Last Call For I&T's Elite 8 Nominations

The insurance industry continues to struggle to attract talent, in great measure because the workings of the industry demand a high level of talent, despite what the more cynically minded among us might say. Here at I&T we're in the midst not so much of attracting talent as identifying it, as we move toward the deadline for nominations for Insurance & Technology's Elite 8. This annual issue profiles eight innovative and successful senior technology executives in the insurance industry (check out the I&T's 2006 Elite 8 issue).Unsolicited nominations have already begun to trickle in, along with the beginning of those that we solicit from analyst and consultant sources.

We hope to see several more and, as in years past, we're a little surprised that we haven't already received many more-especially on the part of vendors nominating their customers, since it's a great way for the former to receive some desperately desired publicity.

That said, if we didn't receive another nominee after today, we'd still be somewhat saddened that we had to pass over some very deserving technology executives. However many multiples of eight we end up receiving, we'll have the same old problem of picking only eight honorees out of a stellar field of nominees.

The cynics referred to above might scoff at the idea, but there are far more high-quality candidates than we could ever acknowledge. At the very least, we'd like the worthiest technology execs to have a fighting chance, so consider this note a call to get those nominations in. It will only make our job harder and more bittersweet, but then again, the definition of "elite" is that select few, and the more worthy people we consider, the higher the quality of the winners, and the greater the distinction of the Elite 8 Award.

That at least will make writing our annual Elite 8 issue all the more fun, along with celebrating the Elite 8 Award winners themselves, which we will do at the Elite 8 Award Dinner at I&T's ninth annual Insurance & Technology Executive Summit, held this year at the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona from November 4th to the 7th (Visit I&T's registration page to register for the event). We hope to see you there.

Please submit nominations directly to [email protected], including the name, title and company (include lines of business). Explain why your nominee should be considered for the Elite 8 Award in 500 words or less, and indicate major achievements in bullet points. Feel free to include any addenda that you believe help make the case for your candidate. Deadline for nomination submissions is July 6.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio