One of them learned technology hundreds of feet underwater in a submarine; another started his own consulting business while still in college. To say the 2013 Insurance IT All-Stars is an eclectic group is no understatement.

This is the seventh edition of the All-Stars and this year's group of five insurance IT leaders have made their marks with a variety of companies. We asked them what scares them about the future and what excites them and one theme is shared by all—technology offers immense challenges for what lies ahead, but also great opportunity not only for themselves, but for the industry as a whole.

The 2013 All-Stars include: Suren Gupta, executive vice president, Allstate Technology and Operations; Peter Settel, senior vice president and CIO of Homesite insurance; David Lawless. executive vice president and chief administrative officer, Magna Carta Companies; Tracey Berg, vice president and CIO, West Bend Mutual Insurance; and Dan Colarusso, senior vice president, operations, and COO, Cypress Insurance.

Dan Colarusso, Cypress Insurance

Technology is a key element of the insurance enterprise and Dan Colarusso, senior vice president, operations, and CIO for Cypress Insurance, believes it allows carriers to achieve greater efficiencies, greater levels of service, and more customer service.

For more on Colarusso click here.

Suren Gupta, Allstate Technology and Operations

As executive vice president, technology and operations for Allstate Insurance and a member of Allstate's senior leadership team, Suren Gupta explains that his initial career goal was not to be a technologist, but rather to work on the business side. He came to realize, though, that technology is indispensable for business people.

For more on Gupta click here.

Tracey Berg, West Bend Mutual

No one, not even an Insurance IT All-Star, gets to where they are without a little help. West Bend Mutual Insurance CIO Tracey Berg spent her college years and her early career in IT shops learning the technology, but it was when she switched to the management side that she found the key component that would make her a successful leader.

For more on Berg, click here.

Peter Settel, Homesite Insurance

Peter Settel doesn't believe there's been a time since the Internet first hit its stride that we've witnessed so much technology innovation and opportunity moving in so many directions simultaneously.

“When you had the dot-com movement there were incredible changes in so many directions so quickly,” says Settel, senior vice president and CIO of Homesite Insurance. “It's different now, but you are seeing the phenomenon of amazing and important things happening simultaneously and in many different directions. You need to be close to the action because just as the dot-com era rose and then descended, nobody can ignore the lasting impact of the Internet. This is an important time and some amazing things will pop up. You will want to be very close to that action. It's a pretty amazing time right now.”

For more on Settel, click here.

David Lawless, Magna Carta

In all the jobs that David Lawless has held in his life—from being a contract employee working on IBM systems to his current job as chief administrative officer for Magna Carta Companies—one thing in all of them remains in common: He likes to improve efficiency and quality by developing a business and technology strategy with his team.

For more on Lawless, click here.

Special Reports /

2013 Insurance IT All-Stars

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