TJ Collins serves as an Executive Vice President for Amwins Insurance Brokerage.  In addition to leading a team concentrating on casualty placements in the wholesale segment of the industry, TJ assists in co-leading the Kansas City office.  He also holds many internal leadership roles and committee chairs internally at Amwins.  Since graduating from The University of Missouri in 2011, TJ has held many board seats at various charities in Kansas City.  He has 12 years of insurance experience and nine years on the wholesale side of the industry.  TJ is married with one son.

Marcie works at BHSI as Senior Vice President in the Casualty department for the Central Region.  She has been with the company for 11 years and prior to this role she worked at AIG/Lexington for 9 years.  Marcie is serving on the IICF Midwest Division Board Chair and sits on the IICF International Board of Governors.  She has been involved with the IICF since 2012.  Marcie also volunteers her time on the IPTO Board at her children's school and at St. Peter the Apostle Church.  She is also a Girl Scout Troop Leader and volunteer.  Marcie is a graduate from the Katie School of Insurance at Illinois State University.  She was the recipient of the Katie School Young Leader Award in 2014.  

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Debbie Babcock's background includes experience in banking, marketing, and brokering in the commodity, securities, and insurance industries. She administers special projects for the Katie School of Insurance and Risk Management at Illinois State University including the Lloyd's of London annual program, Insurance Executive Forum, Katie School Golf Classic, Katie School Scholarship Program, Risk Manager on Campus Program, Executive-on-Campus Program, international internships, Katie School alumni events and the Katie School Hall of Fame Dinner plus external industry networking and outreach. She is also Advisor to the insurance fraternity, Gamma Iota Sigma, Alpha Kappa Chapter.

Ms. Babcock received a B.S. from the University of Illinois and is a current board member of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation - Midwest Division and past Volunteer Chair and member of the Executive Committee; board member of the Association of Professional Insurance Women; member of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) and past Board Member of the Mid-Illinois Chapter of RIMS; member of the Chicagoland Risk Forum Committee: member of the Association of Lloyd's Brokers, PLUS and the Katie School Advisory Board of Executives, past board member of the Spencer Educational Foundation; and past Board member of and President's Award recipient from the American Risk and Insurance Association.

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Kali started with Swiss Re in June of 2018 and is currently based in Schaumburg, IL. She started her career at Swiss Re through the graduates@swissre program where she worked in Large Loss Management and completed job rotations in both underwriting and claims. She spent 3.5 years in treaty underwriting on the Broker Regional 1 Client Markets team supporting several regional clients from both a property and casualty perspective and was a member of the US Broker Regional 1 Florida team. She currently works in the Globals division as a Senior Client Manager where she is responsible for building global client relationships, managing a cross functional team, and driving a dedicated strategy to deliver customized solutions that fit my client's needs.  

Kali has been the Lead Chicago Ambassador for The U.S.Reinsurance Under 40s (RE40s) Group since May 2022 and currently sits on the board. Within RE40s, Kali creates educational, social, charitable, and networking opportunities for the industry. Kali graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Risk Management & Insurance and Human Resources Management. Kali held several board positions for the FSUChapter for the non-profit, Best Buddies, where she was heavily involved in the budgeting and planning of several fundraising events. 

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Arun is a Partner in KPMG’s Insurance Practice. He leads theChicago office’s insurance market growth initiatives and audit technology development/deployment. He is also heavily involved in, and passionate about the Firm’s national recruitment efforts, specifically those outreaches to ensure professionals from underrepresented groups choose and succeed at KPMG.

Arun has over 17 years of experience serving the insurance industry in both an audit and advisory capacity. His focus extends across the insurance industry, serving accident and health, property and casualty, and life and annuity clients.

Arun has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Indiana University, and is a licensed CPA in Illinois and NewYork.

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As Chief Relationship Officer at Falvey Insurance Group, Brad spearheads the organization's market and broker relationships, leveraging his extensive background in underwriting to enhance and expand Falvey's strategic partnerships. Brad is poised to lead the charge in fostering strong, collaborative relationships within the industry.

Previously, Brad was Senior Vice President of Business Development at Falvey, before moving into his current role. He is a graduate of the Andrew Beazley Broker Academy at Lloyds of London and received the Business InsuranceBreakout Award in 2020. Brad is a member of the Mariners Club of Massachusetts and other maritime-focused associations and is also a member of theNarragansett Lions Club Charity Foundation. 

Brad graduated in 2011, Magna Cum Laude Honors, from North Carolina StateUniversity, Poole College of Management. Where he studied Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance and Risk Management and was a member of the Gamma Beta Phi National Honor Society.

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Mimi Fiske is a graduate of Manhattan College with a degree inMarketing and Computer Information Systems.  She began her 27 year insurance journey with General Star Management Company in New York City. She helped launch the Excess Casualty division with Liberty International before spending a decade with Argo Group in Chicago.  At Argo, she most recently served as Vice President and Excess Casualty Division Manager, managing a large book of excess and surplus risks.  After a short tenure with Peachtree Special Risks as Vice President and Casualty Broker, Mimi helped launch the surplus lines platform at XL.  She is currently the RegionalPresident of Markel Midwest and holds the Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance designation.  She is married with 2 sons.

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Brent is the Deputy Regional Manager for Commercial Insurance and is responsible for leading six branches throughout the Midwest.  Additionally, Brent is accountable for growth of Chubb’s specialty areas within the Region including A&H, Aviation, Environmental, MarineFacilities, Multinational and Public Entity.  Brent works closely with the Regional Manager to execute on the Commercial Insurance Midwest region business plan.

After graduating in 2005 from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Brent began his career in the insurance industry as an underwriter with Wausau Insurance.  He worked as a multiline underwriter focused on manufacturing and construction before joining Chubb in 2007.  

Since then, Brent has held various underwriting and leadership positions within Commercial Insurance includingLeadership Financial Institutions Property & Casualty, and TechnologyInsurance.  Brent has also led Casualty Practice for Commercial Insurance where he was responsible for driving profitable growth for the Specialty Casualty, Excess Umbrella, and Energy teams across the Midwest.  Most Recently, Brent was the Chicago Commercial Insurance Manager where he led Chubb’s Chicago P&C operation for Commercial Insurance which services Chicago Distribution along with the P&C Cored Underwriting Teams for the Region.  

Brent also serves as a Director on theMidwest Division Insurance Industry Charity Foundation Board of Directors.  

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Mike Hayes is the Midwest Distribution Leader for AllianzCommercial based in Chicago. He is responsible for the driving growth and bringing all of Allianz’s insurance solutions and capabilities to brokers and clients.  Mike joined Allianz in November2023 and prior to this role, he was with Aon as an Account Executive serving global clients.  Mike has deep industry experience in developing insurance solutions for complex clients.

Mike spent over 13 years at AIG where he held several leadership roles.  Mike served as Head of U.S. Client Engagement where he oversaw the AIG Client Director team and developed best practices in managing complex risks and a client-centric service model. From 2016 to 2018, Mike was the managing director for the Chicago region where he managed the distribution team for three states.

Mike started in the insurance industry in 2003 with Marsh as a complex claims risk consultant for clients dealing with environmental and mass tort litigation. He began his career practicing law in Madison, Wisconsin, then moved to Chicago and worked with the firm Pretzel & Stouffer.  He lives outside Chicago with his wife Susan and two children.

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Gianne James began her career at FIRST Insurance Funding (FIRST), a division of Lake Forest Bank & Trust Company, N.A., a Wintrust Community Bank, 15 years ago and worked in various capacities managing front-end operations teams and leading the Integrated Solutions Department until October 2021. James currently serves as the SVP of Governance and Assurance managing a multi-faceted department focused on oversight, compliance reporting, BSA monitoring, and quality control.  

