2026 Speakers

CHAIRMAN & CEO OF SAGE POLICY GROUP, INC.

Anirban Basu is Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc., a Baltimore-based economic and policy consultancy he founded in 2004. He serves the Chief Economist function for many organizations, including the Maryland Bankers Association and Associated Builders and Contractors. The Baltimore Business Journal named him one of the region’s 20 most powerful business leaders in 2010. In 2022, he entered the Daily Record newspaper’s Circle of Influence. He is the Distinguished Economist in Residence at Goucher College, where he teaches History of Economic Thought. He holds four graduate degrees, including a J.D. and a Ph.D.

BESTSELLING AUTHOR & SPEAKER

Kindra Hall told her first story in the spring of 1992.

Long before storytelling became a business buzzword, Kindra was fulfilling a 5th grade language arts assignment by reading a story to a room full of out-of-control 3rd graders. Instead of reading from the pages, Kindra set the storybook aside and told the story herself. Within the first few sentences, she held those unruly 3rd graders in the palm of her hand and knew, in that moment, she had stumbled upon something powerful.

Since that time, Hall has become the go-to expert for storytelling in business and beyond. She is the best-selling author of Stories that Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business. Stories that Stick debuted at #2 on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller List, and companies like Forbes and Gartner say it “may be the most valuable business book you read.” Her second book, Choose Your Story, Change Your Life is one of the Next Big Idea Club’s top 10 happiness books. Her newest book, The Story Edge, inspires leaders to harness the power of stories to win in business.

Kindra Hall is a sought-after storytelling keynote speaker trusted by global brands to deliver messages that inspire teams and individuals to better communicate the value of their company, their products and their individuality through strategic storytelling. Hall is also the former Chief Storytelling Officer at Success Magazine where she shared the inspiring, often untold, stories of achievers like Daymond John, Deepak Chopra, James Altucher and Misty Copeland in print and on the podcast Success Stories with Kindra Hall.

Kindra lives in Manhattan with her husband, young son and daughter. When she is not traveling the world speaking, Kindra can usually be found at spin class, spending time with friends or exploring the city with her family.

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR & SPEAKER

Once expected to die, now teaching others how to Live Inspired.

In 1987, John O’Leary was a curious nine-year-old boy. Playing with fire and gasoline, John created a massive explosion in his home and was burned on 100% of his body. He was given less than a 1% chance to live.

This epic story of survival was first showcased in Overwhelming Odds, the book his parents wrote in 2006. It was this book that first invited John to embrace his miraculous recovery and share it with the world.

Today, John inspires tens of thousands of people at more than 100 live and virtual events each year. He partners with companies and organizations across fields, such as: sales, healthcare, safety, marketing, finance, faith, education and insurance.

Consistently described as “the best speaker we’ve ever had,” John’s tireless schedule is a testament to the power of his message. His emotional storytelling, unexpected humor and authenticity make each presentation unforgettable.

John is a two-time bestselling author of On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life and In Awe: Rediscover Your Childlike Wonder to Unleash Inspiration, Meaning and Joy.

John’s award-winning Live Inspired Podcast has more than seven million downloads and enjoys world-class guests such as Brené Brown, Mitch Albom, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Bob Costas.

Amazingly, John’s story is taking on a new form: a full-length feature film starring Joel Courtney, John Corbett, and William H. Macy. SOUL ON FIRE was released in theaters nationwide on October 10, 2025.

Regardless of his professional accomplishments, John considers his greatest success to be his marriage to his wife Beth, their four children and his relationships with friends and family.

PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL RISK SOLUTIONS NORTH AMERICA, LIBERTY MUTUAL

As President of Global Risk Solutions North America, Marc is responsible for the leadership, strategic profitable growth, management and performance across the four core business segments of Major Accounts, Middle Market, North America Specialty and Canada. He leads a team of more than 6,000 underwriters, claims specialists and distribution professionals to deliver a comprehensive array of products, services and solutions to our customers.

Previously, Marc served as the President of North America’s Middle Market business division. His prior roles also include President and EVP of North American Field Operations and Marketing for GRS, and General Manager for Risk Management and Middle Market Casualty Lines in the Northeast region.

