McKay Unites Process And Tech at Genworth

If the proper coordination of "people, process and technology" is a crucial factor in the successful management of insurance operations, then Genworth Financial (Richmond, Va.; $100 billion in assets) has a distinct advantage, as it has united responsibility for both technology and process in the person of Scott McKay, CIO and senior vice president of operations and quality.

McKay added the responsibilities of CIO to his former title of SVP of operations and quality. He has been with Genworth (known until May as GE Financial Assurance) since 1993 and previously served as chief technology officer.

"I've been in insurance my whole career, so I'm deep in the industry, and I'm also deep in technology, as I grew up in the CTO role [at Genworth]," McKay says. "As I went to the operations unit, I spent a lot of time focusing on building up our customer focus there, and now we're bringing the whole package together."

In response to Y2K, Genworth developed a set of operating processes focused on developing a "single agenda" across operations, quality, technology and sourcing, McKay relates. In developing that single agenda, the provider of financial, mortgage insurance and life insurance products has driven Six Sigma disciplines throughout the enterprise and has successfully managed high levels of IT outsourcing. "This position is basically an outgrowth of the maturation of that process," McKay says. "The creation of the position now allows us to even further tighten up our execution focus."

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