2025 Speakers

HEAD OF NORTH AMERICAN RISK MANAGEMENT, STELLANTIS

Cheryl Baker has 25 years of experience in the insurance sector, navigating diverse domains such as mergers and acquisitions, professional liability, corporate claims, cyber risks, and the strategic use of captive insurance companies. Cheryl excels in collaborating with both internal and external partners to evaluate risks and support executive leadership in making informed, risk-intelligent decisions. Cheryl serves as the president of Stellantis’ US-based captive and sits on the Captive Insurance Companies Association board, CICA’s Amplify Women Executive Committee and serves as the secretary of the Detroit RIMS Chapter board. Cheryl's academic credentials include an MBA from Louisiana State University-Shreveport and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, along with professional designations such as ARM, CIC, CRM, and Associate in Captive Insurance.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NORTH AMERICA MULTINATIONAL LEADER, CHUBB

Tim Benson is Executive Vice President and Leader of Chubb’s North America Multinational Tower. He oversees strategy, product and business development, underwriting operations, and profit and loss performance across large, middle, and small businesses, as well as wholesale accounts, for Chubb’s multinational book of business. Prior to his current role, Tim served as Executive Vice President & Chief Revenue Officer for Chubb’s middle market division. Tim has historic experience with Chubb’s multinational team – from 2011 through 2019, he led the Middle Market and Small Commercial underwriting team focused on U.S. multinationals’ international risks. Additionally, he led Chubb’s Global Services organization. He joined Chubb in 2005 as part of the corporate finance department. 

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT - PROPERTY BROKER, AMWINS GROUP

Matthew Brott serves as Executive Vice President and Property Broker, specializing in the placement of high-hazard and catastrophe-exposed commercial property insurance. With deep expertise in navigating complex risk environments, Matthew works closely with retail partners to develop tailored insurance solutions across a broad range of industries, including Food & Agriculture, Manufacturing, Real Estate, Municipal Entities, Education, Healthcare, Mining, and Hospitality.

Known for his strategic insight and commitment to client advocacy, Matthew brings a disciplined approach to structuring coverage in one of the most challenging sectors of the insurance market. His extensive industry knowledge and market relationships make him a trusted resource for both clients and colleagues.

CREATOR AND BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF
THE HERO EFFECT®

Kevin Brown’s unconventional journey to success proves that winning in business and life demands thinking outside the box. Growing up in Muskegon, Michigan, his blue-collar roots instilled the value of hard work and determination. With a street-smart mindset and relentless drive, he rose from the front lines to the executive boardroom.

With over 30 years in franchise development, Kevin helped grow a family business into an industry leader with $2 billion in annual revenue. Since 2016, he has traveled the world sharing The HERO Effect®—a philosophy that sets world-class organizations and high performers apart.

As the father of a child with autism, Kevin knows success extends beyond business to real-life challenges. His bestselling books, The Hero Effect® and Unleashing Your Hero, inspire people to serve others and unleash their potential.

A sought-after speaker, Kevin has worked with top organizations like American Express, Delta Airlines, and PayPal. Recognized as one of the best motivational speakers, Kevin inspires audiences to show up and make a positive difference every day.

LIFE STRATEGIST AND INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER, CEO OF THE COACHING AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY (CAPP)

Valorie Burton, life strategist and international speaker, is CEO of the Coaching and Positive Psychology (CaPP) Institute. Her message emphasizes applied positive psychology—the study of what happens when things go right.

Her company provides coaching, coach training, and resilience programs, serving clients in all 50 states and 37 countries. Since 1999, she has authored 14 books, including Let Go of the Guilt, It’s About Time, and Successful Women Think Differently. She has appeared on the TODAY Show, CNN, Dr. Oz, and Essence, and spoken for organizations worldwide. Named a top motivational speaker and thought leader, her work inspires personal and professional growth.

For over 15 years, Valorie’s programs have helped people:

• Make exciting life changes.
• Find happiness and fun in routine life.
• Build leadership skills and achieve professional goals.
• Overcome setbacks and disappointments.
• Speak up with confidence.
• Sleep peacefully with better decisions.
• Tackle procrastination, emotional spending, and self-sabotage.

She and her husband Jeff live on a ranch south of Atlanta with their children.

HEAD OF U.S. NATIONAL ACCOUNTS, ZURICH NORTH AMERICA

Heather Fox is Head of U.S. National Accounts for Zurich North America, overseeing the direction, management, and performance of all large commercial Property & Casualty business in the U.S. She reports to the Zurich North America CEO and serves on the Zurich North America Executive Committee, Leadership Team, Zurich Insurance Group Leadership Team, and Global Commercial Insurance Leadership Team.

