Spencer Board Member Highlight: Teresa Black

Teresa Black, Spencer Board President and Executive Vice President, Commercial Surety at Chubb

Tell us a little about yourself! What led you to your current position as Executive Vice President, Commercial Surety at Chubb?

I've been very fortunate throughout my career with Chubb to have had the opportunity to work in a number of different roles, including underwriting, regional management, and business development for various product lines. Chubb has the scope and scale that allows its employees to try new things and learn new skills.

As I developed my career, I found that I really love underwriting. To be a successful underwriter, you not only need to understand risk factors, you also need to have a genuine interest in your clients, in their business, and in getting to know them. Developing broker relationships is essential. So, underwriting offers a great balance of very technical work and relationship building, which was perfect for me.

Underwriting is how I ended up joining the commercial surety team. Today, I'm responsible for the North American P&L. I oversee a fantastic group of underwriters and support staff who help to make sure we are successful. It's been a really fun journey for me, and I'm learning things every day.


How do you think having female representation in the workplace helps current and future employees?

I think it is both important and extremely beneficial for employees of any gender or racial background to see people they can relate to in different roles within their company. It helps to increase the overall level of engagement from employees when they see individuals in leadership who they can relate to.

It's also easier to figure out what is most effective for your career growth as an individual if you have more than one model to follow as an example. I've had a very long career, and I’ve pursued career growth in many different ways, all to varying degrees of success. Early in my career, if I had tried to simply mimic one executive or one person in leadership to grow my career, it wouldn't have been nearly as effective. Seeing people with different styles of leadership is essential, and while it’s certainly not the only thing, gender can impact a person’s leadership style.


Did this play a part in your decision to enter the insurance industry?

To be honest, when I started in this industry, I really did not think about the level of female representation in the workplace. I was just so happy to have a job and the training program I was part of was very well balanced from a gender and race perspective.

It was not until later in my career when I started to move into increasingly senior roles that it became apparent that there were far fewer women in senior level decision making roles than there were men, but I see that changing. Our industry has always been very welcoming to people of all backgrounds, and many of those women who I started my career with are still climbing the ranks in their companies.

What advice would you have to a young woman who's entering the insurance industry?

My advice applies to any young person looking to join the insurance industry: Get to know as many people as possible. Finding a mentor can be a little overwhelming early in your career, especially if you don’t come into your industry with a lot of contacts. So, in the beginning, make yourself available, be present, and look to forge relationships across the board. That increases the odds of you connecting with someone who can become a formal mentor or sponsor, as well as opens the door to informal opportunities that can help you develop your career. And, of course, there’s something that can be learned from each individual interaction that you have with folks who have been active for a long time.


How do you think the insurance industry has done thus far in promoting gender diversity?

We’ve definitely made inroads when it comes to diversity. When I started in insurance, diversity wasn’t something that I remember people talking about. Now, we’ve done a lot to raise awareness around the topic. We’re aware of an imbalance, which in turn has senior leaders and hiring managers challenging themselves to find diverse hires who will benefit the industry as a whole. This commitment to creating a more diverse industry is definitely helping us move toward a more equitable state.


What made you interested in serving on Spencer's Board of Directors? How did you get involved with Spencer?

This is a great example of how your industry connections can help you throughout your career. I got involved in Spencer because Chris Maleno, who is now Division President of Chubb’s North America Field Operations, thought it would be something that I might enjoy learning more about. He was a Spencer Board member and he told me he was involved in an organization that focused on educational opportunities for students in risk management. He then asked if it was something that I might like to learn more about. I said, “Absolutely.”

I got involved pretty quickly and since then I've assisted with a number of initiatives within Spencer, including joining Board, on which I currently serve as President.


How do you see Spencer advancing ongoing efforts of inclusion in the risk management and insurance industry?

Our focus on diversity and inclusion has really evolved within Spencer over the last five years. We have a lot going on, but one of the initiatives I’m most proud of is that we’re developing scholarship opportunities that are specifically targeted toward diverse candidates.

We're also working to expand the number of schools and universities that we engage with, either by providing scholarships to their students, helping develop an insurance curriculum for their business schools, even if they don't have a specific risk management major, or working to get risk managers onto campuses to present to business students about what insurance is all about. Increasing risk managers’ presence on campus is key. We’re able to reach a lot of students at once and are able to talk about what sets our unique industry apart. It does a lot to show the next generation of business professionals what sorts of opportunities exist in insurance.


What do you like most about the insurance industry?

Insurance professionals touch nearly every part of the global economy, and that makes us and our position very, very impactful. Luckily, our industry is full of people who care deeply about the economy, society, and environment. It’s an amazing culture to be a part of, and I think it's something to be very proud of.


Thank you to to Teresa for being an integral part of the Spencer Board of Directors and for participating in this Spencer profile!