Kathleen Savio

Skills and experience

Kathleen Savio is Chief Transformation Officer for Zurich Insurance Group. Savio previously served as Chief Executive Officer for Zurich North America from January 2018 to December 2020. She has more than 25 years of experience working across several disciplines at Zurich. From 2012 through 2017, she served as Zurich North America’s Head of Alternative Markets, which delivers products and services to customers through multiple distribution channels, including direct, program administrators, crop agents, captive consultants and brokers. During her five years in that role, she led the integration of Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS), one of the nation's leading crop insurers, following Zurich's acquisition of the business from Wells Fargo in 2016. Prior to her leadership of Zurich’s Alternative Markets business, Savio held the position of Chief Administrative Officer for North America Commercial, where she held executive responsibility for multiple functions including Strategy, HR, Communications, Community Investment, Corporate Security and other capabilities. Before assuming that role, she led Corporate and Marketing Communications for North America Commercial, as well as Strategic Initiatives for Marketing and Distribution. She also held roles in product underwriting and corporate marketing and within key business units. She joined Zurich in 1991 as an entry-level technical writer.

External appointments

Savio is a member of The Chicago Network, an organization of Chicago’s leading professional women. She is a former board member and served on the Executive Committee of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA). She is also a former board member for The Institutes and former member of the Advisory Board for the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business. She was the first chair of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Chicago (IICF) Midwest Division board and was named IICF 2020 Trailblazer of the Year.

Educational background

Savio earned a master's degree in communication and a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Illinois State University. She is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and has participated in executive management programs at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.