while maintaining human personalization. That said, I would say some of the biggest challenges facing our industry are the increased frequency and severity of natural catastrophes, the impacts of civil unrest and to how to deal with an aging adjuster demographic. An opportunity we are looking at for an aging demographic is to leverage technology and the advancements of advanced analytics to provide impactful decision-making solutions that wont take a new employee 40 years to build up their decision-making experience and skillset.
FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY JOB MARKET: My first experience remains a fond and memorable one as I was fortunate enough to have joined Minets claims department in Cape Town, South Africa (Minet was later acquired by Aon). I learned everything from the basics to the more sophisticated principles of insurance and was also very fortunate to have been mentored by some great talent, with a number of those values and skills still something I apply regularly today.
ADVICE: Our industry is about relationships so make sure you are building and fostering them networking is crucial. Also, dont be afraid to ask questions and challenge ideas in the right moments. Above all, I would say the impacts of the economy, natural and global events continue to increase, directly and indirectly affecting the insurance industry. Dont be afraid of change, learn to evolve and adapt to new situations because theyre becoming more frequent.
OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY, A DREAM JOB: I always dreamed of being a stockbroker.
COLLEGE MAJOR:
LOOKING FORWARD TO: I am looking forward to building new and lasting relationships with my colleagues, and our clients. I am also looking forward to continuing to increase the trajectory Ventiv has been on. Finally, I am looking forward to sharing my breadth and depth of experiences with my colleagues and our clients, so we can collectively look for solutions that provide for better decisions and better outcomes.
FAVOURITE MEAL: Spanish chicken with chorizo sausage and rice.
BOOK: Nelson Mandelas The Long Walk to Freedom
HOBBIES: Gardening, and research on what other industries, outside of insurance, are doing with advanced analytics.
TV SHOW: My favorite thing to watch on TV is live sports.
ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON: If I am not watching one of my six children playing sports, you can always find me in the garden.
