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Insights
Keynote: Creativity—Lessons of the Great Innovators
Keynote: Creativity—Lessons of the Great Innovators
NCCI Page Content Two
InsightsAIS 2025 Highlights ReportKeynote: Creativity—Lessons of the Great Innovators

By NCCI InsightsMay 14, 2025
 
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Page Content

Keynote: Creativity—Lessons of the Great Innovators

Walter Isaacson
Best-selling author; acclaimed historian and journalist; professor of history, Tulane University

From Leonardo da Vinci and Ben Franklin to Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Jennifer Doudna, what are the secrets to being creative and innovative? Walter discussed how you can foster teamwork and new thinking.

Quote 

Related Materials

  • Creativity—Lessons of the Great Innovators (PDF)

Creativity—Lessons of the Great Innovators Video—Coming Soon

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Tracy Ryan, FCAS
President and CEO, NCCI

Tracy Ryan is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NCCI, the nation’s most experienced provider of workers compensation information, tools, and services. Under her leadership, NCCI serves nearly 40 state governments and more than 900 insurance carriers.

At NCCI, Ms. Ryan leads and oversees the delivery of the company’s core services, including gathering data, analyzing industry trends, and preparing objective insurance rate and loss cost recommendations for the workers compensation industry. These activities—together with NCCI’s research, analytical services and tools, and overall commitment to excellence—help to foster a healthy workers compensation system.

Her 30-plus years of domestic and global insurance experience include executive responsibility for business strategy, customer service, claims management, actuarial oversight, financial management, employee engagement, and strong advocacy for inclusive leadership. She most recently served as president and CEO of Allianz Commercial, North America and Latin America. She also held multiple leadership positions during her 27 years with Liberty Mutual Insurance, including most recently as president of global risk solutions, North America.

Ms. Ryan received a BS degree in mathematics from Fairfield University and a master of arts in mathematics from the University of Colorado Boulder. She is a member of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a former board member for WCRI and NCCI, where she was Board Chair from 2016–2018.

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Donna Glenn, FCAS, MAAA
Chief Actuary, NCCI

Donna Glenn leads the Actuarial & Economic Services Division, a team of 100-plus actuaries, data scientists, economists, technical talent, and support staff who deliver NCCI's rate/loss cost filings, evaluate proposed and enacted legislation, produce industry insights, and establish residual market reserves. She also oversees the development of products and tools that capture industry benchmarks and analytics and conducts market-leading research for private insurance carriers, state funds, regulators, and policymakers.

Prior to this, Ms. Glenn supported over $15B in net written premium through her experience in product management and profitability analysis at major carriers like Travelers, The Hartford, and Liberty Mutual. She has also held leadership positions in product management, pricing strategy including predictive analytics, business intelligence, and data management.

Ms. Glenn graduated from Quinnipiac College with a bachelor of science in computer science and mathematics and completed Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). She has served on several industry boards including the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (NYCIRB), the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau (PCRB), the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Insurers Association (MWCIA), and the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

Ms. Glenn was recognized as a 2020 Woman to Watch by Business Insurance magazine, celebrating her impactful leadership in the insurance industry and championing diversity. She is a dedicated mentor, empowering women and paving the way for the next generation of leaders.

Ms. Glenn serves on the board of the United Way of Palm Beach County and the board of IMPACT 100—a nonprofit organization run by women to support the local community.

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Damian D. England, ARM
Executive Director—Affiliate Services, NCCI

Damian England is Executive Director of Affiliate Services and leads a team responsible for the overall delivery of services, customer satisfaction, and relationship management with affiliated carriers.

Prior to his current leadership role, he served for 10 years as an affiliate services executive at NCCI working with affiliates to foster a healthy workers compensation system. England has a strong insurance company background gained through his experiences at companies including Kemper, Fireman's Fund, Continental, EBI, and Cigna. England's 30-plus year insurance career has its foundation in service excellence including loss control, claims, client services, and leadership.

England graduated from Purdue University with a BS in industrial/organizational management and is a graduate of Duke University’s Executive Leadership Program. He holds the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation.

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Stephen Cooper
Executive Director and Senior Economist, NCCI

Stephen Cooper joined NCCI in August 2023 as Executive Director & Senior Economist, leading the Economic Research and Communications Team. The team’s research focuses on economic developments impactful to the workers compensation system, including labor market dynamics, demographics, inflation, interest rates, and state level insights to aid in ratemaking decisions.

Prior to joining NCCI, Cooper was vice president, senior economist for Hartford Investment Management Company, a subsidiary of The Hartford. In this role, he oversaw economic research developing insights to drive alpha generation for portfolio management. He was also a key consultant with external clients on key economic developments, frequently speaking at industry events.

Cooper has MA and BA degrees in economics both from Bowling Green State University.

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Walter Isaacson
Author, The Triumphs and Troubles of Elon Musk

Walter Isaacson is a Professor of History at Tulane and an advisory partner at Perella Weinberg, a financial services firm based in New York City. He has been the CEO of the Aspen Institute, the CEO of CNN, and the editor of Time Magazine.

Isaacson’s most recent biography, Elon Musk (2023), is an intimate chronicle based on spending two years by Musk’s side. He is also the author of The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race (2021), Leonardo da Vinci (2017), The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution (2014), Steve Jobs (2011), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), and Kissinger: A Biography (1992), and coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986).

He is a host of the show "Amanpour and Company" on PBS and CNN, a contributor to CNBC, host of the podcast "Trailblazers, from Dell Technologies.""

