Scouting for Growth

• Areiel Wolanow On Unleashing AI, Quantum, and Emerging Tech

  On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine meets Areiel Wolanow, the managing director of Finserv Experts, who discusses his journey from IBM to founding FinServ Experts, emphasising the importance of focusing on business models enabled by technology rather than the technology itself. Areiel delves into the challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, responsible AI practices, and the implications of quantum computing for data security, highlighting the need for organisations to adapt their approaches to digital transformation, advocating for a migration strategy over traditional transformation methods KEY TAKEAWAYS Emerging tech should be leveraged to create new business models rather than just re-engineering existing ones. Understanding the business implications of technology is crucial for delivering value. When harnessing artificial intelligence, it's essential to identify the real underlying problems within an organisation, assess its maturity, and build self-awareness before applying maturity models and gap analyses. The EU AI Act serves as a comprehensive guideline for responsible AI use, offering risk categories and controls that can benefit companies outside the EU by providing a framework for ethical AI practices without the burden of compliance. Organisations should prepare for the future of quantum computing by ensuring their data is protected against potential vulnerabilities. This involves adopting quantum-resilient algorithms and planning for the transition well in advance. Leaders should place significant responsibility on younger team members who are more familiar with emerging technologies. Providing them with autonomy and support can lead to innovative solutions and successful business outcomes. BEST MOMENTS 'We focus not on the technology itself, but on the business models the tech enables.' 'The first thing you have to do... is to say, OK, is the proximate cause the real problem?' 'The best AI regulations out there is the EU AI Act... it actually benefits AI companies outside the EU more than it benefits within.' 'Digital transformations have two things in common. One is they're expensive, and two is they always fail.' ABOUT THE GUEST Areiel Wolanow is the managing director of Finserv Experts. He is an experienced business leader with over 25 years of experience in business transformation solutioning, sales, and execution. He served as one of IBM’s key thought leaders in blockchain, machine learning, and financial inclusion. Areiel has deep experience leading large, globally distributed teams; he has led programs of over 100 people through the full delivery life cycle, and has managed budgets in the tens of millions of dollars. In addition to his delivery experience, Areiel also serves as a senior advisor on blockchain, machine learning, and technology adoption; he has worked with central banks and financial regulators around the world, and is currently serving as the insurance industry advisor for the UK Parliament’s working group on blockchain. LinkedIn ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers, accelerated over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner. Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook TikTok Email Website

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  49:08
• Lisa Bechtold: From AI Governance to AI Transformation

  On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Lisa Bechtold, global executive and strategic leader in technology and law who currently serves at the head of AI governance from a transformative viewpoint at Zurich Insurance Group. In this episode, we explore the challenges and opportunities of the current AI transformation, what it takes to drive innovation in insurance while minimizing potential risks about AI, the role of digital trust and sustainability in leveraging AI for long-term growth, and how leaders can prepare their teams for the digital transformation ahead of us. KEY TAKEAWAYS AI governance is about how we use AI, which already affects all areas of our private and business lives. The acceptance and potential success of AI applications, tools and use cases correlate with the respect of legal systems and the culture of the country or region. With the tools, systems and platforms we’ve built at Zurich, we’ve driven and scaled AI adoption, including the reuse of solutions which have proven extremely successful. In parallel, we drive AI literacy to foster adoption, but also to ensure AI tools are being used in an optimal way. For example, setting the right prompts is crucial for generating the most valuable output from GenAI tools. On one hand, we invest in the education of our workforce, with digital upscaling and AI literacy in particular. On the other hand, it’s crucial to allow for experimentation in a safe sandbox environment so that everyone is embrace the technological opportunities. Insurance has always been a data-driven industry, so the adoption of AI techniques is very well founded in insurance, from risk modelling to all phases of the insurance business value chain. Looking ahead, with the AI revolution taking place this year, both opportunities and risks will be taken to another level. Today,AI systems are beginning to autonomously interact with one another and adapt their behaviours accordingly. I expect, as things increase within both the interaction of individual AI agents as well as in the creation of high-performance, multi-agent systems. Such multi-agent systems bring a multitude of business opportunities but also trigger challenges, such as potential information asymmetries and miscoordination, all of which need to be understood and managed. BEST MOMENTS ‘The goal of deploying AI solutions must be to optimise the benefits of the technology while effectively minimising the risks.’‘AI governance is the foundation of being a catalyst of AI innovation and ensures high-quality outcomes and inspires trust in customers.’‘Today we’re focusing on the scalability and further optimisation of our AI capabilities.’‘Managing the complexity of multi-agent systems in a safe and lean way while optimising business value will be one of the key priorities for 2025.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Lisa Bechtold: As a Global Executive and Strategic Leader and Leader in Technology & Law, I have profound expertise and experience in Data, AI, Governance, Digital Risk and Regulatory Affairs to protect corporate assets and optimise business performance. In my current role as Head of AI Governance at Zurich Insurance Group, I have pioneered and led the operationalisation of a framework for AI Quality & Safety to oversee the development and deployment of AI solutions globally. My multifaceted background positions me perfectly to provide strategic advice on data, digital solutions, and technology topics, integrating legal & risk considerations, to generate sustainable business value and digital trust as a competitive edge. LinkedIn ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers, accelerated over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner. Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook TikTok Email Website

