Waller Eyes Zurich Innovation

Looking forward to the opportunity for innovation that he says working for an insurer provides, Richmond Waller, former technology leader at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (New York), has joined Zurich North America (Schaumburg, IL) as executive vice president, e-business. He works for the shared services organization within Zurich NA and reports directly to CEO Frank Patalano.

In the newly created position which, according to Patalano, is a critical component of Zurich's effort to leverage technology, Waller will be responsible for setting vision and direction for Zurich NA's e-business. In his new role, Waller will draw on his experience at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, where he served as CTO and chief architect for the firm's Microsoft (Redmond, WA) practice. Even though he is moving to the proverbial other side of the desk, "the roles are quite similar," says Waller. At Cap Gemini "I was very much a thought leader in developing products that were leveraged and sold to multiple customers in very much the same manner I am trying to do at Zurich."

Waller also will draw on architectural experience, where he focused on getting suppliers and buyers connected more efficiently in B2B models. "These B2B technology principles can easily be applied to insurance," he says.

Waller currently is working with Dave Saul, Zurich NA's CIO, to drive an enterprise architecture initiative. He will also meet with members of Zurich NA's business units to understand their needs.