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Strategy Meets Action (SMA), a Boston-based insurance advisory firm, and Boundless Consulting, a Chicago-based management consulting group, have announced a partnership to provide strategic advice, research-based insights, and actionable consulting services to help North American commercial lines underwriting organizations transform, with what the firms characterize as a people-and-culture first approach supported by the right technology.
Deb Smallwood, Founder, SMA.
“Our latest research shows 80 percent of industry leaders expect significant change within the next five years, yet we continue our strategic investments in the traditional way,” comments Deb Smallwood, Founder and CEO, SMA. “The emerging best practice for successful digital transformation is to flip the lens to an outside-in view, leading with the customer, culture, and people, enabled by technology investment. This is why I am so excited about the partnership. The power of our experience and new offerings are a perfect fit for what the industry needs today to transform.”
SMA reports that the firms are working with clients, publishing formal research studies and reports, holding a variety of webinars and sharing its knowledge and insights via an ongoing blog series. The partners recently published co-written research report, A Recipe for Commercial Lines Underwriting Transformation: Business Led, Technology Enabled With a Culture of Change Readiness, which Smallwood describes as a foundational piece for insurers considering digital investment or underwriting transformation.
Megan Bock Zarnoch, Founder and CEO, Boundless Consulting.
Creating Agile Organizations
“Digital transformation is on the minds of all in the insurance carrier space, primarily to improve operational efficiency and enable a digital customer experience,” comments Megan Bock Zarnoch, Founder and CEO, Boundless Consulting. “However, the intersection of that crucial change with the culture of an organization, specifically underwriting, is the key determinant of how successful their investments will be. I am thrilled to be partnering with Deb Smallwood and SMA to offer tailored solutions in this area. Her deep expertise as CIO combines perfectly with my field experience as SVP, P&C Underwriting. We will help companies successfully navigate this intersection, enabling their visions to come to life and creating agile organizations where employees are proud to work.”
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