Before joining Liberty, Marc spent 10 years at Travelers Insurance in various roles across underwriting, distribution, finance and operations.

Marc graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance and economics from the University of Hartford and holds a master’s degree in business administration with honors from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.

Marc is a member of the Board of Governors of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation. 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AMERICAS, AXA XL INSURANCE

Lucy Pilko leads AXA XL’s insurance business throughout the US, Canada, and Bermuda. She joined AXA XL in October 2023 from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).  She was a Managing Director & Senior Partner in the New York office and led BCG’s North American Insurance Practice

Lucy brings over 20 years of consulting experience with particular focus on growth strategy, operating model and transformation for Insurance carriers and brokerage. She has worked closely with leaders from nearly all of the region’s major carriers and broking houses, helping them solve problems and uncover opportunities, among them:

- With a leading US insurer, building a Generative AI strategy and launching wave 1 use cases, tech and data architecture roadmap and associated talent & change management efforts

- Directing an enterprise portfolio strategy for leading global commercial P&C insurer covering SME, Middle Market and Large Corporate client segments

- Reprioritizing $2B of strategic investment spend of major commercial insurer to align with strategy

- Developing US middle market segment entry strategy for global commercial carrier

- Building a growth strategy and leading design and implementation of streamlined operations model for US commercial insurance broker, delivering sizable cost improvement and organic growth

- Leading the diagnostic, blueprint development and implementation of a $100M+ organization simplification program for a global insurance broker

​Prior to BCG, Lucy was employed at Marsh McLennan and Bain Capital.

Lucy has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School, where she was recognized as a Baker Scholar.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ARCH INSURANCE NORTH AMERICA

Matt Shulman has been Chief Executive Officer, Arch Insurance North America since January 2019. Prior to that, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Arch Insurance International, based in London, a role he assumed in September 2016. He joined Arch Insurance in 2009 where he served as Executive Vice President overseeing the Management Liability and Professional Liability divisions. Prior to Arch, Matt was employed by The Hartford in various manager capacities within their Financial Products division since 2000. Prior to The Hartford, he worked at Reliance National in various underwriting roles.

Matt has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a juris doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law.

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, SAFETY NATIONAL

Mark joined Safety National in 1996, as part of the Claims Department, rising to the role of Vice President. In 2014 he was named Vice President of Communications & Strategic Analysis, developing the internal and external communications teams. Mark became Vice President of Client Engagement in 2021, taking on the additional responsibilities of developing and leading a new department. He was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer in 2025. Mark also leads the Government Affairs Committee and is a Sustainability Committee member. Prior to joining Safety National, he handled workers’ compensation claims for a self-insured, self-administered company. Mark is the creator of the Work Comp Analysis Group on LinkedIn, with over 35,000 members.

CHIEF DATA ANALYTICS & DIGITAL OFFICER, LOCKTON

At Lockton, Claude is Chief Data Analytics and Digital Officer. This includes responsibility for the Digital Office launched in early 2025 to enhance the firm’s data and analytics tools and strategies. Claude formerly served as Global Head of Analytics overseeing the work of our Technologists, Actuaries, Data Scientists, and CAT Modelers. Claude joined Lockton Re in May 2019 as a founding member.

Prior to joining Lockton, Claude was the Global Chief Innovation and Product Development Officer at Guy Carpenter from 2017 to 2019. In addition to overseeing innovation, Claude led the effort to form a new company, Genesis LLC, which provides insurance carriers with consulting concerning InsurTech and startup companies.

From 2012 to 2017, Claude lead the global analytics team at Marsh, where he was responsible for building and delivering new analytics and technology capabilities globally, including a unique, mobile-based analytics delivery system for clients.

Before Marsh, Claude held a variety of actuarial and underwriting roles on the insurance carrier side of the business. Most recently before joining Marsh, Claude was the Head

of Research and Development at The Hartford, where he oversaw a team of 50+ data science, statistical and actuarial professionals. Claude’s team was responsible for developing predictive models and actuarial science underpinning most of the major class plans at The Hartford.