Dear Leader,

While I’ve been in my role as Head of Programs since April, this is my first letter for Program Leader, and I want to thank you for your readership and feedback on this publication. We aim to provide information and insights you will find valuable in every issue, and we always welcome your comments and suggestions.

As this is my Program Leader “debut,” so to speak, I thought it would be good timing to offer a bit of an overview on our team’s goals and strategies, as well as a bit on our relationship working within Zurich’s Middle Market organization. You’ll find that in the article, “Building on a Winning Formula.” We are also very proud to highlight our team being named Program Insurer of the Year at the inaugural Program Manager Conference & Awards last May. In addition, we’re happy to call attention to some much-deserved honors we bestowed on some high-achieving Program Administrators as well as members of our own team.

Our regular Program Spotlight feature gives you an inside look at Abacus Insurance, Program Administrator for Zurich’s Event Insurance and Film, TV and Video Production Insurance programs. And, as always, we profile one of our valued team members in Our People. This edition, we spend a little time with Brendan Nies, who started in his new role as Programs Operations Lead in August.

This issue also covers wider company news and developments, including stories on the evolving nature of reinsurance, Zurich Academy’s pioneering MMRMSM Middle Market Risk Manager Designation, and Zurich Resilience Solutions’ tools and services to address sustainability and ESG (environmental, social and governance).

Finally, on a personal note, I want to extend best wishes to Jim Buck, who is retiring in November. Jim has made great contributions to the success of Programs during his years with Zurich, and he’s going out with a bang, as evidenced by his recent Awards of Distinction honor at the Platinum level. (Jim also shares some thoughts on working with Abacus in the Program Spotlight mentioned above.) We wish Jim nothing but happy, rewarding times in his retirement.

Thanks for reading.

Denise Olson, FCAS, CPCU, CPL

Head of Programs

U.S. Middle Market

Zurich North America

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