Esurance Names Blue Shield Vet CIO

San Francisco-based Esurance, an Allstate company, has named Elinor MacKinnon managing director and CIO. She replaces Phil Swift, who left the company in April.

MacKinnon last was CIO at Blue Shield of California, also based in San Francisco, a position she held for eight years. She also worked at Charles Schwab and the company that is now Novartis. Her responsibilities include developing and maintaining Esurance's software applications that help grow its policyholder base, expand state coverage, and offer more products. In addition, she will oversee Esurance's extensive network operations and data management function.

[How Esurance's policy administration system enables superior customer experience.]

"Elinor MacKinnon brings broad and successful experience in delivering innovative solutions that will help us further enhance our technology platform," Gary Tolman, CEO of Esurance, says in a statement. "Given our focus on providing customers with smarter and easier ways to fulfill their insurance needs, the role of chief information officer is a vital one at Esurance. Elinor's talent and experience make her a great choice to step into this important position."

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio