Board of Directors

Robert co-founded Steadfast and has over 50 years’ experience in the insurance industry. He was voted the second most influential person in insurance by Insurance News and was awarded the ACORD Rainmaker Award in 2014. Robert is a Qualified Practicing Insurance Broker, a Fellow of NIBA, a Senior Associate of ANZIIF, a Certified Insurance Professional and a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Robert is the Chairman of the ACORD Board and is also a Director of ASX-listed Johns Lyng Group Limited and not-for-profit organization KidsXpress.

Robert Kelly co-founded Steadfast in 1996 to provide insurance-related quality advice and service, leading the company to become the largest general insurance broker network and underwriting agency group in Australia and New Zealand and an ASX 100-listed company. Steadfast Group is the largest general insurance broker network and the largest group of insurance underwriting agencies in Australasia, with growing operations in Asia and Europe.

Robert received the prestigious award of Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday 2022 Honours List. In 2025, he received Lifetime Achievement Awards at both the Insurance Business Australia Awards and the ANZIIF Australian Insurance Industry Awards. These honors underscore his commitment to excellence and innovation in the world of insurance.

Kevin Tobin recently retired as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Torrent Technologies, the premier flood insurance policy servicing business that includes innovative technology and exemplary services for clients, agents, and policyholders. In August 2012, Kevin joined Marsh and was subsequently appointed to lead and drive growth for several practices within the Insurance Services Group, which included Private Client Services, CS STARS/Clearsight, Global Affinity & Sponsored Programs, as well as Torrent.

Kevin began his career with Allstate Insurance in 1987. From there, he went on to HSBC North America, where he held various senior leadership roles from 2000 through 2008. In 2008, Kevin joined Roanoke, Virginia-based Advance Auto Parts to lead the transformation of their $4 billion DIY/consumer business. He also worked for Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), re-engineering their B2B distribution model. Kevin holds a BBA in Economics from the University of Iowa and an MBA from the University of Illinois Chicago.

Colleen joined The Hartford in December 2014 with over 20 years of industry experience. She is responsible for a newly combined organization, Strategic Support Services, Operations and Contact Center, with accountability for shared services across claims and operations for P&C and Group Benefits. This includes agile product ownership to drive end-to-end transformation and continuous improvement while creating scalability. She oversees service center employees throughout the U.S., offshore resources, and support organizations with over 3,000 employees.

Colleen and her team align customer interactions with business partners, defining and  executing upon the customer experience strategy and roadmap. She also works closely with the Senior Leadership team to develop and execute the strategic priorities of the business. Before joining The Hartford, Colleen was Vice President of Strategic Planning and Execution for Business Insurance at Travelers. During a 20-year tenure at Travelers, she also served as Vice President of Strategic Program Management and led several IT and operational areas across Personal Lines and Business Insurance. Batman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from St. Mary’s University and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, both in Minnesota.

Clyde Bernstein leads Aon’s Digital Placement Platform, the placement technology strategy that underpins Aon’s Broking proposition.

In his capacity, Clyde is responsible for a major transformation within Aon to support Aon’s client proposition and competitive advantage in a changing industry. Clyde’s experience in Broking and advocacy for market change has brought a unique perspective to various market modernization initiatives, including the London Market Data Council and Technology Transformation Board.

Clyde joined Aon in 2022 following a distinguished and diverse 30-year career at Willis Towers Watson (WTW). There, Clyde broadened his learning by undertaking roles in WTW’s insurance, specialty, and treaty reinsurance businesses. Clyde was also Head of Broking for WTW’s wholesale and retail business in Great Britain and pioneered WTW’s global broking technology.

James Bobbitt is the Managing Director of LIMOSS (London Insurance Market Operations and Strategic Sourcing). LIMOSS was established by Lloyd’s of London, the International Underwriting Association (IUA), and Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) to source and operate the Market Services used to support the London Insurance Market.

James has worked in the London Insurance Market for nearly 30 years. He began his career at Equitas. Following that James worked for Wellington syndicate and Catlin, before joining Lloyd’s of London. During his tenure at Lloyd’s, James mainly worked on Market-facing modernization initiatives, such as the Message Exchange that still facilitates the movement of ACORD Messages today. Mid-2018, James left Lloyd’s to become the COO at LIMOSS and, more recently, its Managing Director.

