Board of Directors

Robert co-founded Steadfast and has over 52 years’ experience in the insurance industry. He was voted the second most influential person in insurance by Insurance News, and was awarded the ACORD Rainmaker Award in 2014. Robert is a Qualified Practising Insurance Broker, a Fellow of NIBA, a Senior Associate of ANZIIF, a Certified Insurance Professional and a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Robert is the Chairman of the ACORD Board and is also a Director of ASX-listed Johns Lyng Group Limited and not-for-profit organisation KidsXpress.

Robert Kelly co-founded Steadfast in 1996 to provide insurance-related quality advice and service, leading the company to become the largest general insurance broker network and underwriting agency group in Australia and New Zealand and an ASX 100 listed company. Steadfast Group is the largest general insurance broker network and the largest group of insurance underwriting agencies in Australasia, with growing operations in Asia and Europe.

He recently received the prestigious award of Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday 2022 Honours List.

Kevin Tobin is President and Chief Executive Officer of Torrent Technologies, the premier flood insurance policy servicing business that includes innovative technology and exemplary services for clients, agents, and policyholders. In August 2012, Kevin joined Marsh and was subsequently appointed to lead and drive growth for several practices within the Insurance Services Group, which included Private Client Services, CS STARS/ Clearsight, Global Affinity and Sponsored Programs as well as Torrent.

Kevin began his career with Allstate Insurance in 1987. From there, he went on to HSBC North America, where Kevin held various senior leadership roles from 2000 through 2008. In 2008, Kevin joined Roanoke, Virginia-based Advance Auto Parts to lead the transformation of their $4 billion DIY/consumer business. He also worked for Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) re-engineering their B2B distribution model. Kevin holds a BBA in economics from the University of Iowa and an MBA from the University of Illinois – Chicago.

Batman joined The Hartford in December 2014 with over 20 years of industry experience. Colleen is responsible for a newcombinedorganization, Strategic Support Services, Operations and Contact Center, with accountability for shared services across claims and operations for P&C and Group Benefits, including agile product ownership to drive end-to-end transformation and continuous improvement while creating scalability. She oversees service center employees throughout the U.S., offshore resources and support organizations with over 3,000 employees. Colleen and her team align customer interactions with business partners, defining and executing upon the customer experience strategy and roadmap. She also works closely with the Senior Leadership team to develop and execute the strategic priorities of the business. Before joining The Hartford, Colleen was Vice President, Strategic Planning and Execution for Business Insurance at Travelers. During a 20-year tenure at Travelers she also served as Vice President, Strategic Program Management, and led several IT and operational areas across Personal Lines and Business Insurance. Batman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from University of St. Mary’s and an MBA from University of St. Thomas, both in Minnesota.

Kirk Behrens is the EVP, Operations, Technology, and Analytics for Ryan Specialty. Kirk joined the company in 2021 and has extensive strategy, operations, and technology experience within insurance brokerages in a career spanning more than 25 years. Prior to joining Ryan Specialty, Kirk held senior leadership positions at Aon, including CIO, Aon plc and COO, Global Health Solutions. He also previously held leadership roles at Marsh and was a management consultant at Accenture. Kirk is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting. He lives in Park Ridge with his wife, Linda, and their two sons.

Clyde Bernstein leads Aon’s Digital Placement Platform, the placement technology strategy that underpins Aon’s Broking proposition.

In his capacity, Clyde is responsible for a major transformation within Aon to support Aon’s client proposition and competitive advantage in a changing industry. Clyde’s expereince in Broking and advocacy for market change has brought a unique perspective to various market modernisation initiatives including the London Market Data Council and Technology Transformation Board.

Clyde joined Aon in 2022 following a distinguished and diverse 30-year career at Willis Towers Watson (WTW). Here, Clyde broadened his learning by undertaking roles in WTW’s insurance, specialty and treaty reinsurance businesses. Prior to joining Aon, Clyde was Head of Broking for WTW’s wholesale and retail business in Great Britain and pioneered WTW’s global broking technology.

A successful Operations and Change Director with nearly 40 years’ experience in the Insurance industry in a wide variety of roles. Richard has worked within the WTW Accounting Settlement (A&S) function for the last 13 years and has been Head of A&S for the last 7 years.

Richard joined what was then Willis Faber Dumas in 1984 and originally trained as a Certified Accountant before taking on more insurance based, client facing roles. Richard has a history of strong strategic and operational leadership, with significant experience managing people, projects, budgets and business transformation, across multiple geographies and stakeholders.

Within A&S, Richard oversees a function that manages everything post billing in the operations arena, including debt chasing, query and accounting relationship management, receipts and payments and cashiering, managing both WTW and Client money.

WTW A&S are e Accounting market leaders, using ACORD standard messaging to replace paper submissions / accounting. Richard is a member of the Ruschlikon Steering Group and actively involved in London Market modernisation activity.

