Nancy Chu on: our commitment to investing in tech and building a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace to win with purpose together

Our purpose as a company is to: "help people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow." This not only applies to serving our customers but even empowering our employees to succeed in their own career within Liberty by equipping them with the right tools and technologies, as well as cultivating an equitable workplace that supports them every step of the way.

We caught up with Nancy Chu , our Head of PMO – IT Finance and Vendor Management who shares about her career growth in Liberty, the supportive culture that continually empowers her at work and how we're making things better in insurance through technology.

1. Tell us about your career journey in Liberty

I joined Liberty in 2019 starting as an Executive, where I managed IT finance and project portfolios for the Accident and Health practice in Asia Market. In 2020, I was promoted to be the PMO Lead - IT Finance for our Asia Market within 2 years. Today, I am the Head of PMO – IT Finance and Vendor Management, leading my team in Asia Market, where we focus on overseeing and optimizing IT finance, as well as setting up best practices across Technology teams in Asia Market.

While my role reports directly to our Regional CIO, I was offered plenty of opportunities to work closely with C-levels in our organization on business strategies, expense control and people management. They serve as great role models for me on how to become a great leader.

I truly enjoy working with the management team as they always give me insightful nuggets of knowledge and exposure to experiences in the insurance industry. I appreciate that they welcome questions – even the hard ones and encourage the team to provide their opinions.

?It’s been an enriching and fulfilling journey witnessing my growth in Liberty, not only as someone working on finance projects, budgeting and planning but it has given me a broader view on high-level management and how leaders align our investments to the business strategy.

?I am excited for the coming years as we journey towards our goal, which is to: “Win with Purpose, Together.”

2. How do you think Liberty is reshaping the insurance industry through technology?

Knowing that technology is the key for the future, Liberty is committed to investing in the latest technologies to help drive our business forward and transform the insurance space.

When I first joined, we relied heavily on manual processes but within 3 years, I’ve witnessed exponential ?growth in our IT investments – we digitalized the end-to-end process of the insurance process from quotation, issuance to renewal for products, drove automation initiatives and invested on AI/OCR for claims facilitation.

Insurance companies in general have historically been known for paper-based processes and slow-moving bureaucracies but COVID was a pivotal moment for Liberty to embrace new working models. Liberty accelerated its digital transformation efforts, especially with customers being unable to visit physical offices or meet with agents face-to-face, the company had to quickly shift gears to adopt digital channels to serve our customers better. In a span of 2 years, we launched online portals for direct quotes, as well as mobile apps for motor e-claims to provide customers with the information and support they need at a critical time.

One of Liberty’s values is to: “Put People First”, where we believe that enabling our people to do their work well internally cascades down to being able to serve all our other stakeholders from our agents to customers better. For example, during the pandemic, our Infrastructure team quickly responded to ensure that we are equipped laptops ?and cloud-based systems to help our employees work from home and collaborate efficiently with little to no disruptions.

3. What are some challenges you've seen women in tech face and as a female leader in the tech field, how does Liberty empower you to do your role?

Liberty taught me what DEI truly means and I strongly believe it is espoused within company. Actions speak louder than words: within the Asia Market Technology team, our developers, testers and business analysts come from different cultural backgrounds: India, Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The team also has a good mix of male and female team members and around half of the Team Heads are female leaders!

The company also makes a conscious effort to increase the diversity in our hiring pool by actively seeking out candidates from underrepresented groups. Our Global CIO, Monica Caldas is a role model who inspires other aspiring female leaders-to-be and this is evident in the number of females who occupy leadership roles in Technology today.

?Liberty empowers us in many ways. There are many stereotypes and assumptions about women’s ?abilities and how adept they are with changing gears in their careers, which can dampen their confidence and hold them back professionally. However, in our Technology department, there are key roles for talents that come from non-tech areas e.g. Business Analysis, PMO, IT Finance, and IT Talent Specialist, who can still be involved in our Tech team. A clear example is myself – ?I come from a finance and accounting background but Liberty has trusted me to restart my career managing finances and projects in the Technology department.

I was also endorsed and sponsored for PRINCE2 qualification, which gave me more insight to understanding various manager perspectives and better understand the team’s needs, challenges, their views on managing various market investment portfolios, as well as assessing the budget and planning for the Technology team strategically.

Apart from opportunities, it helps that I am also surrounded by a community of supportive colleagues who value diversity and inclusion, which make me confident in the journey towards building a more equitable and inclusive tech industry.

4. Why is technology for insurance exciting/interesting?

Technology for insurance is really exciting because of its potential to transform the way insurance companies operate and serve our customers. When we talk about the most exciting areas, that will definitely be: data analytics, machine learning and ChatGPT, which will drive tremendous changes across the industry.

?Nowadays, insurance companies have access to vast amounts of data about their customers, policies, and claims. By using data analytics and machine learning techniques, insurance companies can uncover patterns and insights that cannot be detected using traditional methods. For example, insurance companies can use machine learning algorithms to analyze customer data and identify patterns that help them better understand customer behavior. This can help insurance companies design better insurance products that meet their customers' needs and preferences.

In addition, ChatGPT is going to be the next big thing in insurance companies on how to improve customer service through chatbots, which can help customers with routine tasks such as policy renewal, claims filing, and policy changes.

Overall, data analytics, machine learning, and #ChatGPT are transforming the insurance industry by enabling companies to make better decisions based on data, improve customer service, and create more personalized insurance products. As these technologies continue to advance, we can expect to see even more exciting applications in the insurance industry.

Come join us in making things better through the #technologies of tomorrow. Together, today. #wearehiring:

For opportunities based in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Vietnam, click here: https://libertyinsurance.applytojob.com/ ?

For opportunities based in India, click here: https://careersindia-libertymutual.icims.com/jobs/search?ss=1&searchKeyword=technology&searchRelation=keyword_all?