Previously, Fox was Chief Underwriting Officer for Zurich North America, leading Technical Underwriting, including Pricing, Product Management, Sustainability, Underwriting University, and Underwriting Services.

She joined Zurich in April 2023 after more than 14 years at ARC Excess & Surplus, where she was General Counsel and Chief Broking Officer. Earlier, she spent over 12 years at AIG, including roles as General Counsel and Chief Underwriting Officer for Executive Liability.

Fox was named one of Insurance Business America’s Elite Women in 2017 and 2021, and Insurance Professional of the Year in 2022 by the New York City Association of Insurance Women.

She co-founded and serves on the board of The Bridge Transcends, which supports women in Financial Lines. She is a past President and Trustee of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), where she received the 2021 PLUS Founders Award.

Fox holds a Juris Doctor from New England Law in Boston and a B.S. in Economics from St. John’s University, graduating Cum Laude.

VP, MIDWEST LEADER - SHARED AND LAYERED PROPERTY SOMPO

Drew Fumagalli recently joined Sompo in 2025 and serves as the Midwest Leader for Shared and Layered Property, located in Chicago, IL. Drew has been in the insurance industry for the past 15 years, with a focus on property placements for wide range of clients and industries.

Prior to joining Sompo, Drew spent his career working at AIG in a variety of capacities across the company’s property underwriting organization. Most Recently, Drew led the Midwest Retail Property team, as the Regional Underwriting Manager. Prior to this, he managed a portion of the Midwest territory, focusing on property insurance within the St. Louis, Kansas City and Minneapolis markets.  

Drew holds Bachelor’s of Marketing and Finance degrees from the University of Dayton.

VP, GLOBAL SOLUTIONS, LOCKTON

Rick is responsible for the strategy and growth of Lockton’s international business operations. He connects Lockton’s key international resources across more than 125 countries with our clients, Associates and key carrier partners to effectively navigate complex global risks and elevate the international client experience.

PRESIDENT, BHSI NORTH AMERICA

Sanjay Godhwani is one of the four original founders brought in to build BHSI. Sanjay is President, BHSI North America, leading all product lines and customer & broker engagement. Sanjay has been in the insurance industry for over 25 years.

Prior to joining BHSI, he was  President of AIG Latin America and Caribbean and Property Product Line Leader, AIG Property Casualty in the U.S. and Canada.

Sanjay holds a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

DEPUTY EDITOR OF THE ECONOMIST

Robert Guest is Deputy Editor of The Economist, arguably the most influential news magazine in the world. He travels constantly around the world and speaks regularly to CEOs and entrepreneurs in all industries. He is a witty and entertaining speaker, who simplifies complex subjects and spices up his presentations with jokes and first-hand anecdotes.

He is regularly asked to chair conferences or give keynote speeches. Few other speakers can give such a vivid, up-to-date or global perspective on business and politics. Mr Guest has reported from more than 90 countries and lived in six. He has won numerous awards.

As The Economist's Deputy Editor, Robert helps oversee all the magazine's coverage of current affairs, from geopolitics to global economics. His previous roles include Foreign Editor, United States Editor and Business Editor.

SVP, SENIOR RISK FINANCE CONSULTANT, LOCKTON

Diane began her career at Lockton as a Risk Analyst, using her actuarial expertise to provide clients with quantitative tools for informed program design. Building on this, she became a Consultant in Lockton’s Alternative Risk Solutions Practice, specializing in captive strategies, collateral mitigation, and alternative risk structures. Diane advises global clients on efficient risk financing.

During her two years in London at Lockton’s international headquarters, Diane helped expand Lockton International’s captive consulting, collateral strategies, and quantitative resources. Upon returning to the U.S., she broadened her focus to risk finance strategy, market strategy, carrier relationships, and client engagement.

Captive consulting remains a key focus for Diane. She advises on feasibility, formation, and strategy and has presented at Lockton’s Staffing Forum, Construction Conference, and Transportation Summit.

Diane consults on optimal collateral structures, maintains key carrier relationships, and designs alternative risk transfer solutions. She has worked with national and global clients, including Intercontinental Hotel Group, McLane, United Rentals, Express Services, J.E. Dunn, Prime, Inc., and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

APJ CONSULTING

Tim is a public-speaking and presentation skills coach. He helps people at all levels with two key things.

1) Personal style and delivery

2) Creating content that serves those who are listening and not just your own agenda

RISK MANAGER, TRINITAS VENTURES

Carnell Jones is a seasoned Risk Management professional with deep expertise in claims management, incident prevention, and operational loss control across the commercial real estate sector. As Risk Manager for Trinitas Real Estate Capital LLC—a vertically integrated real estate company with a national portfolio of student housing communities, Carnell leads enterprise-wide risk strategies aimed at significantly reducing incident frequency, improving organizational safety culture, and lowering Total Cost of Risk. He is known for fostering strong internal and external partnerships that align risk management with business priorities.

