Leader's Edge

In this episode, Kristina Talkowski, head of commercial lines, middle market for Nationwide, shares takeaways from a recent survey of small and medium sized businesses.

Among the range of risk management issues covered are economic concerns, supply chain disruptions, cyber threats and regulatory compliance issues. She also discusses gaps in risk preparedness for middle market businesses, industry opportunities, and more. 

A conversation with the president of McGohan Brabender. A native of Ashland, Ohio, Beth Ferrin shares how growing up in Amish country shaped her formative years, what it's like being the first female president of her firm, and the importance of advocacy in her role.

In this episode Leader's Edge talks with Matthew Scally and Grier Dienstag from McKinsey.

Both authors of “Investing in insurance: The value imperative,” discuss recent private investment trends in insurance. They also evaluate what made 2024 M&A unique, and share why they expect increased deal activity this year.

The BrokerTech Ventures 2025 Accelerator startups are putting artificial intelligence to work in new ways, rethinking back-office processes from telephony support to employee offboarding, says Accelerator Executive Director John Jackovin.

Talking to Leader’s Edge on the eve of the multiday, in-person BTV Mania, Jackovin shares insights on new areas of startup focus, investment trends, and what BTV startups and partners have to look forward to when they gather this week.  

A conversation with Ryan Specialty’s chief compliance and privacy officer and head of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In this episode, Michael Blackshear discusses how growing up in New York City shaped him, how his consistent pursuit of education informs his role, and finding out that his father was an undercover detective.

At the start of 2025 the AI industry and stock market were both blindsided.

By the end of Monday, Jan. 27, nearly $1 trillion in value had been wiped off the Nasdaq 100. U.S. tech companies that had invested billions of dollars in AI now faced new competition from DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup. Supposedly only costing $6 million to develop, and as intelligent as OpenAI’s reasoning models, the open-source application became the most downloaded free app for iPhone when released.

For Brandon Nuttall, chief digital and AI officer at industry data solutions provider Xceedance, this was a Sputnik moment for the AI industry–referring to moment in which the Soviet Union surprised the United States and jump-started the space race in 1957 by sending the first artificial satellite into space. In this podcast, Nuttall discusses the risks for companies that use DeepSeek, how the AI was created, and why it needs significantly less energy than other large language models.

In an interview conducted on-site at The Council's Insurance Leadership Forum last Fall, Leader's Edge spoke with Mike Krzyzewski, former head coach for Duke University men's basketball and the Team USA Olympics team.

Krzyzewski shares stories of leadership, talent, and rivalries with Editor-in-Chief Sandy Laycox, who attended the University of North Carolina, Duke’s primary rival. Although Krzyzewski is retired, the rivalry burns strong.

A conversation with the president of The Partners Group.

In this episode, Sarah Friend shares how and why she started her own podcast, the importance of community in retaining young professionals, and her philosophy on leadership.

While on assignment to cover the disproportionate impact of natural catastrophes on low-income families and small businesses, journalist Russ Banham was evacuated from his own Los Angeles home. 

A Los Angeles County native, Banham himself was forced to evacuate his home with his family as the Eaton Fire edged toward his neighborhood in January. After the fire was contained, Russ was able to return to his neighborhood and house, still intact. He shares his personal experience and details from his reporting.

In this episode, Council VP of Health Policy & Strategy Katie King sits down with Dave Kerrigan, founder and CEO of benefits solution aggregator BenefitPitch, to get his take on the trends driving brokers and employers to prioritize solutions that thread the needle on controlling costs and retaining employees.

From AI in benefits to the growth of individual coverage HRAs, Kerrigan discusses which solutions are top of mind, which are falling out of favor, and where we might see the most trend growths in 2025.