Karlyn Carnahan, Head of the Americas Property Casualty, has spent her entire career in the Insurance Industry. Her experience across insurers, vendors, consulting firms, and startups provides her with a unique understanding of the pressures facing our clients. When she's not busy helping clients strategize and understand new creative digital capabilities, you’ll find Karlyn tending to her garden, sipping on great local wine or enjoying time with her favorite humans, her three grandsons.

_{Where do you call home?}

I am a fifth generation Californian. My family came to California during the gold rush eventually settling in the Bay Area where I grew up and currently reside. I am just north of San Francisco and about 20 minutes from the Sonoma/Napa valleys. It’s a great place to live although I’ll confess with the availability of such an abundance of great wine, I do get a little picky.

_{Do you have a favorite place you’ve traveled?}

Rome. No question. I’d move there in a heartbeat even though the only Italian I know is “grazie ” and “lasagna.” Which could be useful, right?

_{Favorite Hobby?}

I love gardening. My garden includes a lot of roses, fruit trees (oh how I love it when the figs get ripe), and even a small vegetable plot – although I’ve regularly returned from trips to discover the broccoli has all bolted, or the zucchini now weighs 8 pounds.

_{Favorite Band / Music / Song?}

Broadway musicals are my favorites. I love Broadway theater; you can usually find me there in the evening when I’m in New York. I think I’ve listened to Hamilton more than 100 times.

_{Favorite Food/ Dish?}

I make a killer fresh tomato soup from the tomatoes I grow in the summertime. It’s pretty simple -fresh tomatoes, a little salt, a swirl of olive oil and some fresh basil.

_{How long have you been an analyst?}

I’ve been an analyst now for around ten years and have typically focused on the amazing benefits that technology brings to day to day operations such as underwriting, marketing and claims.

_{What’s up next for your research?}

I’m very interested in shifting distribution channels, new ways of underwriting, and how insurers can create a unique and differentiated customer experience using data and technology.

_{What does being an analyst mean?}

As analysts, we talk to everyone. We use this combination of research, experience, and relationships to help clients make better decisions and manage the tsunami of change that, while exciting and fun to experience, can also be daunting at times.

_{What do you love about your work?}

I love that we have the ability to help executives sort through the massive amounts of information and think through the implications as they move down their decision path

Insurers today continue to face an extremely competitive environment. With an explosion of new data sources and rapidly changing technologies, there are a lot of shiny objects to choose from. Sorting through the options and assuring the choices being made are aligned with the long term strategy can be challenging and IT projects can take years to implement. Building an agile organization that can react and deliver results quickly is one of the imperatives for a CIO today.