In this episode of Life Accelerated we speak with Bill Pappas, MetLife’s (New York) Executive Vice President and Head of the Global Technology and Operations organization—known as GTO.
MetLife is one of the most iconic life insurance brands, and as such, it felt suitable that our guest would give us some emblematic statements. When discussing what the GTO does, Bill repeatedly emphasized MetLife’s purpose, which is to “be always with you building a more confident future … with our customers being at the center of everything that we do.”
That objective brings together life insurance’s social utility, it highlights the need for competitive excellence in the marketplace, and it implies the importance of the role of technology in meeting customers’ changing needs and expectations.
Bill took us through GTO’s major priorities: enabling the business, simplifying and modernizing infrastructure, protecting the business through cyber security and data governance, reducing cost and building a contemporary workforce. All of these objectives are critical, and the interdependence between them obvious. However, I was especially struck by GTO’s gloss on how to enable the business: through high tech and high touch.
It was gratifying to hear Bill say that “Digital is the linchpin of everything we do,” since that’s the subject of the Life Accelerated podcast. But in addition to being “great copy”—as we editors say, his statement crystalizes the current moment in insurance innovation.
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