Our People
Lena Battraw Peters
Regional Vice President, Programs Sales
If you ever had the opportunity to sit in a meeting with Lena and see her interact with a prospective Program Administrator you can easily identify that her role is one of a relationship specialist. She is always excited to meet with potential new program partners — learning about their organization, understanding their successes and challenges, while balancing Zurich’s expectations with the needs of the Program Administrator.
Lena has over 30 years experience in the insurance industry. She began her career as an agent, canvassing single-wide mobile home parks in search of new clients. Over the years, her career has evolved from serving as a Farmers District Manager to a Financial Services role at MetLife, ultimately finding her home in the specialty arena. Before joining Zurich, Lena was the Senior Vice President for Sales & Distribution at K2 Insurance Services.
We invited Lena to share more about her background and experiences.
To what behavior or personality trait do you most attribute your success?
I am extremely driven and goal oriented, both professionally and personally. Over the years I have learned to temper this trait a bit, though I still struggle with the desire for immediate results. This drive has helped me focus on the big picture within an organization. Rather than simply following a job description, I prefer to write my own. We all travel a road differently, and when I focus on the end destination, the steps to get there fall naturally into place for me.
Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
Years ago, when I was a Farmers District manager, my mentor left a lasting impression on me about the importance of being sincere in your efforts on the job. I found both he and his wife to be very compassionate people. He has consistently demonstrated that same compassion over the years. In fact, we still stay in touch. His genuine faith in my potential for success has been a rare gift in the world of sales.
In a nutshell, this is what he taught me. You spend a large portion of your life working, so work hard and enjoy the people you are with. Reach out and see your colleagues as people, not just coworkers. Take time to find out who they are and what drives them. In the end, you will find a common ground with everyone and recognize that everyone brings something unique to the table, you just need to discover what it is.
What’s the best advice you were ever given?
While in college I studied both pop and classical voice. It was my pop coach that taught me about 5:5:5. It’s a simple, yet powerful formula. If something bothers you, ask yourself, will it still matter in 5 minutes? In 5 months? In 5 years? If you can honestly answer yes to all three time frames, then it’s worth delving into. If not, it’s best to let go and not spend any more energy on it.
This has stuck with me throughout my life, and I have shared it with many people over the years. For example, I started in this business as an agency owner, we encountered some pretty challenging customers. My staff and I would at times find ourselves wandering around the office, muttering 5:5:5. It’s such a great piece of advice, and I encourage everyone to share it with others!
What’s your favorite way to unwind after a busy day?
Enjoying a well-deserved glass of wine; OK, maybe two.
What would we most likely find you doing on the weekend?
It depends on the time of year. In the summer months, we spend time at our lake house in Washington, where I enjoy gardening, kayaking, bonfires and hosting friends at the lake. For the rest of the year, we are in Arizona, where I love to golf, hike and explore the desert.
If you could trade places with anyone in the world for just one day, who would you choose?
Gloria Steinem, an American journalist and social activist. I am a big fan of her contributions to the women’s liberation movement. One of her many memorable quotes that resonates with me is, “Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Frost’s gelato (it’s a Southwest thing) and Brunello wine; not together of course!
What’s an item or two that you have on your bucket list?
Renting a villa in Tuscany, hiring a local chef, and having an amazing family vacation. The other is a river cruise up the Rhine River.