Richard is a successful operations and change director with over 40 years’ experience in the insurance industry in a wide variety of roles.  Richard has worked within the WTW Accounting Settlement (A&S) function for the last 13 years and has been Head of A&S for the last 7 years.

Richard joined what was then Willis Faber Dumas in 1984 and originally trained as a Certified Accountant before taking on more insurance-based, client-facing roles. Richard has a history of strong strategic and operational leadership, with significant experience managing people, projects, budgets, and business transformation across multiple geographies and stakeholders.

Within A&S, Richard oversees a function that manages everything post-billing in the operations arena, including debt chasing, query and accounting relationship management, receipts and payments, and cashiering, managing both WTW and Client money.

WTW A&S are e-accounting market leaders, using ACORD Standard messaging to replace paper submissions/accounting. Richard is a member of the Ruschlikon Steering Group and actively involved in London Market modernization activity.

In addition to the above, Richard is Chair of the WTW Ipswich Management Group and the local sponsor of the WTW Young Professionals. Outside of WTW, Richard is part of local, London Market, and global steering groups and boards, including the ACORD Board and London Advisory Board.

Following completion of a degree in law and master’s degree in business law, Chris started his career in the insurance industry in 2000 at the International Underwriting Association (IUA), a trade association based in London, representing the London Company Market. He was appointed as the Association's CEO in 2025. Previously, he was the IUA’s Director of Legal, Underwriting and Claims, responsible for running its technical underwriting and claims output, as well as for external stakeholder engagement. He is also a qualified Company Secretary, a member of the IUA Board, a member of the London Market Group Board, and has non-executive related roles at the Chartered Insurance Institute, the British Insurance Law Association, and the International Union of Marine Insurance.

Mike began his career in Financial Services with JP Morgan Chase, where he worked for 17 years holding many different roles across operations and technology. Prior to leaving JP Morgan to join Citigroup, Mike was the Global Head of Technology Delivery for Private Bank and Private Client Services. In 2007, Mike joined Citigroup as the CTO for the Institutional Clients Group responsible for Architecture, Engineering and Infrastructure. He joined TD Bank in 2014 to lead Global Infrastructure and Engineering, relocating to Canada.

Mike returned to the U.S. in 2019 to work with Chubb as EVP Global Head of Infrastructure and Technology Operations. In 2020, he was appointed CO-CIO Chubb Global Technology.
Mike holds a BS degree from the University of Delaware and an MBA from the University of Florida. He currently resides in New Jersey with his family.

Mike has been CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA) since September 2020, bringing with him a successful and diverse career in the insurance industry.

He began his career as an underwriter in the company market before joining AXA Commercial in 1999, where he managed strategic MGA and delegated authority partnerships. He later became Managing Director of AXA’s Personal Lines business (excluding direct channels). In 2011, Mike joined the board of UK General, one of the UK’s largest MGAs, where he led the Commercial portfolio and implemented a targeted strategy for small regional brokers across the UK.
 
From 2016, he held executive roles in the broking sector and later collaborated with West Hill Capital to launch the insurtech MGA start-up, Qlaims.
 
Mike’s leadership and influence have been recognized on a global scale, with his inclusion in the Insurance Business Global 100 list for the second consecutive year in 2024.

As Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Cincinnati Insurance, John is responsible for all IT-related initiatives at Cincinnati. Prior to Cincinnati Insurance, he served as Senior Vice President at ACORD, responsible for global standards development, IT, corporate finance, and membership. Prior to ACORD, John served as Chief Technology Officer for Ohio Casualty Group and as Principal for IBM Global Services’ national insurance practice. John also serves on the ACORD Corporation Board of Directors and the Board and Audit Committee of Wespath Pension and Benefits.

Andy joined M Financial Group in 2020 as VP of Underwriting Risk and Innovation. In this role, he is responsible for finding and implementing innovative ways to reduce cost and improve underwriting outcomes across the life insurance value chain. He also ensures the business written conforms to the risk appetites of M Financial and its reinsurers. Andy has over 30 years of experience in the life insurance, reinsurance, and bancassurance industries. He has held executive roles responsible for underwriting, actuarial, process design, and risk management, while delivering on initiatives such as acquisition due diligence and integration, technology platform transformation, and process redesign/re-engineering.

During his time at M Financial, Andy has actively participated in ACLI committee work and led two significant ACORD projects. He has also written numerous articles promoting data standards featured in On The Risk, the journal of the Academy of Life Underwriting, and has spoken on similar topics at the Academy of Home Office Underwriters annual meeting, the Academy of Life Underwriting Risk Forum, and the Society of Actuaries Underwriting Innovations Symposium.

Andy holds a Bachelor of Science from Saint John’s University in Minnesota and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri in Kansas City.

Pascal leads the P&C Technical Accounting and Claims Operations unit in the EMEA region, responsible for the timely and accurate analysis and administration of claim and technical accounting submissions, including the implementation of digitized and automated processes and solutions. In his previous role, he was responsible for the design and maintenance of the operating platform in P&C Business Management, covering Systems, Analytics & Digital Solutions. Pascal has been involved in the Ruschlikon Initiative since 2010, first as a member of the Business Implementation Group (BIG) and, between 2017 and 2021, as a member of the Steering Committee.

Sandi is a dynamic, passionate data management executive with an outstanding record of leadership and excellence in developing, implementing, influencing, and communicating data programs and strategies for large, complex business environments.

Currently, Sandi is Global Head of Data Management & Governance at AIG. In this role, she leads the organization in maturing data frameworks, programs, and practices, including Data Governance, Data Stewardship, Data Privacy, Data Quality, Metadata Management, and Master and Reference Data Management.

She has over 30 years of experience in software development and data management in the insurance industry, working for companies such as The Hartford, Travelers, Cigna, and AMS Services (now Vertafore). Sandi is a Board of Directors and Executive Committee member for IDMA, Past President of DAMA New England, and holds the CIDM, CDMP, and ACE designations from IDMA, DAMA, and ACORD respectively. In 2022, she was honored by IDMA’s Board of Directors, who elected her a Fellow in Insurance Data Management (FIDM).

Sandi has an Executive MBA from the University of Connecticut and a BS in Computer Science and Math from the University of Hartford.

Sean has over 30 years of property & casualty experience with nearly 20 years at Travelers. In his current role, he is accountable for Travelers’ agent and broker initiatives, enterprise platforms (such as Salesforce), agency compensation, and agency experience initiatives, including quality and effectiveness of relationships with all agents and brokers.  

Prior to this role, he was the SVP of Strategic Initiatives, as well as the Field VP of Business Insurance for the Metro NY/NJ Region—responsible for $1.4B in written premiums. Other prior roles include Select Regional VP, Middle Market VP, and Regional President.

In addition to his business responsibilities, Sean represents Travelers on several boards. He is an executive board member for the Travelers Foundation, board member of the Travelers Championship, and former board member for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, which recognizes Travelers as its largest corporate donor. Additional roles include executive board member representative for TrustedChoice.com and executive sponsor for the Black African American & Allies Diversity Network.

Dr. Schaffer is Head of Reinsurance Accounting (Life and Non-Life) at Munich Re. He acts as Global Process Owner for the technical accounting and claims processing of Munich Re’s reinsurance group. From 2010 to 2021, he headed the Corporate Performance and Capital Management department in Group Controlling of Munich Re Group and was Chief Financial Officer of DKV Belgium S.A. Prior to that, he held various positions in Munich Re’s Finance division. From 2001 until he joined Munich Re in 2005, he was a lecturer at the Institute for Accounting, Auditing and Analysis at the Munich School of Management at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. He holds a degree in business administration and a doctorate in economics.

Charles E. Symington, Jr. is President & CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, also known as the Big “I,” the largest property & casualty insurance trade association in the country. He began serving in this role in September 2023, after having been Executive Vice President since September 2022. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President of External, Industry and Government Affairs for the organization.

During his Big “I” tenure, Mr. Symington has managed the association’s powerful Capitol Hill office and has directed the day-to-day activities of the association’s legislative, political, communications, and company relations staff. He has regularly been recognized by The Hill newspaper as one of the top lobbyists in Washington, D.C. He is a sought-after industry speaker and has led the insurance industry’s premier grassroots fly-in event, the Big “I” Legislative Conference, for two decades.

