Ask an HR Executive: Kathleen McCutcheon, Senior Vice President and CHRO of Tokio Marine HCC

In our latest Ask an HR Executive interview, we had the pleasure of speaking with Kathleen McCutcheon, Senior Vice President and CHRO of Tokio Marine HCC.

How did you get into the position you have today?

I am an HR lifer. The entirety of my professional career and the vast majority of my educational pursuits have been focused on HR. You might say I’ve been a one-trick pony but with the advantage of broad experience. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and had a desire to move to New York City. I attended grad school and started my professional career there. That was the first of my 12 professional moves.

It is important to be open to opportunities that enhance your career. I was interested in opportunities that would enhance my portfolio.  I’ve been fortunate to have been able to choose many different roles. This is the 3rd organization where I’ve held the CHRO title. This is my best opportunity, so I’ve saved the best for last!

I started my career with Citibank and completed the HR management associate program. I was fortunate to be able to build a solid base via rotating through different HR specialties. Getting that depth of knowledge in other areas prepares you to take on many different challenges because you never know what role will come next.

Share a little bit about your current organization, what your role is there, and how your role aligns with the company’s business objectives and mission.

My current organization is Tokio Marine HCC. HCC stands for Houston Casualty Company. Houston Casualty Company was a publicly traded stand-alone insurance company prior to being acquired by Tokio Marine in 2015. TMHCC’s history is one of acquisition. We have made 60+ acquisitions in our 50 years. We are a specialty insurer. We do the insurance work that most people don’t think about. Finance people believe they make the world go round, but we know we make the world go round. We insure anything from rockstar tours, organ transplants, renewable energy, etc., so there is a huge diversity.

From an HR perspective, it’s about supplying value add to the business. I came to TMHCC at a time of acquisition. We have over 100 classes of business globally. So, it is complex and fascinating. We are a Japanese company. Our philosophy is a Good Company. Insurance in Japan is seen as a social good. That underlying philosophy is a great baseline.

Our focus is on maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit, combining that with technology and innovation, and continuing to grow the company.

What trends are you seeing in HR?

The trends I see being most impactful are AI (augmented intelligence). With the advances in technology, there still needs to be a human component. I believe the contribution of AI will change how we work, and the workforce overall.

Our environment is becoming increasingly complex. Also, change is so rapid and it can be complicated to keep up. The rate of change is contributing to a lot of mental health situations. Workers are looking for assistance, and they expect that they will get that assistance at work. HR and managers need to recognize when their employees are struggling. We’ve never seen this kind of caretaking of the workforce. It has undoubtedly impacted all the work we do in HR.

What roles are or will soon be in demand on your team?

I don’t think AI will take your job, but the person who can work with AI will potentially take your job. We are looking more at roles with a client experience component to them. There is much of that thinking when we look at HR roles across the organization. Indeed, AI and date also. We need to harness as much data as possible and be predictive and perhaps prescriptive. That is where we are trying to work relative to our data. That takes a whole different set of skills.

What’s the biggest challenge facing your team today?

We call it the tsunami of opportunity. There are so many opportunities, it is important to look at your strategy continuously. We spend a lot of time within each business unit trying to define talent philosophy and business strategy. We review it regularly to build on the correct strategy and refocus if needed. I think that is critical to our successful evolution. How to find those few essential elements that will make a difference and focus on them.

What does the process look like when you want to add talent to your team? Who is involved, and do you use a firm like Landrum Talent Solutions?

I like to think we have conversations about every open opportunity. I think we are getting better at it as a whole. We ask, “Where is the organization going?” “What is your talent philosophy?” and “How are you doing strategic alignment?” We are thorough about having the right people involved in the decision about critical skills the person in that role will need. It’s constant. We are keeping an eye out for talent and continuously talking to people in the industry. We build relationships with people over time, allowing us to source internally and use agencies. There is a strategy for each role you want to fill.

What is something you want to accomplish in the next few years?

To prepare my team for the opportunities of an augmented future!

If you weren’t doing your job today, what would your dream job be?

I’d probably be running a nursery or garden center. I’m the granddaughter of farmers and inherited one of those farms. It’s an interesting analogy between developing people and growing things. It may be a retirement project.

If you are looking for an HR or Marketing leader to fill any gaps in your teams, contact us today.