In addition to the above, Richard is Chair of the WTW Ipswich Management Group and the local sponsor of the WTW Young Professionals. Outside of WTW, Richard is part of Local, London Market and Global Steering Groups and Boards , including the ACORD Board and London Advisory.

Mike began his career in Financial Services with JP Morgan Chase where he worked for 17 years holding many different roles across Operations and Technology. Prior to leaving JP Morgan to join Citigroup, Mike was the Global Head of Technology Delivery for Private Bank and Private Client Services. In 2007, Mike joined Citigroup as the CTO for the Institutional Client group responsible for Architecture, Engineering and Infrastructure. He decided to join TD Bank in 2014 to lead Global Infrastructure and Engineering, relocating to Canada. Mike returned to the US in 2019 to work with Chubb as EVP Global Head of Infrastructure and Technology Operations. In 2020 he was appointed CO-CIO Chubb Global Technology.

Mike holds a BS Degree from the University of Delaware and an MBA from the University of Florida. He currently resides in New Jersey with his family.

John Kellington is Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer for Cincinnati Insurance and is responsible for all IT related initiatives at Cincinnati. Prior to Cincinnati Insurance, John served as senior vice president of the ACORD Corporation, responsible for global standards development, IT, corporate finance, and membership. Prior to ACORD, John served as Chief Technology Officer for Ohio Casualty Group and as Principal for IBM Global Services’ national insurance practice. John also serves on the ACORD Corporation Board of Directors and the Board and Audit Committee of Wespath Pension and Benefits.

Mr. Krishnamoorthy is the CTO for Hamilton Insurance Group where he leads the technology transformation of specialty insurance and reinsurance platforms. He has almost 30 years’ experience in digital technology, software development and operations, product development, and engineering. He has successfully led global digital transformation efforts in the finance and education industries. He joined Hamilton from Coleman Research where he was Chief Technology Officer. During his four-year tenure, Mr. Krishnamoorthy led Coleman Research’s digital transformation and new SAAS product development. Prior to joining Coleman Research, Mr. Krishnamoorthy was VP, Digital Technology, at McGraw-Hill Higher Education. He has also worked at Interactive Data as Head of Software Development and Operations, Thomson Reuters as Head of Platform Development, and CIBC World Markets as Executive Director. Mr. Krishnamoorthy holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Government College of Engineering in Salem, India, and a Master of Computer Science degree from New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey.

Pascal leads the P&C Technical Accounting and Claims Operations unit in the EMEA region, responsible for the timely and accurate analysis and administration of claim and technical accounting submissions, including the implementation of digitized and automated processes and solutions. In his previous role, he was responsible for the design and maintenance of the operating platform in P&C Business Management, covering Systems, Analytics & Digital Solutions. Pascal has been involved in the Ruschlikon Initiative since 2010, first as a member of the Business Implementation Group (BIG) and between 2017 and 2021 as a member of the Steering Committee. Since 2019, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the ACORD Solutions Group.

Dave Matcham, FCII is Chief Executive of the International Underwriting Association of London (IUA). IUA is the market association representing insurance and reinsurance companies writing international business in or through London, outside the Lloyd’s market. In 2018, IUA members wrote circa $35 billion gross premium. Previous to joining IUA at its formation on 31 December 1998, Dave worked for 18 years, many in a senior managerial position, for the Institute of London Underwriters – a long established trade association for marine and aviation insurers in London. ILU merged with LIRMA to form IUA as the sole representative voice for the London company market on 31 December 1998 with Dave being appointed Director of Operations.

Dave was appointed Chief Executive on 17 March 2005 and joined the IUA Board at that time. Dave obtained his Associateship of the Chartered Insurance Institute in 1986 and his Fellowship (specialising in Aviation) in 1989. Dave serves on many market groups on behalf of the company market, notably the London Market Group and is a Director of Xchanging Ins-sure Services (now part of the DXC Group). Dave also serves on the board of the UK chapter of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation. Dave sits on the IUMI Facts & Figures Committee and regularly leads the UK (IUA) delegation at annual IUMI conferences.

Al Orendorff is Chief Communications Officer at Zurich North America, where he leads a team of 20 communications professionals and is a member of Chief Executive Officer Kristof Terryn’s senior leadership team.

For the past three decades, Orendorff has cultivated a career as a senior level global public relations strategist, c-suite counselor and writer, having held communications leadership positions at Allstate Insurance, Aon Corp., Genworth Financial in Richmond, Virginia, Choose Chicago and now Zurich North America.

Orendorff began his communications career as a journalist, working in local television and radio news, primarily covering state and local government and urban affairs and education. His journalism career included stints at NBC-TV in Peoria, Black Entertainment Television and WBEZ and WGN radio in Chicago, winning several awards for news reporting, writing and production.

A native of Lincoln, Illinois, Orendorff received his B.S.in Mass Communications from Illinois State University. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and a former member of 100 Black Men in Richmond, Virginia. He is also on the Choose Chicago Foundation board.

