The Hartford adds operations to Soni's role

The Hartford has expanded the role of Deepa Soni, chief information officer and head of technology, data, analytics and cyber, to also include the insurer's operations unit. Soni, speaking at DIG-IN last year, said she sees The Hartford as a 213-year-old company that operates like a startup.

Soni has been looking at the possibilities for using Chat GPT in insurance operations, and has been leading efforts to step up the carrier's data and analytics AI capabilities. Soni also is leading automation and modernization of processes to fulfill the potential of cloud resources.

Soni joined The Hartford in October 2019 as CIO, after 25 years in the banking industry with BMO, M&T Bank and KeyCorp. In July 2021, she spoke with Digital Insurance about her goals in the role, including a focus on customer experience and using innovations such as agile practices, cloud platforms and data science.

John Kinney, The Hartford's current head of claims and operations, is set to leave the company on April 5. Steve Deane, chief claims officer, will report directly to Christopher Swift, chairman and CEO of The Hartford.

By adding operations to Soni's role, The Hartford's goal is to advance its strategy and deliver value, it stated in a press release.

"Over the past several years, we have invested aggressively in technology – expanding digital capabilities, simplifying processes and platforms, and applying data, analytics and artificial intelligence to enhance products, services and customer experience across the enterprise," said Swift. "Combining customer-facing operations with our technology centers of expertise accelerates the benefits of our investments and supports the company's ambitious growth agenda."