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  29:28
• Alex Schmelkin: Transforming Insurance Underwriting with GenAI and AI Agents

  On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Alex Schmelkin, a visionary entrepreneur who's reshaping the future of insurance operations. Alex is the Founder and CEO of Sixfold, a company at the forefront of harnessing Generative AI to empower insurance underwriters with groundbreaking tools and capabilities. Today, we'll explore how Sixfold is leveraging Generative AI to transform underwriting practices, the challenges and opportunities in implementing AI at scale, and Alex's vision for the future of insurance operations. KEY TAKEAWAYS There’s close to $7 trillion of premium written around the globe every year. That equals 7% of global GDP, it’s an enormous amount of premium that’s needed for the world to function and for people and businesses to take risks. The most underserved population are the underwriters, the people making decisions day in day out on that $7 trillion worth of business trying to figure out the good and bad risks and why. There’s so little support for these unsung heroes. The typical underwriter is reading the equivalent of a novel every 2-3 days in documentation. These are not interesting fiction novels, they’re information-dense losses, statements of values of property and exposures. We’ve expected them to consume more and more but it’s information overload. Enter language models and AI, in the first time in human history we have the ability to take in a nearly limitless volume of data and help the underwriter to see through that to find the patterns without having to read every single word on every single page and free them to do the extra research at the end to find the best result for the end customer. Regulators understand that AI is here and have already embraced it. They’re not as ahead of it as we would like them to be, as an industry, and they’re not getting everything right. But by putting a few fence posts around the problem we’re trying to solve they’ve forced the conversation and the industry to respond to it and to start rolling out the way we are with some of these AI transparency partner models. The single challenge we run into everywhere is underwriter trust. The underwriters, despite being overworked, there not being enough of them, and despite it being a challenging job, are really good at what they do. The reason is they’ve been trained over the years to do everything they can to get the right answer. They’re the front line protecting insurance companies from bringing on bad risks. The hardest thing is to convince them is that AI is accurate. If they have a bad experience with AI first time they may not go back ever. BEST MOMENTS ‘I found insurance – or it found me – almost 20 years ago and I’ve never looked back, and it’s all underwriting all the time.’‘The biggest use of GenAI today is helping underwriters to find more accuracy, be more effective, and more transparent in their underwriting efforts.’‘We attempt to arm the human with a bevy of different things for the that are the less value-producing part of their jobs.’‘The human is so much more effective when they’re working beside a robot that helps them be more accurate and more efficient at their job.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Alex Schmelkin is the Founder and CEO of Sixfold and is at the forefront of revolutionizing how insurance underwriters operate through Generative AI—a game-changing approach that not only enhances decision-making but also streamlines processes for a more efficient future. His knack for identifying industry pain points and transforming them into innovative solutions has been the backbone of his success. With a deep-rooted belief in the power of technology to drive growth, Alex has consistently pushed the envelope, challenging norms and inspiring those around him. Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavors, Alex is a dynamic speaker who captivates audiences with insights on SaaS, customer experience, and technology ethics. His passion for responsible innovation shines through in every conversation, as he advocates for solutions that not only meet business needs but also uphold ethical standards. LinkedIn ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers, accelerated over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner. Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook TikTok Email Website

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  45:42
• Anneli Scopazzi: AI-Driven Talent Management and Upskilling Strategies for High-Growth Ventures

