Anniversaries are the traditional time to look back on major events and reflect how they have changed things. Residents of New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast last month observed the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and Pan-American Life Insurance executive vice president G. Patrick McGunagle notes there still are difficulties facing residents and businesses in New Orleans, where Pan-American is based. However, he proudly points out Pan-American and its employees survived a difficult year and things slowly are getting better.

Housing is the core issue the city faces in its recovery, maintains McGunagle. Large areas remain in shambles, particularly working-class neighborhoods in the suburbs. About one-third of Pan-American's employees were seriously affected by the storm, he estimates. Some employees decided to relocate away from New Orleans for personal or financial reasons following the evacuation. Other employees who came back still are living in trailers one year later.

One major business change for Pan-American since Katrina was the decision to outsource its data center and network operations to CSC. McGunagle believes this move has provided the carrier with an additional layer of protection against future disasters. "Having your data center below sea level in New Orleans and the backup tape area also under sea level a few miles away just didn't seem to be a prudent thing to continue," he says.