Steve joined Lloyd’s in 2014 and has been involved in all major London market transformation programmes, from design to management and market engagement capacities. He was the head of UK operations for 5 years, and now manages market engagement for the London Market’s BP2 programme.

He currently sits on various market governance committees that oversee market services and technological changes. He’s also been a non-executive director of various market firms, including LIMOSS.

Steve has worked with ACORD for over 15 years, starting when he initiated peer-to-peer EBOT implementations with London Market carriers as the Executive Director of Operations at Lloyd’s broker firm, UIB Group. In his time working with ACORD and Ruschlikon, Steve has been a member of the Ruschlikon UK Implementation Group, the Ruschlikon ePlacing Steering Committee and the Accounting and Claims Steering Committee.

Before his operational focus, Steve was a marine placing broker at various Lloyd’s brokers; prior to that he enjoyed his first career as a commando in the Royal Marines.

Dr. Schaffer is Head of Reinsurance Accounting (Life and Non-Life) at Munich Re. He acts as Global Process Owner for the technical accounting and claims processing of Munich Re's reinsurance group. From 2010 to 2021, he headed the Corporate Performance and Capital Management department in Group Controlling of Munich Re Group and was Chief Financial Officer of DKV Belgium S.A. Prior to that, he held various positions in Munich Re's Finance division. From 2001 until he joined Munich Re in 2005, he was a lecturer at the Institute for Accounting, Auditing and Analysis at the Munich School of Management at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. He holds a degree in business administration and a doctorate in economics.

Charles E. Symington, Jr. is president & CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, also known as the Big “I,” the largest property & casualty insurance trade association in the country. He began serving in this role in September 2023, after having been executive vice president since September 2022. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of external, industry and government affairs for the organization.

During his Big “I” tenure, Mr. Symington has managed the association’s powerful Capitol Hill office and has directed the day-to-day activities of the association’s legislative, political, communications and company relations staff. He has been regularly recognized by The Hill newspaper as one of the top lobbyists in Washington, D.C. He is a sought-after industry speaker and has led the insurance industry’s premier grassroots fly-in event, the Big “I” Legislative Conference, for two decades. Under his leadership, InsurPac, the Big “I” federal political action committee, grew to a $2.5 million PAC per cycle. It is one of the largest small business PACs in the nation. Mr. Symington has overseen numerous legislative wins for the Big “I,” including securing substantial small business tax relief, defending a modernized state regulatory system for insurance, preserving an effective Federal Crop Insurance Program and extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). He has also been a key leader in many industry coalitions on Capitol Hill, advocating on issues important to Big “I” members. Before coming to the Big “I,” Mr. Symington served as a senior counsel with the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services from 2000 to 2003 where he focused on insurance issues. He also worked as a majority counsel for the House Committee on Energy & Commerce where he concentrated on health care policy and oversight.

Mr. Symington began his career in the private sector. He was an attorney with the law firm of Matricardi & Moylan in Springfield, Virginia, and before that was an associate attorney with the firm of Drew, Eckl & Farnham in Atlanta where he specialized in insurance defense litigation.

Mr. Symington graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in history and received a Juris Doctorate from Emory University, School of Law in Atlanta. He also served as chairman and vice chair of the National Down Syndrome Society and served on the NDSS board from 2014 to 2022. He and his wife Cathy reside in Alexandria, Virginia and have three children.

Abel Travis is currently the Senior Vice President of Affiliate Operations at Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. Abel Travis has deep subject matter expertise in the insurance Industry, with nearly 2 decades of experience. Travis is an expert in innovation, designing new products and business models to drive growth and transformation. Travis has provided leadership and guidance in all aspects of the insurance industry from technology, underwriting, product management, innovation, strategy and product development.

Travis is an award winning, international keynote speaker at events including InsurTech Insights, InsurTech Connect, Dig In, InsurTech Rising, ACORD Conference, Society of Insurance Research, NAAIA Conference, Women in Insurance, and is a featured industry contributor to Reuters, The Economist, Carrier Management, Digital Insurance, Insurance CIO Magazine, etc. Travis has also contributed to numerous industry white papers including the most recently published “Reinsurance That Connects.”

Travis has a deep affinity for Insurance Innovation and seeing the proliferation of innovation change this Industry. He hosts the Insurance Innovators Unscripted podcast (http://www.InsuranceInnovators.co/blog) to provide and engage in thought leadership with #insurtech innovators, influencers, and executives in insurance. Travis serves as an advisor to regional insurtech startups, provides consultation for private equity firms investing in the insurance sector and mentor’s future industry leaders and innovators.

Travis has been the recipient of many industry awards, including the 40 under 40 from the WBJ, Industry Impact Award from InsurTech Hartford, and a top 50 Executive Leader by Diversity MBA. He was named to Digital Insurance’s top Innovators to Watch, was named a Hot 100 by Insurance Business America, and was awarded the Diverse Leader of Change in Insurance recognition.

Travis earned an M.B.A. from Long Island University (Brookville, NY) and a B.A. in Finance from Clarkson University (Potsdam, NY).