Theriault Pinpoints Perspective

"With almost 20 years of experience at a combination of Travelers and Aetna, not only do I appreciate insurance companies' business and IT challenges," says Paul Theriault, senior vice president, marketing and channels, Pinpoint Solutions (Livingston, NJ), "I also understand and appreciate the somewhat unique culture of insurance companies."

Theriault is currently applying that understanding in his new role overseeing marketing strategy and managing business partnership development at Pinpoint Solutions, a company that provides actuarial and financial analysis solutions for P&C insurers.

"The value of first working for a carrier is that, when I did switch over into the vendor side, I retained a strong understanding of the 'customer' perspective," says Theriault. "Quite often vendors tend to focus on technology and not enough on providing immediate business value." Theriault, who began his insurance IT career as a programmer with Travelers Insurance in 1977, joined Aetna in 1979, where he held a variety of technology management positions during his 18-year tenure. Most recently, Theriault built and managed a partner channel for Sybase (Emeryville, CA) data warehouse products. Prior to that, he was part of Lockheed Martin's (Bethesda, MD) consulting practice and developed and implemented the firm's strategic national program to serve the insurance industry.