Lockton is the largest privately held insurance brokerage firmin the world, with 6,000+ associates. More than 50,000 clientsacross the globe work with Lockton for risk management, insuranceand employee benefits.

Related: All in the family

Paul Wilson: How did you get your start inthe benefits industry?

I was already working in the industry at a health caretechnology company, and I liked the idea of moving to a companywhere I could build a business around the relationships I had inthe industry. When I got to Lockton, it became more obvious thatthere were so many parallels between the provider world of healthcare and the employer world of health care.

PW: How has your background in the industryhelped you in your career?

I think it has benefited me a lot. I try to look at anyprospective or current client relationship very holistically. Andthat might not just be from a traditional health and welfarestandpoint; it may also play into what we do from a retirement or aproperty and casualty perspective. I first try to understand wheretheir business is going and how the people working in thatorganization are following the strategy the corporation has set.And then we'll figure out what we can do from a brokerage andconsulting perspective to support that.

PW: What are some of the major trends youexpect to see for the industry?

If any broker wants to survive in the industry the way it isnow, you have to have tools and resources to drive real value toyour clients' bottom lines. The basic brokerage work, the blockingand tackling, should just be a client's minimum level ofexpectation. We need to continue to add value around consultingservices. So how do we provide insight into what they should befocusing on and make recommendations that will have an impact forthem? How do we tell them to manage their plan and how they improveupon the health of their employees?

We also have to be very purposeful around engaging the C-suiteso they can understand how the costs are changing and the role theyplay in minimizing the rate of increase, especially on the medicalplan. The traditional role of brokerage work with the HR team hasdefinitely evolved. I don't know if smaller brokers are going to beable to survive in an environment like that. How do you grow yourclient relationships or your book of business when you're boggeddown in the day-to-day or even the quarterly financial work thatneeds to be done?

PW: Tell me about the mentorship programyou have within your company. How has that benefitted you?

Our Elite Women Producers Program provides me with access andinformation to a group of producers who are focused on continuousdevelopment and improvement. It's provided an open forum for us totalk about the challenges we face in a traditionally male-dominatedindustry. When you're a working mom balancing it all, you've justgot a lot going on. So I feel like one of the main things we've alltalked about on the monthly calls we have is just honing our timemanagement skills.

PW: Who are your favorite innovators orsources of inspiration?

I love reading Brené Brown and her message around vulnerability.Being vulnerable and honest about who I really am allows me to beopen with other people, both internally at Lockton and with myclients and prospective clients.

Related: The roundabout path

The other person whose message really resonated with me wasSteve Jobs. Maybe that's a little cliché, but the piece I loveabout him is the focus on simplicity and taking something verycomplex and breaking it down. If we can really focus on continuingto break down the complexity of what we do from an insurance and abenefits perspective, and package it in a way that's moresimplistic in nature, we will come up with a secret sauce that hasyet to be developed.

Brooke Runnion, vice president and producer atLockton Companies, manages her clients with one common goal: todrive down the cost of insurance programs. She has been withLockton since 2009, and looks to a data-driven approach to help herclients mitigate health care costs and implement strategies tolower future costs.