Isaacson was born on May 20, 1952, in New Orleans. He is a graduate of Harvard College and of Pembroke College of Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He began his career at The Sunday Times of London and then the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He joined TIME in 1978 and became the magazine’s 14th editor in 1996. He became CEO of CNN in 2001 and the CEO of the Aspen Institute in 2003.

He is chair emeritus of Teach for America. From 2005-2007 he was the vice-chair of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which oversaw the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other international broadcasts of the United States.He has also been a member of the U.S. Defense Innovation Board.

In 2023, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Joe Biden. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of the Arts, and the American Philosophical Society. He serves on the board of United Airlines and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

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Jill Rosenthal, MD, MPH, MA, FACOEM
Senior Vice President—Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Jill Rosenthal is the Chief Medical Officer of Zenith Insurance, a Fairfax Financial Company. She is board certified in occupational and environmental medicine, has been practicing medicine for over 20 years, and has received numerous awards in both internal medicine and occupational medicine throughout her career

In her current role, she is responsible nationally for Zenith’s medical management department as well as for clinical oversight and education of physician partners so that injured workers can efficiently achieve the best medical outcomes and a sustained return to work. Dr. Rosenthal also acts as a consultant for Zenith’s group health, wellness, and employee safety programs for Fairfax and for Zenith’s P&C division

Dr. Rosenthal received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her medical degree from the University of Illinois. She is currently a student at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in its master of science in quantitative management for heath analytics program.

Dr. Rosenthal is an active member of many state and national professional committees and organizations including the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, of which she is the current president-elect and on its board of directors. She is also an advisor to the Palm Beach County Preventive Medicine/Public Health Residency Program. In addition, she has published and presented nationally on various topics within occupational and environmental medicine.

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Sandra Kipust, FCAS, MAAA
Senior Practice Leader and Actuary, NCCI

Sandra Kipust is Senior Practice Leader and Actuary. In this role, she focuses on the operational framework of NCCI's Actuarial & Economic Communications group and its strategic focus on Thought Leadership. She leads a customer-centric team of 17 who develop products and tools that capture industry benchmarks and analytics, providing insights and value to workers compensation stakeholders.

Throughout her 20-year career in the insurance industry, Kipust most recently served as senior vice president at Guy Carpenter, where she was the analytics lead for the Workers Compensation Center of Excellence. Prior to that, she was senior managing actuary at Liberty Mutual, leading strategy for small business commercial lines pricing. Kipust previously served on the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board and the New Jersey Compensation Rating & Inspection Bureau actuarial committees.

Kipust is Chair of NCCI's Actuarial and Thought Leadership committees. She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and has earned her Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.

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Debra Kane
CNA Vice President Workers' Compensation Claims

Debra Kane, CNA Vice President Workers' Compensation Claims, is responsible for the strategic direction and leadership of the workers compensation claim line of business, including technical claim management, large loss, medical strategy, and Defense Base Act claims.

Prior to joining CNA in 2016, Kane was vice president of claim strategy with The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., overseeing claim quality, sales and service, and project management activities for workers compensation, general liability, auto, and property and group benefits claims. She has over 30 years of claim management and leadership experience across both personal and commercial lines.

Kane currently serves on the WCRI board of directors, NCCI's Medical Data Call Research Committee and the MedRisk client advisory council. She holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Illinois.

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Neil DeBlock
Vice President—Head of Workers Compensation Claims, Zurich North America

Neil DeBlock, Vice President—Head of Workers Compensation Claims at Zurich North America, is a seasoned insurance professional with over three decades of experience. He joined Zurich in 1996 and has held various key roles, including assistant vice president—regional manager and line of business director. Before Zurich, DeBlock worked at New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, Aetna Property and Casualty, and General Accident Insurance, gaining a solid foundation in the industry. He began his insurance career in 1990 after earning a degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University. DeBlock is also a board member for WCRI and CWCI.

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Raji H. Chadarevian
Executive Director—Actuarial Research, NCCI

With over 30 years of experience in insurance, Raji Chadarevian currently leads a team of research actuaries and experts to provide Thought Leadership in workers compensation. Prior to this, he led the Medical Regulations and Informatics team at NCCI, making him NCCI’s primary actuarial expert on matters relating to medical data and workers compensation health informatics. Prior to 2012, he was responsible for several state rate filings in the western region.

Chadarevian is the principal author of “How Is Medical Inflation Measured? And Why Should I Care?” and “Killer Pain Relief: Opioids in Workers Compensation.” He is the principal author of “Gen Rx-The Next Generation of Medicine,” which he presented at NCCI’s virtual Annual Issues Symposium in 2020. Most recently, he authored articles on COVID-19’s impact on medical treatment and medical inflation in workers compensation.

Chadarevian received a bachelor of science in mathematics from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He is the recipient of the 2020 IAIABC Award of Merit.

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Jon Sinclair, FCAS, MAAA
Director & Actuary, NCCI

Director & Actuary Jon Sinclair joined NCCI in 2018. He currently leads the Medical Data and Analysis focus area.

Prior to joining NCCI, he worked in reinsurance pricing at Aon plc for five years. Sinclair earned his BS degree in mathematics from the University of Central Florida. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

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Brian Stein, FCAS, MAAA
Assistant Actuary, NCCI

Brian Stein joined NCCI in 2014. During his tenure, he has worked in a variety of focus areas including Aggregate Ratemaking, Data Quality, Actuarial Communications, and Individual Risk Rating Research. He is a co-author of the paper, "D-Ratios and Credibility in Experience Rating" published in Variance, a peer-reviewed actuarial journal. He is also responsible for NCCI loss cost filings in several states.

Stein earned his BS degree in actuarial science from Florida State University. He is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

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