Executive Vice President, Operations, Technology & Data @ The Hartford

Bill Bloom joined The Hartford as executive vice president of Operations, Technology & Data in August 2014. Bloom is responsible for the company’s service operations and technology organizations, as well as oversight of data and analytics initiatives.

Prior to joining The Hartford, Bloom served as president of Global Client Services at EXL. Before that, he spent seven years in executive roles at Travelers, including serving as executive vice president, Operations and Information Technology. He also served as partner at Accenture.

Bloom originally joined The Hartford in 1996 as assistant vice president, Business Technology Services, Employee Benefits and was promoted to vice president National Accounts, Employee Benefits, in 1998.

Bloom holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from State University of New York at Albany. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

VP Auto Product Management @ Travelers Insurance

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Peter is the Vice President and National Auto Lead for Personal Insurance at Travelers.  In this role, Peter is responsible for the P&L of Personal Insurance Auto as well as the development of national auto strategies, auto innovation, and third party data strategies.

Peter began his professional career as a Structural Engineer for Bonestroo & Associates in St. Paul, MN, after graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Science Degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

In 2006, Peter moved to Hartford, CT to join the Travelers Product Management Leadership Development Program.  Since graduating the program, Peter has held several leadership roles with the company.  His last assignment, before taking the National Auto Lead role, was as a Product Manager for the South Central Region.  Peter took the National Auto Lead role in 2017.

Executive Vice President of Customer Experience @ Applied

Kristin Hackney, Executive Vice President of Customer Experience, is responsible for Applied’s customer delivery strategy and operational execution for the Company’s Professional Services, Support and Cloud-based solutions. She is the former vice president of Worldwide Enterprise Solutions & Services for Chicago-based SPSS Inc., a leading global provider of predictive analytics software and solutions, now part of IBM. Hackney drove the strategic transformation of SPSS from a tools/technology-focused vendor to a respected provider of enterprise solutions, building and leading the company’s global predictive analytics solutions business. In a previous role at SPSS, Hackney served as vice president of Worldwide Education Services. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.

Founder and President @ Hartnett Advisors

Bill Hartnett is president of Hartnett Advisors, providing strategic advice on the transformational power of technology in business.  For nearly 2 decades, Bill was Microsoft’s top executive in the financial services industry, affectionately known as Microsoft’s “Godfather of Financial Services”.

Bill joined Microsoft in 1994 as their first Worldwide Insurance Industry Manager.  In 1997 he assumed leadership of Microsoft’s financial services group.  During his time at Microsoft, Bill drove expansion of the company’s efforts in this important global industry, establishing Microsoft as an innovator, thought leader and change agent.  Under Bill’s leadership, Microsoft’s financial services organization grew from a startup to a global business delivering significant revenue from Microsoft’s most strategic and demanding customers.   

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Most recently, Bill was Head of Innovation for ACORD – a Global standards and R&D organization serving the insurance industry. In that role he was responsible for identifying trends and technologies with the potential to disrupt the insurance industry, and develop strategies to help ACORD and its members embrace the future.

Bill was cited as the number 4 most influential person in Institutional Investor’s  eFinance Top 40 for 2003 and 2004, and one of the “People to Watch In the Coming Year” for 1998 by Best’s Review – a leading insurance industry publication.  He has also contributed to FOX Business on financial markets and the impact of technology.

A former insurance executive, Bill has served on the boards of directors of ACORD and the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. He has lobbied on state and federal levels on insurance and small business issues and was a candidate for state senate in RI. With a unique combination of expertise in business, politics, and technology, Bill articulates a compelling vision of the future of business.  A leading industry activist, he is a nationally recognized author and speaker on technology, change and their impact on business. A graduate of Tufts University, Bill is an avid sailor and Bronze Medalist in Yachting at the 1979 Pan American Games.  

Founder of Agency Revolution and CEO @ Michael Jans Advisory

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Michael Jans is the founder of Agency Revolution, Inc., a software provider committed to helping insurance agents & brokers accelerate organic growth. The latest product, AR Connect, makes it easy to create deeper relationships with your customers and marketplace, and to deliver an ongoing stream of value.

Over the last 20+ years, Michael has written over 50 books, courses and programs on insurance marketing. His work has appeared in virtually every trade magazine, including Rough Notes, The Insurance Journal, PC360, American Agent & Broker, The Canadian Underwriter, Independent Agent, Professional Agent, Best’s Review and more.