  On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Anneli Scopazzi, CEO and Founder of Boulevard Recruiting. With a background rooted in fast-growth startup environments, Anneli has become an authority on matching world-class talent to the right opportunities—particularly in an era brimming with AI-driven disruption. Expect a compelling conversation about how technology is changing the face of recruiting, the critical importance of upskilling and reskilling in today’s competitive market, and what early-stage ventures need to keep in mind while scaling with AI. KEY TAKEAWAYS We work with early-stage startups, starting with series B but it’s moved down to series C when the market crashed, but we now sit in series A where we’re hoping to scale with those clients for the next couple of years to be the first recruiters on the ground, working very closely with the founders. As the companies start to scale and hire internal recruiters the we’ll work very closely with them too. Covid benefitted us in vary big way as a remote company founded in Q4 2019, I was fiercely committed to working remotely, it was the number one driver of the company, the name Boulevard was chosen because it represents remote work. When Covid happened, everyone had to figure out how to work remotely and now companies are accustomed to it and how it works. AI is something that felt scary for a minute back when ChatGPT was released and there was all this appearance of fast acceleration. But, working in tech, we’ve known this has been going on for years. I wanted to be the first to adopt and work with these early tech companies, you don’t want to be the company that doesn’t survive the extinction event if you can’t work it out. In the recruiting landscape I haven’t seen any amazing AI solutions just yet. There are some things that make us more efficient, but we’re in a bit of a safe space because of the relationship focus, which is really hard to replicate with AI technology. The more exciting thing is working with the AI companies and seeing them get funded massively. It’s an exciting space to be in. BEST MOMENTS ‘I’ve loved the French language and Paris since I was very young and I didn’t want to name my business after myself. What I love about Boulevard is that it’s of French origin but it’s very recognisable around the world.’ ‘What excites me about working with early-stage startups is that you have the ability to do more than you’re qualified to do.’ ‘A lot of my personal growth has been very self-taught. That’s been very liberating and rewarding but also can be very painful at times learning through mistakes.’ ‘There’s a lot of administrative work in recruiting, in-bound applications have surged dramatically in the last couple of years globally. The recruiting tools we’re seeing are sorting through profiles faster and narrowing it down to a shorter list for the human to review.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Anneli Scopazzi is the CEO and Founder of Boulevard Recruiting, a boutique San Francisco-based agency that specializes in matching startups with world-class talent in engineering, product, and beyond. She began her career in accounting before transitioning into recruiting about seven years ago, initially stepping into a 100% commission role at a boutique agency and later being recruited to Palantir. This non-traditional path enabled Anneli to grow quickly in leadership, ultimately becoming Head of Talent at Figma, where she played a key role in tripling the company’s headcount through its Series B and C stages. In September 2019, driven by her passion for connecting people and technology, Anneli founded Boulevard Recruiting—a remote-focused firm that balances expert matching of talent with a flexible work culture for its team members. LinkedIn ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers, accelerated over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner. Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook TikTok Email Website

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  36:02
• Emmanuel Djengue: Driving Tech Innovation & Sustainable Growth

  On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Emmanuel Djengue, a dynamic professional whose passion for technology and user-focused innovation has shaped his remarkable career path. From leading tech initiatives to connecting diverse people and ideas, Emmanuel exemplifies the very spirit of relentless curiosity and strategic thinking that we celebrate on this show. We’ll be delving into his personal journey, uncovering how he transforms ambition into concrete impact, and discussing the role collaboration and how talent can play a crucial role in fostering exponential growth as the world goes through a workforce transformation requiring reskilling and upskilling, while finding the talent for the right role across markets. KEY TAKEAWAYS Insurance is a product that no one wakes up in the morning wanting to buy, but it’s super essential to society and people, especially life insurance. We need to be able to help people understand the importance of insurance as well as ensuring that everything we offer to the customer has to be simple, attractive and on the right timing. Health insurance is also very important, how do we help people with this? I’ve studied how people think to figure out how to motivate them to do things. If you bring this element into the innovation of the industry, we’d be able to improve the way people interact with insurance as well as the way they care about insurance and take care of themselves. There are 3 types of InsurTech players: Integrators – the ones that identify and have solutions and want to integrate them into what an insurance company is doing. Disruptors – They want to change everything that doesn’t work well so that it does, these need financial capability to do that, so there are not a lot of startups that can be disruptors. Collaborators – who want to touch base with insurers to try to improve what’s going on The difference between a great and a bad insurer is not so much in the product, efficiency, etc. It’s on the people making the company great. If I need to do more innovation, change things, and bring something different, why not help people to solve this issue? The number on business problem for anyone is unsuccessful hiring. BEST MOMENTS ‘South Africa has one of the most innovative markets in life and health insurance, there are a lot of startups doing great things there.’‘Too many startups turn up to the market to play disruptor roles, but only 1 or 2 players can do this and win.’‘In insurance David is not going to win against Goliath.’‘Both sides need to need the partnership and want the partnership to happen.’ ABOUT THE GUEST From the moment he first tinkered with a computer at a young age, Emmanuel Djengue has been captivated by the power of creativity and innovation to transform lives. His journey—marked by curiosity, resilience, and collaboration—has taken him from passion projects in his hometown to spearheading tech initiatives on a global stage. Along the way, Emmanuel developed a talent for weaving user-focused storytelling into every project, bridging technology and humanity in impactful ways. Fueled by an enduring love of problem-solving, he thrives on connecting diverse people and ideas to craft solutions that don’t just work, but inspire. Whether rallying a team around a new software concept or mentoring future innovators, Emmanuel’s drive to make a positive impact is as unyielding as his imaginative spirit, promising that every new chapter of his story will be just as vibrant and compelling as the last. LinkedIn ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers, accelerated over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner. Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook TikTok Email Website

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  53:09

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