Under his leadership, InsurPac, the Big “I” federal political action committee, grew to a $2.5 million PAC per cycle. It is one of the largest small business PACs in the nation. Mr. Symington has overseen numerous legislative wins for the Big “I,” including securing substantial small business tax relief, defending a modernized state regulatory system for insurance, preserving an effective Federal Crop Insurance Program and extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). He has also been a key leader in many industry coalitions on Capitol Hill, advocating on issues important to Big “I” members.

Before coming to the Big “I,” Mr. Symington served as a senior counsel with the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services from 2000 to 2003, where he focused on insurance issues. He also worked as a majority counsel for the House Committee on Energy & Commerce where he concentrated on healthcare policy and oversight.

Mr. Symington began his career in the private sector. He was an attorney with the law firm of Matricardi & Moylan in Springfield, Virginia. Before that, he was an associate attorney with the firm of Drew, Eckl & Farnham in Atlanta, where he specialized in insurance defense litigation.

Mr. Symington graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in history and received a Juris Doctorate from Emory University, School of Law in Atlanta. He also served as chairman and vice chair of the National Down Syndrome Society and served on the NDSS board from 2014 to 2022. He and his wife Cathy reside in Alexandria, Virginia and have three children.

Abel Travis is currently the Senior Vice President of Affiliate Operations at Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. He has deep subject matter expertise in the insurance Industry, with nearly 2 decades of experience. Travis is an expert in innovation, designing new products and business models to drive growth and transformation. He has provided leadership and guidance in all aspects of the insurance industry, including technology, underwriting, product management, innovation, strategy, and product development.

Travis is an award-winning, international keynote speaker at events, including InsurTech Insights, InsurTech Connect, Digital Insurance Summit, InsurTech Rising, ACORD Conference, Society of Insurance Research, NAAIA Conference, Women in Insurance, and is a featured industry contributor to Reuters, The Economist, Carrier Management, Digital Insurance, Insurance CIO Magazine, etc. He has also contributed to numerous industry white papers including the most recently published “Reinsurance That Connects.”

Travis has a deep affinity for Insurance Innovation and seeing the proliferation of innovation change this Industry. He hosts the Insurance Innovators Unscripted podcast to provide and engage in thought leadership with #insurtech innovators, influencers, and executives in insurance. He serves as an advisor to regional insurtech startups, provides consultation for private equity firms investing in the insurance sector and mentor’s future industry leaders and innovators.

Travis has been the recipient of many industry awards, including the 40 Under Forty from the Worcester Business Journal, Industry Impact Award from InsurTech Hartford, and the Top 100 under 50 Executive and Emerging Leaders from Diversity MBA Magazine. He was named to Digital Insurance’s top Innovators to Watch, was named a Hot 100 by Insurance Business America, and was recognized as a Diverse Leader of Change.

Travis earned an MBA from Long Island University and a BA in Finance from Clarkson University.

Kathleen is currently the Chief Operating Officer for the Americas region at AXA XL. There, she is responsible for overseeing insurance operations—including middle office, reporting and premium operations, underwriting governance, and workplace—and leading transformation and technology initiatives across the region. Previously, Kathleen held the role of Senior Vice President for Operations at CopperPoint and managed all business operations—including underwriting support, premium audit, billing, and other shared service functions—leading the integration and development of a scalable enterprise operations infrastructure after recent acquisitions.

With more than 25 years of insurance industry experience, Kathleen has an extensive background in business start-ups, driving innovation while leading and transforming businesses within the insurance industry. Prior to CopperPoint, Kathleen served as the Head of Distribution at Blackboard, an AIG-owned technology-focused subsidiary, where she was responsible for developing and managing broker relationships and contributing to the overall build of this middle-market commercial insurance start-up. She began her career at Accenture and progressed to roles of increasing responsibility at Zurich, Marsh, and AIG—most notably Head of Operations and Technology for the US at Marsh and Northeast Regional Vice President of Zurich’s commercial market business. 

Kathleen is a strong proponent of advancing women in business and served as an executive sponsor for CopperPoint’s and AIG’s Women & Allies Employee Resource Group. She was also on the steering committee of Marsh’s internal women’s group and founded the global women’s network at Zurich in 2007, which is still in place today. Furthermore, Kathleen serves as an executive board member of the FreshStart Women’s Foundation, an organization that provides access to resources to empower women to achieve self-sufficiency—including legal services, financial management, education and training, and career opportunities.

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and French from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics from the University of Kansas.