Carnell serves as a Director on the Global Board of RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society representing more than 200,000 professionals in over 75 countries. He previously served as Chair of RIMS’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Council and as President of the Chicago Chapter, where he championed leadership development, community building, and inclusive growth within the profession.

He holds a B.A. in Business Management with a Minor in Economics from Morehouse College and lives in Chicago with his wife.

PRESIDENT AND CEO, ASCOT U.S.

Matt Kramer joined Ascot Group in 2021 as President and CEO of Ascot U.S. Insurance. His role includes oversight and influence over underwriting performance, distribution management, product development and operational excellence. Throughout his 25+ year career, Matt has held a diverse range of underwriting and management positions, spanning a variety of specialty property and casualty insurance companies.

CHIEF DATA & ANALYTICS OFFICER, LOCKTON

Amit is Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Lockton. He is responsible for the overall vision, strategy, design and execution of the D&A agenda across the organization.

Amit joined Lockton from Zurich Insurance in 2020. He spent eight years with Zurich, serving in various profit and loss management, distribution, and strategy leadership roles across the US., the U.K. and Canada. Prior to Zurich, Amit was a Management Consultant with McKinsey and Company. He served global clients in financial services and healthcare industries on topics of strategy and operations. Amit started his career in the automotive industry. His decade-long career in automotive spanned across India, the U.S. and Canada, covering broad responsibilities across engineering, manufacturing, and profit and loss management.

OPERATIONS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ST. LOUIS OPERATIONS MANAGER, FM

Nick currently oversees the underwriting, engineering, and insurance processing functions for FM’s St. Louis and Minneapolis offices. He joined FM in 2008 as an account underwriter and has since held various roles, including production underwriter, sales and marketing support specialist, account manager, business development executive, regional sales manager, and client service manager.

Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. He started at FM right after college, during the financial crisis of 2008, and is grateful to have found a position with FM during that challenging time.

Nick is married to his wife Tracy, and they have two children, Connor and Gus. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and playing golf.

VICE PRESIDENT – LARGE PROPERTY, ZURICH NORTH AMERICA

Emily Niepomnik manages a team of Large Property Underwriters for Zurich North America in the Midwest and is responsible for the production, management and performance of the team’s portfolio. Emily joined Zurich in 2013 as an Account Engineer and has since held roles in Risk Engineering management, Strategy and Execution, and Marine.

Emily holds a bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Penn State University. Emily is married and has 4 children. When Emily isn’t being a soccer or dance mom, she volunteers for Junior Achievement.

GLOBAL STRATEGIC ACCOUNT DIRECTOR, LINKEDIN

With over 20 years of experience in sales and account management, I am proud to manage LinkedIn’s largest and most strategic global accounts as part of the LinkedIn Sales Solutions team. Over the past decade at LinkedIn, I’ve not only delivered impactful solutions to help businesses thrive but also embraced my role as a Rock Your Profile Ambassador. In this capacity, I’ve had the privilege of coaching and training thousands of executives on how to effectively leverage LinkedIn and their networks to drive professional success. My expertise spans sales strategy, account management, leadership, and executive coaching, with a passion for empowering individuals and organizations to achieve their goals through LinkedIn’s platform.

Prior to my time at LinkedIn, I co-founded Harvest the Wind Network (HTWN) following the devastation of the EF5 tornado in Greensburg, Kansas, in 2007. Partnering with leading John Deere dealers across the U.S. and Canada, HTWN installed over 180 wind turbines in just six years, providing clean energy to hospitals, schools, and rural communities. I became a recognized leader in the Distributed Wind industry, serving on the board of the Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA), lobbying in D.C., meeting with White House officials, and chairing multiple industry events.

When I’m not helping clients unlock their potential, I enjoy spending time with my family in Colorado, skiing in the Rockies, and supporting local community initiatives.

DIRECTOR RISK AND INSURANCE, GRAYBAR ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC

I’m an experienced insurance professional with a legal and operations background. My strong decision-making skills are complemented by an open and accessible leadership style.

I am driven to deliver service that goes beyond organizational expectations.

I’m passionate about creating long-term, meaningful connections with internal stakeholders, external partners and my contemporaries in the risk/insurance industry… nationwide.

In my current role, I manage the day-to-day risk and insurance needs of a Fortune 500 corporation with $11B+ revenues. I partner with business leaders and field personnel to achieve organizational objectives while ensuring that the company is adequately prepared for adverse risks (or opportunity risks!).