Individual Award
This award goes to an individual in the risk management and insurance field, who has made significant industry contributions, has exceptional lifetime accomplishments, innovation, and whose work has contributed to helping develop the next generation of risk management and insurance professionals. The overarching criteria for selecting this individual are:
Character
Individuals who are well-respected for ethics, and character. We especially consider activities involving actions enhancing social responsibility including humanitarian efforts, community service, civic engagement, and promotion of ethics.
Contribution to Industry
Individuals who have contributed to industry through education (including presentations and articles written), mentoring, promoting diversity, and leadership in professional organizations and trade associations.
Professional Accomplishments
Has performed well in his/her risk management and insurance career. Has been a life-long learner as demonstrated through continued professional education and certifications, and college degree programs.
**Submissions demonstrated examples of innovation appealing to the next generation are especially welcomed. .Stories illustrating perseverance and leadership in the face of adversity are also viewed favorably. An activity that an individual performed, was involved with, or had a particularly important and positive effect on the risk management and insurance industry would be given additional credit.**
This award would go to an individual whose activities inspire the next generation and bring honor and dignity to risk management and insurance professionals working in the risk management and insurance industry.
Please send email to james.jones@ilstu.edu with the following:
- Award Nominee’s name, contact information, and job title, and organizational affiliation.
- Individual making submission name, contact information, and job title.
- How award nominee meets the following criteria:
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- Work is inspiring and helps to enhance favorable reputation towards insurance industry
- Work is encouraging to next generation in considering a career in insurance
- Demonstrated professional accomplishment
- Demonstrated social responsibility
- Demonstrated contribution to industry (beyond professional accomplishment)
- Demonstrated innovation and leadership
2018 Hall of Fame Leadership Inductee
Karen Clark
President and Chief Executive Officer | Karen Clark & Company
Our 2018 Katie School Leadership Award Winner is Karen Clark.
Karen Clark is president and chief executive officer of Boston-based Karen Clark & Co ., a firm she established in 2007, along with Vivek Basrur, to help insurance companies better understand catastrophe risk and utilize models and other information more effectively in managing their exposures. . Ms. Clark developed the first catastrophe model and founded the first catastrophe modeling company, AIR Worldwide—which she ultimately sold to Insurance Services Office. Mr. Basrur architected and led the development of the major AIR software applications.
As the founder of AIR Worldwide, Karen Clark became an internationally recognized expert in the field of catastrophe risk modeling. In 1987, Ms. Clark pioneered the probabilistic catastrophe modeling techniques that revolutionized the way insurers, reinsurers and financial institutions manage their catastrophe risk. In addition, she has led the development of innovative technologies that enable companies to identify, quantify and plan for the financial consequences of catastrophic events. In 2000, she was selected by Business Insurance as one of the “Top 100 Women in the Insurance Industry.” In 2001, Ms. Clark was honored as Woman of the Year by the Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW) and in 2006, she was selected by Business Insurance as a “Woman to Watch.”
Through here innovative efforts, Catastrophe Modeling is now recognized as a critical industry discipline.
In 2007, Ms. Clark started KCC originally driven to focus on the issues with exposure data quality uncovered by Hurricane Katrina and other events of 2004-05. KCC experts are used by numerous insurers and reinsurers to conduct independent reviews of other internal processes including modeling, pricing, underwriting, management reporting and portfolio optimization.