He's delivered keynotes, trainings and speeches to over ten thousand agents and brokers for companies and organizations like Travelers, Safeco, Kemper, Aviva, Professional Insurance Agents, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers, ACT and others throughout the US and Canada.

Founder and CEO @ Keating Companies

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James Keating is founder, chairman and CEO of The Keating Group, holding company for the following entities: Keating Companies; tKg Wholesale Brokerage; tKg Online; WholeSource and; Keating Capital.

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Mr. Keating is active in his community, contributing to a number of political and charitable organizations with a heavy focus on veterans’ support and limited government initiatives. He serves on the Board of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Prosper, an organization dedicated to championing and defending entrepreneurship. Mr. Keating writes and comments frequently on the wholesale brokerage markets.  He has been published at both the local and national level.

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Mr. Keating holds both the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and Associate in Reinsurance designations. He received a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas and a B.A. in history from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio.

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In 2015, Mr. Keating was appointed by the Governor of the State of Arizona to the Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Fund Board. He resides in Phoenix with his wife Caroline and his two sons, Jack and Hank.

Founder, Chairman and CEO @ MarketScout

Richard Kerr is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MarketScout Corporation, a Dallas, Texas-based electronic insurance exchange, which presents best of class Certified Market Specialists to its 35,000-member agency network across the United States. Mr. Kerr is Chairman of MSW (MarketScout Wholesale), and Chief Executive Officer of Monster Insurance Company, a Bermuda-based insurer. He is founder of the Entrepreneurial Insurance Alliance and the Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium, an annual conference that explores and promotes entrepreneurship in the insurance industry.

In 2012, he founded the Council for Insuring Private Clients (CIPC), an association serving those in the high net worth personal insurance space. He previously served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lambert Fenchurch US Holdings, Chairman of Sedgwick Energy, President of Sedgwick James of Texas, and was a partner with Arthur L. Owen Insurance.

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Richard has an extensive background in launching new ventures and entrepreneurial concepts in all facets of insurance underwriting and distribution. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and lecturer on industry economic trends, pricing, distribution and underwriting concepts. Richard participates in various forums during the year. As an author, he has written two technical insurance publications, as well as articles for over 20 different insurance publications. Mr. Kerr’s monthly Market Barometer is published by over fifteen insurance trade journals and various other business publications including The Wall Street Journal.

Richard holds a Business degree in insurance and risk management from the University of Texas in Austin and serves as a board member for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He founded the Kerr Educational Trust and a support organization for soldiers, HEROES.

Director of Independent Agency Digital Marketing @ Safeco Insurance

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As the Director of Independent Agency Digital Marketing for Safeco Insurance, Dale has the distinct honor of leading the Bricks & Clicks team. It is their mission to help personal and commercial insurance agents grow their overall business through more effective online marketing.

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With nearly 20 years of hands-on experience across a wide spectrum of online marketing and digital technology disciplines in the insurance and news industries, Dale is determined to help agents leverage technology to better attract and retain more customers.

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Outside of work, he is Doree’s husband, Alex’s father, an amateur cook and an avid cyclist.

Partner @ Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

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Bob (Robert) Hogeboom devotes his practice exclusively to insurance regulatory, corporate, legislation/adoption of regulations and administrative matters before the California Department of Insurance (CDI). Mr. Hogeboom represents numerous insurer and producer clients in regulatory and administrative matters including market conduct claims and rating issues. He has handled more than 50 hearings involving CDI enforcement actions against insurers and producers including rate hearings, market conduct actions and disciplinary proceedings. In addition, Mr. Hogeboom serves as outside special counsel to several producer trade associations and serves as the firm’s liaison to the Association of California Insurance Companies and special counsel to the Pacific Association of Domestic Insurance Companies.Mr. Hogeboom became a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in October 2014 as a result of the merger of Hinshaw and the Los Angeles-based firm of Barger & Wolen LLP.

Former Insurance Commissioner And Recently Announced Candidate For Insurance Commissioner

Steve Poizner took office on January 8, 2007 and served until January 3, 2011. As Insurance Commissioner, Poizner received praise for his handling of the San Diego wildfires in 2007, for taking on health insurance companies' illegal rescission practices and rate increases, and for decreasing spending in his state government department's discretionary operating budget by 13%. At the end of his term, Poizner was praised for his efforts to streamline and modernize the CDI through spending cuts and conducting a top-down review of the department. Poizner oversaw nearly 2800 fraud-related arrests, the most in CDI history in a three year span. He also conducted the first ever terror finance probe by a US Insurance Commissioner, which resulted in millions of dollars diverted from Iran.