Day Moves to CNA from Applied To Jumpstart EDI, E-Biz

In a new position designed to help accelerate CNA's e-business strategy, John Day has joined the Chicago-based P&C insurer as director of EDI. In this role Day, who previously was vice president, strategic alliances, at Applied Systems (University Park, IL), will be part of CNA's e-business unit, and was recruited directly by Bob James, CNA's chief operations officer and president of CNA eBusiness.

Day's mandate is to create a "single focus" on EDI at CNA, where EDI deployment has been "very fragmented," he notes. "Different business units were going in different directions. I have kind of a clean slate in that arena; there's a lot to do."

Additionally, Day is charged with "overseeing the representation of CNA eBusiness in the modification of the standards process, especially as it relates to AL3 for download and ACORD XML; and overseeing the representation of CNA eBusiness in the X12 world." Regarding X12, an EDI standard that is not insurance-specific, "we are struggling with what impact XML is going to have on the whole X12 world," Day says. "Work is being done to bring X12 and XML together, specifically for insurance." He also expects to be actively involved with ACORD, in areas such as the new claims working group for XML.

Another top priority for Day will be "to define a roadmap for agency/company interface, as it relates to e-business, and then to lead the effort to implement that interface," he says. "I will work with all of CNA's trading partners to coordinate all EDI requirements and implementations. And I will work with all of CNA's businesses to coordinate their interface efforts with the e-business unit, which is defining the future strategy of CNA."

After nearly 20 years with a technology company, Day says, he is finding it "interesting being on other side of the desk" as an insurance executive. "I bring a very valuable perspective to the organization, having been an agent first, then being in the vendor community for so long. I have a unique perspective on what the deliverables should be in the whole EDI environment," he says.

Day also is adjusting to "the challenge of going from an organization of 900 to 1,000 people, to one of 18,000 people. Although the e-business unit is probably the size of Applied Systems, the stakeholders in data, which is at the heart of EDI, range across the whole company. Identifying all those stakeholders is interesting proposition," he says.

Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio