Juan C. Andrade of Everest: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Uncertain & Turbulent Times

Everest President and CEO Juan C. Andrade was interviewed by Yitzi Weiner of Authority Magazine for their series “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times. Below is an excerpt of the interview.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

While my path to the insurance industry was not conventional, taking the “road less travelled” has given me valuable perspective that influenced my outlook and leadership approach.

While I didn't start in the industry straight out of school, I've always considered myself a student of risk. I immigrated to the United States from Colombia at the age of ten, learned English, the rewards of determination, and spent the next decade of my life pursuing my education and feeding my penchant for adrenaline with frequent scuba diving and skydiving adventures. As an undergraduate at the University of Florida, I studied journalism and political science and aspired to travel the world as a foreign correspondent. Subsequently, I received a master's degree in international economics and Latin American studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. My journalism dreams took an unanticipated turn when I went to work for the U.S. government on national security issues at the height of the war on drugs and counterterrorism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I wasn't aware of it then, but the practical, real-world experience I gained from this work helped prepare me for a career in risk management.

When I later pivoted to insurance, I spent my early years at AIG working on international business, and then worked at Progressive managing different businesses across the United States from Florida to California. I joined The Hartford and ran claims, and sales and distribution and eventually became the President of the Property and Casualty company. From there I went to Ace and then Chubb, where I ran operations in 54 countries globally. I learned so much from both the diversity of the work, and the melding of cultures. These experiences continued to shape my internationalist view of the world.

When I had the opportunity to begin a new chapter as President and CEO of Everest, a global S&P 500 risk management company, I saw enormous potential for growth and value creation. It has been beyond rewarding to work with an enormously talented team of problem solvers on a mission to provide protection and opportunity to the people and businesses we serve.

I attribute my career path to the detours taken along the way, and I strongly encourage the young people I mentor to stay open to opportunities —

no matter how seemingly divergent — because when building a career, flexibility is your ally. This is particularly true given the uncertainty we navigate in business today, where there is no historical pattern to learn from or clear roadmap to dictate the way forward. We are the sum of our experiences, and the richer and more diverse those experiences are, the better equipped we are to succeed.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I've always ascribed to the notion that mistakes are never wasted when we learn from them and if we can maintain a sense of humor while we do. I recall my "funniest mistake" happened when I finished my training as a young underwriter with AIG in New York and was sent to my first assignment: the Caribbean in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Just a week or so after I arrived and had barely gotten my sea legs, my boss sent me to Bermuda to meet with our most important broker. Determined to make a good impression, I put on my New York City “suit of armor” — blue suit, white shirt, red tie, mirror-shiny black shoes. Off I go from Puerto Rico to Bermuda for a dinner meeting with a client I never met, and given this situation pre-dates social media, I did not know how to recognize him. Waiting for some time in the restaurant lobby, an older man with a white beard, wearing shorts and a guayabera-style shirt approached me, calling me by name. As we shook hands, I asked him how he recognized me. He replied, “Son, look around. No one else would be dressed like that here, so it was easy to spot the new guy.”

I still laugh at my amateur enthusiasm to impress this client without first considering my surroundings.

Lesson learned: in business and in life, it is critical to adapt to your environment. This became even more valuable throughout my career as I travelled to so many new geographies around the globe, assimilating to many new cultures and ways of conducting business. Whether it be Singapore, Sao Paulo or San Francisco, adapting to foreign cultures is not only a sign of respect, but demonstrates humility and your willingness to collaborate — traits too often lacking in our business interactions today. This practice has helped me to build strong and lasting relationships in all pockets of the world (tie or no tie).

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I have been fortunate to have learned from several mentors over the course of my career.

One that stands out is Manolo Rodriguez, the former divisional president of AIG Caribbean in San Juan. Young in my career, Manolo took me under his wing, and I, in turn, received an invaluable education in what it takes to be a multi-faceted leader. Manolo was dedicated and persistent — having worked his way up from the mailroom of AIG in Havana, Cuba to where he is today. When he was divisional president, I was running one of his profit centers and had the opportunity to also help him tackle multiple facets of his role. I became a trusted assistant to him and learned to deal with myriad aspects of the business I otherwise would not have been exposed to — everything from labor unions and negotiations, issues with various business portfolios, systems and accounting issues — it ran the gamut. I am grateful to Manolo for giving me the opportunity to stretch and expand my purview beyond what I knew I was capable of accomplishing. To this day, I apply the same tenacity to unfamiliar territory when faced with curveballs and challenges that are often outside of my comfort zone.

Another unforgettable mentor was Ramani Ayer, who served as Chairman and CEO of The Hartford from 1997 to 2009. Ramani taught me the skill of strategic patience — one of the most valuable skills a business leader can tap into when facing difficult circumstances. I watched it play out real-time working alongside Ramani during the height of the great financial crisis. I admired Ramani’s sheer determination to press on for all stakeholders. He encouraged me to see the situation from all angles, to practice patience in my decision-making so that we could stay agile, be prescriptive, and adapt and respond to the unknowns with greater certainty. This made a significant difference in the outcome, and an equally significant impact on my confidence as a leader throughout my career.

Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your organization started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?

The (re)insurance industry is inherently purpose driven. The nature of our industry’s work and the issues we are tackling are intrinsically tied to the future health of our society. We connect people with protection, and help them navigate and prepare for some of the world’s biggest issues — climate change, severe weather events and catastrophes, cyber events, etc.

The work we do can often mean the difference between financial security and economic devastation: whether assisting a homeowner or business owner in rebuilding property after a fire or flood or keeping a business running and resilient through interruption.

At Everest, I underscore the importance of this noble purpose in our work regularly — to constantly ask ourselves not just what we are moving toward, but what we are moving for. This drives our strong culture, which in turn, drives our performance. And because we are a people business, we focus a significant amount of time and investment in how we recruit and advance our talent to be accretive to our culture.

We are committed to embedding ESG principles into our business — not because it is popular, because it is the right thing to do. Our practices are aligned with the impact we have on our surroundings. This is how we built our giving and philanthropy programs. We’re a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment where all our colleagues’ differences are respected. And we don’t just talk about it, it’s part of our strategic plan and one of the ways we benchmark success. We are extremely humbled and proud to have recently been recognized as a standard-bearer in our industry for DEI.

These purpose-driven values and behaviors are what Everest is built on. This is what got the company to where it is today, and this is what will take us into our future.

Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a story from your own experience about how you lead your team during uncertain or difficult times?

The onset of the COVID pandemic is a great example of leading in uncertain times. As leaders, it tested our ability to adjust through radical change with absolutely no playbook to guide us.

As CEO only a few months into my tenure at Everest, my priority was to ensure the safety and well-being of my colleagues all around the world, while maintaining a well-managed business. Employees looked to me and my management team for assurance and guidance, and my role quickly expanded beyond Chief Executive to include counselor, health advocate and so much more.

I had to make some key transitions and decisions very quickly — one of them being to close our offices and institute a company-wide work-from-home policy. Almost overnight, every colleague around the world was equipped with the technology and equipment needed to stay productive.

From then on, frequent, ongoing and transparent communications with my staff became a near-daily occurrence.

I formed a COVID task force and Future of Work Committee with representatives from various departments, levels and diverse backgrounds from our global offices to work collectively on how we’re shaping the future of work at Everest based on research, data and the opinions of health experts to formalize processes and protocols that we continue to follow today.

The early days of lockdown posed a threat to Everest’s ability to collaborate with each other in the ways we’d been accustomed to. For an industry that thrives on apprenticeship — to be great at what we do — we need to be able to work with and learn from others. COVID’s restrictions meant we could no longer walk a few steps to our colleagues’ workspaces to talk, strategize or brainstorm together. Yet we adapted, transitioned to a hybrid work model and established new ways of working and learning together while apart. Up until then, I moved through my career with an appreciation for working in an office. It was all I’d ever known, and there was something about face-to-face business interactions that I thought were irreplicable.

The Everest community was able adjust, achieve success and thrive in a new world marked by continuous change and shifting client needs. What could have been an insurmountable obstacle became a profound turning point in how we work. We’ve erased borders with technology, enhanced collaboration and proved to our customers that we can meet them where they are no matter what. We opened the door to new opportunities that continue to shape our future. Today, our culture is stronger than ever before.

The pandemic proved to be a time machine that helped us sharpen our strategy and accelerate our potential.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

When Jim Valvano, former head basketball coach of North Carolina State was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he addressed an audience of millions, encouraging them to “keep your dreams alive in spite of your problems” as part of his famous appeal to “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

I ascribe to this motto and have never considered giving up in the face of challenges; it runs counter to my upbringing and my very core as an individual. I learned, through training and competing in multiple ultra-marathons and Ironman races, to draw on mental toughness to sustain my drive. Like the Navy SEALS say, “the only easy day was yesterday,” I have learned to prepare for and even welcome new challenges because they often make us stronger.

Relentlessness is seared into my DNA, and I carry that over to my work life. Committing to never giving up is a constant and deliberate choice that I make often, sometimes every day. Like a long course Ironman race, it’s all about the pacing. We are running a company for the long-term, not for short-term gain. This requires us to understand the road ahead, deal with the changing terrain and always remain in forward motion.

