12 Questions with Greg Hendrick
Welcome to 12 Questions, a Q&A series where we pose the same set of 12 questions to intriguing folks at the intersection of insurance, risk management, commercial real estate, and digital innovation.
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This week, we chat with Greg Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer at Vantage Group.
1. What is the most interesting idea you’ve encountered in your world lately?
We just partnered with a new managing general agent on Coronavirus delay and cancellation coverage for the TV and film industry. I am intrigued by the analytical approach to risk and the ability to step into a risk that most people avoid.
2. Where do you think no one is looking right now?
As an industry, we continue to fail to address the gap between economic loss and insured loss, not only for catastrophe exposures but also around intangible assets in the corporate world.
3. If you had a magic wand, what would you change about your industry?
I would create a true insurance index based on actual losses and exposures.
4. What’s the most rewarding part of what you do?
Getting to build a new business is fantastic, but the best element is meeting and recruiting new people who believe in the Vantage vision.
5. What do you envision the next 12 months will bring?
A return to an environment more like pre-COVID days, but fundamentally changed for the better regarding work-life balance.
6. What’s your favorite building?
Grand Central Station. It has incredible finishing touches, most importantly in the ceiling, which so many people never stop to look up at. I have been going through that station since I was about eight years old.
7. Please dispel a myth or misconception about your work.
That catastrophe re/insurance is “just like gambling.” We fulfill a real social need by enabling people and businesses to rebuild after tragic events.
8. What are the tools, apps, or gadgets that you just can’t live without?
The iPad has made my life so much easier by allowing a quick shift between work and personal life. In the middle of this questionnaire, I used my iPad to order a descaling solution for my Keurig coffee maker without leaving my desk.
9. What’s your biggest pleasant surprise related to remote work?
The ability to spend more time with the family. We had a full house with our 19 and 25-year-old sons at home, plus a girlfriend and a cat. It was great to spend quality time with them at this point in their lives.
10. What’s your favorite productivity tip for staying motivated and getting work done?
Exercise every morning. It clears the mind and energizes you for the day.
11. What or who do you read to keep informed?
A wide variety of online newspapers – Wall Street Journal, NY Times, and NY Post, as well as industry news from a variety of sources.
12. Nominate 2 people who should answer this next. Why?
I nominate Greg Hagood and Frank Majors, the co-founders and co-CEOs at Nephila. They are both wonderful people and it would be great to get their views.
Thank you to Hemant Shah, Co-Founder and CEO of Archipelago for inviting Greg to answer 12 Questions.
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