James passionately leads diversity and inclusion efforts at FIRST. She, along with the leadership at FIRST, are dedicated to promoting pathways to career development that ensure a diverse and equitable workplace.

A proud graduate of Spelman College and a 2022 Chicago Urban League IMPACT Fellow, James and her husband raise their three sons in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.

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Based in Chicago, Chris oversees the Midwest Region forLiberty Mutual‚ Global Risk Solutions Group. Global Risk Solutions include the operating units of Liberty Mutual National Insurance, North American Specialty (Ironshore), Surety and Liberty Specialty Markets' US underwriting teams.

Chris joined Liberty Mutual in 2017 with the acquisition of Ironshore. Prior to Liberty Mutual, Chris was Ironshore's Regional Executive for the Midwest and led the Central Region Property team. Prior to Ironshore, Chris worked with Lexington Insurance Company on the Property team in the New York Region and Commonwealth Insurance in Vancouver, Canada.

Chris has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from theUniversity of Victoria. Chris is an avid skier, loves the outdoors and has three boys, Patrick, Liam, and Finley with his wife Katherine.

Jennifer Kratochvil is a Banking & Finance partner in the Chicago office of Mayer Brown LLP. She represents lenders and borrowers in syndicated secured and unsecured lending transactions, letter of credit transactions, and other financing transactions.  In particular, she focuses on financing transactions for insurance companies, including letter of credit facilities for credit for reinsurance and general revolving credit facilities and term loans.  

Jeff Kroeger is the President of Insureon, the number one independent marketplace for online delivery of small business insurance. 

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Jeff is responsible for Insureon's corporate strategy, sales, marketing and operational functions along with long-term strategy.  Before his promotion to President, , Jeff was Insureon's Chief Commercial Officer.

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Jeff has more than a decade of experience in the commercial insurance industry working for top insurance carriers, such as The Hartford and CNA Insurance. At The Hartford, Jeff held multiple roles, all with increasing responsibility. His final position, was serving as the Head of Strategic Partners and Programs, responsible for developing and supporting national insurance partners, identifying new ventures, and designing and launching a countrywide distribution strategy. 

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Jeff sits on the board of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, serving as the Chair of the Midwest Division. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

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Emily Landa is the Vice President, Human Resources forSpecialty Program Group. Emily leads strategy, talent management, and delivery of core human resource functions for the organization.

Prior to joining Specialty Program Group, Emily was theHuman Resources Generalist for HUB International Midwest in Chicago, Illinois.She was responsible for all human resource functions including performance management, onboarding and benefit support. Emily also served as the lead Regional Recruiter for the region, focusing on the recruiting and talent acquisition function and strategy.

Emily began her career in human resources at Laurus Strategies in Chicago, Illinois as a Human Resources Consultant after graduating from St. Norbert College with a Business degree. There she provided clients with both project based and strategic human resources outsourcing services. Laurus Strategies was acquired by HUB International in 2014.

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Amy Littleton is president of Stretch PR, a full-service creative public relations agency that delivers results. She is a PR strategist and business leader who is focused on delivering powerful communications and integrated brand activation programs to business and consumer clients. Amy’s goal is to combine storytelling with technology to connect brands and people in meaningful ways.

Previously,Amy was president of Reputation Partners, a strategic business communications agency, and executive vice president and managing director of KemperLesnik, a public relations, brand activation, content marketing and events agency regularly recognized among Chicago’s Best and Brightest Places to Work®. Over more than two decades, Amy has handled public relations campaigns and delivered communications results for many blue-chip clients, including Allstate, Aon Plc., KitchenAid, PwC, Whirlpool Corp., and many more.

Amy has also held communications positions at Edelman, Slack & Co., General Mills, Inc., and her own PR consultancy Littleton Consulting.