This was true both during the great financial crisis and the COVID pandemic, but it is also relevant in less dire situations — when just being there for your teammates, drawing on your reserves and supporting one another can make a profound difference. I’ve witnessed this spirit proliferate across Everest — colleagues coming together in times of need. I heard a poignant story recently; one of our colleagues was moving from Zurich to the U.S. and experiencing challenges managing the move — I was heartened to see his mentor and others come out to help him adjust, and support him in his move, as he settled into his new home and surroundings. This is what I like to call the power of One Everest.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

During the most challenging times like we are navigating today, leaders play a critical role. Chief among them is to bring empathy and humanity into the equation. This requires leaders to be present for their people and to lead by example.

During the Pandemic, when lockdowns were lifted, I came into the office every day — not because I had to, but because I wanted to reassure my colleagues that it was safe. Another example of this was in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was important to me to be on the ground in New Orleans with thousands of my adjusters from Progressive. There were rampant power outages, no running water. Again, it was an easy decision to be there when I did not have to be. The best leaders are also excellent servants. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” It’s no longer acceptable to run businesses and institutions from ivory towers; to be effective, leaders must lock arms with their people, walk in their shoes and stand alongside them to share in the burden.

This brings me to a second critical role leaders play in challenging times: providing hope. People are attracted to and motivated by optimism. Leaders who can instill hope in a clear vision can rally the troops and keep them focused. Even in the most challenging times, this can mean the difference between failure and success.

When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?

When the future is uncertain, the most important thing a leader can do to inspire, motivate and engage their team is to provide people with hope and reassurance in thepath forward. This requires a significant degree of optimism — leaders must first believe in themselves, and the confidence they exude will be contagious.

I believe it’s critical to empower people to direct their own futures and arm them with opportunities for development and growth. At Everest, we tend to overcommunicate about the future, because I have found that this level of transparency is highly motivating. People won’t follow if they don’t know where they are going. We provide regular and frequent organization-wide progress updates. We are constantly exploring new ways to collaborate, innovate, and give and receive feedback so people know that their voice is heard, and they feel valued and deeply connected to our mission. There is great power in being purpose-led, as people want to know they are working toward a bigger goal and that their work is making a difference in the world.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

The people who depend on you — colleagues, customers and other stakeholders — deserve honesty and candor when it comes to communicating difficult news. Like ripping off a band-aid, bad news is best delivered quickly, transparently, and most importantly, with empathy.

This is also where context is king. Not everyone will understand or agree with choices that have been made or outcomes that will follow but taking the time to communicate the “why” behind the situation — the factors that played into the news — will go a long way toward earning the understanding and respect of your stakeholders.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

Controlling risk is the core of my business and yet the saying, “models are never right and sometimes helpful,” rings true across insurance today more than ever. When the future is unpredictable, it is important to always focus on the things you can control. No one has a crystal ball, and market dynamics are difficult to predict.

That is why it’s crucial to do the research, study the past but also focus on the here and now. Prepare. If you do your homework, consult with experts and are rigorous in your due diligence, you will be well equipped to lean into the future with great clarity and confidence.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

The key to leading through turbulence is to never forget your purpose. People need a sense of purpose to motivate them to persist in challenging times. They need to understand where they’re going and why they’re heading there. At Everest, I often emphasize that everyone in our organization is working toward something bigger than just writing policy. We are united by a mission to provide the world with protection. I reinforce this constantly; in everything we do. This is what keeps our colleagues motivated and focused. It is the esprit de corps that drives our ability to execute even when the going gets tough.

Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make during difficult times? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?

I reflected earlier on the concept of strategic patience that Ramani Ayer taught me years ago at The Hartford. This is one of the most important leadership lessons I’ve ever had the privilege to learn. Being rash, failing to see the big picture, and moving too fast or to slow are all common mistakes that befall leaders the world over. I saw many companies make decisions for the long-term in the frenzy of the early pandemic. Decisions that cannot be undone, and mistakes they would later come to regret. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of being steady and grounding all your decisions in your values and your purpose. Another common mistake is when leaders rely on the same close-knit set of voices and opinions to guide their decision making. It’s important to open your mind and widen your circle of trust to seek out disparate points of view. You never know where the next brilliant idea will come from.

Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times?

1. Plan, prepare and control what you can control.
2. Communicate frequently and transparently.
3. Listen.
4. Take the time to understand other points of view. Lead with calm and optimism. People don’t want to follow a leader who exudes negativity.
5. Practice empathy.

The full interview can be read in Authority Magazine with the title, Juan C. Andrade of Everest: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Uncertain & Turbulent Times.