Heather Wilson was named CEO of Clara Analytics in June 2021. She last served as EVP and chief data scientist at L Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. But before that, Wilson had been chief data officer at AIG, a position for which she was honored as one of
Digital Insurance: After stints at AIG, Kaiser Permanente, and Citi, you worked at a retailer, L Brands, for a while. In returning to the financial services and insurance sector, what attracted you to this position?
Heather Wilson: Having worked at L Brands and seeing people working in the distribution center or any type of environment -- when you see injuries it makes you think about the role of insurance. CLARA Analytics has been a great place for me to jump back in.
DI: How do you see CLARA’s value proposition fitting in with work environments?
HW: When you see the insurer side and the insured side, you see the role that AI models can have in predicting the severity of a claim and helping those carriers and their customers, We can help identify the right provider for a particular injury. It’s not just an optimal cost play. It's also truly helping them to get the workers optimal care and get them back to a healthy and well place.
DI: How do you think insurance has evolved in using data effectively over the time you were working at L Brands?
HW: I have a lot of respect for the legacy system heritage that executives are dealing with in insurance IT environments. As the industry tries to innovate, they try to be nimble and flexible and scale. Whatever we can do on our side in the worker's compensation line to bring our service in through an API, or as a service, can help them.
DI: What are some of your short or long-term goals for the company?
HW: We want to be a part of carriers’, brokers’ and clients’ claims road to excellence and underwriting profitability. We want to continue to maximize our footprint and we're investing in the next evolution of our product.
DI: CLARA is one of the few insurtechs that have a women in the top role. Do you see your appointment as a way to raise the bar for gender diversity in the sector?
HW: Our CFO and VP of data science are also women. In my previous roles at Kaiser, AIG and Citi, I've always been a big supporter of diversity and inclusivity. Especially for women, regarding mentoring around science, technology, engineering, and math. I'm going to continue to do my part as a female role model and act as a mentor and an advocate for women. At the end of the day, if our work helps to demonstrate to others that issues like gender are not relevant, that talent dominates, then, then all the better.