Amy holds a MBA from Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business, a BS from The Florida State University and a Certificate in Leadership from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is past president of the Public Relations Society of America Chicago; board member of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation; and founder and president of the non-profit Friends of Catherine and Channel Lakes. Follow Amy at LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Jessica McMahon serves as the Regional Vice President for Zurich’s Large Property team in the Midwest. The offices under her leadership include Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis and Kansas City. Jessica is based out of Chicago and has been with Zurich 14 years, starting with an internship in college. Jessica received her Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. She has two children – James and Vera with her husband Drew.

Kilauren is thePresident of Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions’ Management Liability division. She oversees the public, private, non-profit and healthcare portfolio in the U.S across several product categories. She has underwriting expertise in financial lines products including Directors & Officers, EmploymentPractices, Fiduciary, and Employed Lawyers Liability as well as andCrime/Fidelity insurance.

Kilauren joined Intact in 2013 and has held positions of increasing management responsibility ever since, successfully guiding the division to profitability. Prior to Intact, Kilauren was a broker at Aon specializing in executive liability for public, private, and non-profit clients. She received her BBA in Finance and Accounting from Loyola University Chicago.

Sean Prestipino is currently the Regional Vice President for the Chicago Regional Office for The Hartford’s Middle and Large Commercial Business. Sean is responsible for delivering a best-in-class work environment, while being the acknowledged Commercial Lines enterprise leader for the Hartford in the states of IL/MN/WI/ND/SD. He has held this role since November ’22. Sean has over 20 years of industry experience and has been an employee of The Hartford since 2003.

Prior to this role, Sean held various positions within the Hartford’s Financial Lines/GlobalSpecialty organization. Most recently, Sean held the title of Head of MiddleMarket Management Liability.  In this role, Sean was responsible for talent management, sales & underwriting execution, and P&L leadership of the Hartford’s Retail Private and Not-For-Profit Management Liability business.  

Sean is a graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance.  Sean currently resides in a suburb of Chicago with his wife and 2 children, and in his spare time enjoys both officiating and coaching youth sports.

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In September 2004, Bill joined the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation as Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for the overall operation and strategic direction of the Foundation.

Bill comes to the Foundation after a 31-year career with the Walt Disney Company, having worked in the Parks and Resorts division with assignments in Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Resort in Paris. He was a member of the executive team that managed the $2 billion expansion of the Disneyland Resort in Southern California. Bill has a broad background in marketing, communications, planning and development and external relations. He is a chairman emeritus of the Orange County Business Council.

He has served on numerous nonprofit boards throughout California such as the California Golden State Museum, Children’s Hospital Orange County and Cypress College Foundation. He is a strong advocate of education and completed his undergraduate and graduate degree at California State University Fullerton. In 1989 he was recognized as a distinguished alumnus. Prior to his business career he lectured at California State University, Fullerton for five years.

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Based in Chicago, Bryant oversees the Midwest Region for Burns & Wilcox.  The offices under his leadership include Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis

Bryant joined Burns and Wilcox in 2014 as a Property Broker. Prior to Burns and Wilcox, Bryant worked in various roles at Liberty Mutual, Aon and Willis

Bryant has a Bachelor of Economics from Michigan State University where he was also captain of the Swim Team. Bryant is an avid golfer, tennis and paddle player and has two boys ‚ Brooks and Teddy with his wife Julie.

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Sarah is the Central Zone Leader for Marsh in the United States. In this role, she is responsible for the integrated delivery of the Marsh value proposition, driving growth, client retention, operational performance, and talent development across the 17 Marsh offices that make up the zone.  

Previously,Sarah served as the Head of Cyber for Marsh International (ex-North America),with responsibility to drive the cyber growth and retention strategy through dedicated regional cyber risk and insurance practices, delivering cyber insurance advisory and placement to our clients around the world incoordination with our market leading cyber consulting and analytics capabilities. Sarah was also responsible for the Cyber Practice in the UK, leading the largest cyber broking team in the London market, working directly with UK-based clients and also with Marsh’s global network of cyber experts to advise on cyber, technology, and media E&O (PI) risks, and deliver bespoke insurance solutions from the London market to clients around the world.

