A 2025 of Service and Growth for the CPCU Society with Sherry McFadden

12/11/24 • 27 min

This episode of In The Know features incoming 2025 CPCU President Sherry McFadden. Sherry recently retired from her position as Director of Enterprise Customer Care in Phoenix, AZ. Throughout her 34-year career with State Farm, she held various leadership roles in human resources, personal lines underwriting, and claims. Ms. McFadden has completed several insurance designations including CPCU, CLU, ChFC, and FLMI. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Human Resources from the University of North Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Tougaloo College, MS. Sherry has served as a member of the executive board of the CPCU Society Leadership Council. She held leadership roles as the past Mountain States governor, past president, and vice president of the AZ CPCU Chapter. She has also served as the current board chair of the Greater Phoenix Urban League, the Western Region Board Trustee with the National Urban League, a member of the National Urban League Council of Board Chairs, and president of her local chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Together with Chris Hampshire, Sherry highlights her progressive career roles and leadership experience, the opportunities that her CPCU designation has provided in her career, and her vision for the CPCU Society in the coming year.

Key Takeaways

Sherry’s path toward the role of 2025 CPCU President.
The analytical side of insurance has always appealed to Sherry.
Relocating seven times has offered challenges and rewards for Sherry’s career.
Major changes to the industry over the last three decades.
The importance of continuing education in Sherry’s career.
DEI is an integral part of attracting new talent to the insurance industry.
Sherry’s involvement in the CPCU Society started with a desire for career movement and a rewarding challenge.
As the 2025 CPCU President, Sherry will focus on striving for excellence.
Encouragement for anyone who is considering joining the CPCU Society.
A look at the future of technology and talent in the industry.
Sherry’s self-reflective advice to her early career self.

Quotes

“My CPCU designation has helped me grow professionally, academically, and also as a leader.”
“When there’s change, there’s always risk, but there’s also opportunity.”
“My CPCU designation is all about career movement and the opportunity to prove my intelligence and my abilities.”
“In the CPCU Society, the one thing we all have in common is the pursuit of our designation.”

Key Takeaways

Sherry’s path toward the role of 2025 CPCU President.
The analytical side of insurance has always appealed to Sherry.
Relocating seven times has offered challenges and rewards for Sherry’s career.
Major changes to the industry over the last three decades.
The importance of continuing education in Sherry’s career.
DEI is an integral part of attracting new talent to the insurance industry.
Sherry’s involvement in the CPCU Society started with a desire for career movement and a rewarding challenge.
As the 2025 CPCU President, Sherry will focus on striving for excellence.
Encouragement for anyone who is considering joining the CPCU Society.
A look at the future of technology and talent in the industry.
Sherry’s self-reflective advice to her early career self.

Quotes

“My CPCU designation has helped me grow professionally, academically, and also as a leader.”
“When there’s change, there’s always risk, but there’s also opportunity.”
“My CPCU designation is all about career movement and the opportunity to prove my intelligence and my abilities.”
“In the CPCU Society, the one thing we all have in common is the pursuit of our designation.”

Previous Episode

Unlocking Insurance Careers with Rajesh Narayan

Rajesh Narayan is a seasoned insurance industry leader with experience in driving technology innovation, operations transformation, and business agility. In his early industry roles at Majesco, IDP, and ValueMomentum he has architected and deployed core insurance systems across on-premises, cloud, and SaaS environments. In the last decade, he has taken on global roles at Genpact (AVP, Underwriting Transformation), RMS (Sr. Director, Analytical Services), and Gartner (Senior Director Analyst). In these roles, he has led teams in underwriting transformation, digital-first operational transitions, and new product and distribution strategies and authored research on climate risk, IoT, and emerging technologies in P&C insurance. To help other career seekers in insurance follow a path of continuous education that leads to career building, Rajesh wrote Unlocking Insurance Careers. Today on In The Know, Chris Hampshire and Rajesh consider his career in the insurance industry, his experience with international programs, why he authored a book, and his role at the intersection of technology and insurance.

Key Takeaways

Rajesh’s journey into insurance began with a curiosity about technology.
A desire to help people develop their careers led to Rajesh’s first book.
Key features that drew Rajesh into the risk management and insurance sector.
The rapidly evolving role of technology in the insurance space.
The globalization of insurance and technology from the viewpoint of a native Indian.
The CPCU provides opportunities to continue education and stay relevant.
Rajesh shares his motivation to write a book.
The potential impact of GenAI on the insurance industry in coming years.
Unique offerings for anyone who is considering joining the insurance industry.
Possible five-year changes to the future of the industry.
Rajesh shares advice for his early-career self.

Quotes

“All of this was shaped by my early quality experiences with the CPCU.”
“This is a thrilling time to be in the execution space where the inflection point of technology is making insurance so much more democratized.”
“It’s not just the skills or knowledge, it’s also the aptitude and the network that you build that defines how far you take your career.”
“I just wish I knew about the CPCU Society earlier in my career.”

Next Episode

The Evolution of Captive Insurance with Nick Hentges

Nick Hentges is CEO of Captive Resources, which represents over 6,700 shareholders in 48 member-owned casualty and medical stop loss group captives, with a total annual written premium of $4.7 billion. He has an extensive background in insurance company, brokerage, and captive consulting and management operations. As Captive CEO since 2022, Nick has presided over unprecedented growth in the company’s casualty and medical stop loss group captive business. He has been instrumental in supporting the further development and expansion of the Risk Management and Insurance program at the University of Iowa. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) since 2021, and he holds a BBA degree with majors in Finance and Insurance from the University of Iowa and an MBA from Drake University. In this episode of In the Know, Chris Hampshire and Nick discuss the captive space and alternative risk transfer, the evolving buyer’s journey, and the future of the insurance industry.

Key Takeaways

Nick’s career journey from small-town Iowa to global captive leader.
Opportunities that can be found in the captive space.
Insights into the evolving buyer's journey.
Growth at Captive Resources can be attributed to the education of both insurance buyers and brokers.
Hiring and retaining great new talent starts with assembling a team that wants to serve the client.
Questions that leaders ask when approached with new opportunities.
The importance of planning for future transitions years in advance.
Nick’s take on addressing the retirement issue in the insurance industry.
Possibilities in the five-year future of the insurance industry.
Nick’s encouraging advice to his early career self.

Quotes

“Captive is an exciting and growing, dynamic field... that is going to change insurance.”
“Growth at Captive Resources can be attributed to the education of both insurance buyers and brokers.”
“The captive industry has exploded, and more and more people have heard of or know of captives.”
“We have a retirement issue in the insurance industry. We’ve got to get young people into this industry.”
“We cannot accomplish what we’re hoping to do unless we are willing to change.”