Prior to joining pre-acquisition JLT in 2015 to build a Cyber Practice, Sarah spent12 years with Aon in a variety of roles. Sarah was Aon’s Head of Cyber &Commercial E&O for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Region, working with colleagues across business groups and clients in the region to identify, analyse, and drive awareness of cyber risks, exposures, and both insurance and non-insurance solutions. Previously, Sarah spent seven years with Aon’s US cyber and errors & omissions practice group thinking nonstop about cyber insurance way before it was cool. Her first four years at Aon were spent in the account management group working with risk management clients and developing a keen eye for excellent client service, with a brief detour from the US in the form of a secondment to Bermuda.

Sarah received a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in 2002, and earned an Associate in Risk Management(ARM) Certification in 2005. During her tenure as a cyber risk specialist, Sarah was a regular speaker on cyber risk and insurance topics, has given evidence to the National Security Strategy Committee in the UK Parliament on behalf ofMarsh, was frequently quoted in numerous publications including the FinancialTimes, and has been featured on both the BBC and Sky News. Sarah is passionate about furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion in the insurance industry and serves as the Executive Sponsor for the Marsh US Women’s Exchange colleague resource group.

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Andy Swenson is theSurplus & Specialty Chief of Staff for Crum & Forster, responsible for leading and enabling various aspects of business strategy creation and delivery for the division. Mr. Swenson also directly manages the Binding Authority andSmall Business segments as well as S&S Actuarial.

Prior to joining C&Fin 2020, Mr. Swenson spent over 14 years with Zurich Insurance, serving in various specialty lines and business strategy roles. Most recently, he served as the Head of Wholesale & Surplus with responsibility for Zurich's commercial insurance business dedicated to the wholesale distribution market. Prior to this role, he was Chief Operating Officer responsible for Zurich’s SpecialtyProducts division for U.S. and Canada.

He is an active member of the Wholesale and Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA), having served on both the Audit & Compliance and Career Development committees. Mr. Swenson earned his electrical engineering degree from Marquette University.

Darcy has been in the insurance and technology spaces for nearly three decades.  Initially part of TeamApplied from 1986 – 1993, Darcy rejoined the company in 2004. As a 25-year veteran with Applied, Darcy has held leadership roles in Customer Education, Product Management, and Product Strategy. She lead a design team responsible for the build-out and launch of Applied Epic ^®, the world’s premium broker management system used daily in four countries by over 160,000 insurance professionals. As Vice President, Education Services, Darcy was responsible for reimaging the organization’s customer training program and led the charge in ensuring successful end-user training with Applied’s largest customers.  Prior to coming back to Applied, she spent 11 years helping insurance carriers such as CNA, American Family Insurance, Allstate, and Lincoln National Corporation solve big data challenges.

Today, Darcy is leveraging her skills in leadership, customer success, learning & development, consulting, product management, and sales to drive success with some of Applied’s largest, and most strategic customers. 

Darcy sits on the board of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s Midwest Division and The Big ‘I’’sInvest Program. A graduate of Purdue University with a B.S. in Systems Analysis and Design, she lives in Chicago with her husband and two sons and enjoys water and snow skiing, traveling, food, and being around great people.

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Jeff currently serves as the Assistant Vice President for CNA’s Middle Market team in the Chicagoland territory. Jeff is based out of Chicago and has been with CNA for 11 years in various roles throughout the organization. Prior to joining CNA, Jeff spent three years at the Harford in both Minnesota and Chicago. Before joining the insurance industry, Jeff graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Finance and Risk Management.  At home, Jeff stays very busy with his wife and three kids, who enjoy being outside, playing sports, riding bikes, and the occasional waterslide.