Scouting for Growth

Reggie Townsend: Making Responsible AI Irresistible

Reggie Townsend: Making Responsible AI Irresistible Responsible AI has a design problem. Too often, it is treated as a compliance exercise, a policy document, or a late-stage control, when it should be the operating system that enables organizations to innovate with confidence. In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden welcomes back Reggie Townsend, Vice President of AI Ethics, Governance and Social Impact at SAS, to explore one compelling idea: making responsible AI irresistible. Drawing on decades of experience helping enterprises embed trustworthy AI into their operations, Reggie explains why governance must evolve from abstract principles to practical systems people actually use. As organizations race to deploy generative and agentic AI, the conversation has shifted. Responsible AI is no longer just about avoiding harm—it is about creating the conditions for innovation, resilience, and long-term competitive advantage. Boards are asking tougher questions. Regulators are raising expectations. Employees increasingly need guidance they can apply in real-world decisions, not just policies they acknowledge once a year. This conversation is essential listening for CEOs, board directors, Chief Risk Officers, compliance leaders, AI product teams, and founders navigating the transition from responsible AI intentions to responsible AI execution. KEY TAKEAWAYS One of the biggest insights I took from this conversation is that responsible AI is fundamentally a design challenge. We have spent years writing principles and policies, yet many organizations still struggle to translate those aspirations into everyday decisions. Reggie reminded me that if governance feels complicated, disconnected, or burdensome, people will naturally work around it. Our challenge as leaders is to make responsible behavior the easiest path rather than the hardest one. I was also struck by how governance is becoming inseparable from business strategy. As generative and agentic AI systems begin making increasingly autonomous decisions, governance can no longer be treated as a legal or compliance function operating at the edge of the organization. It has to become part of product design, procurement, operations, and executive decision-making. Trust is no longer something we communicate after deployment; it is something we engineer from the beginning. Another important theme was the preservation of human agency. While AI can dramatically enhance productivity and decision-making, Reggie reminds us that organizations must remain intentional about where humans stay accountable. The future is unlikely to be defined by replacing people with AI, but by designing systems where humans and intelligent machines complement one another in transparent and meaningful ways. However, perhaps my greatest takeaway is that responsible AI should become a competitive advantage rather than a regulatory obligation. Organizations that embed governance in their innovation will move with greater confidence because customers, regulators, employees, and investors will increasingly reward trust. Making responsible AI irresistible is ultimately about making good governance so practical, intuitive and valuable that people actively choose to adopt it—and that may prove to be one of the most important leadership capabilities of the next decade. BEST MOMENTS "Responsible AI isn't about slowing innovation. It's about creating the confidence to innovate at scale." – Reggie Townsend "If responsible AI feels like extra work, we've designed it wrong. We have to make it irresistible." – Reggie Townsend "Governance shouldn't be something you visit once a year. It should be embedded into every decision, every workflow, and every system we build." – Reggie Townsend "The question isn't whether AI will make decisions. It's whether we've designed those decisions to preserve human agency." – Reggie Townsend "Trust isn't something you add after deployment. It's something you architect from the very beginning." – Reggie Townsend "We're moving from governing models to governing systems of intelligence—and that's an entirely different challenge." – Reggie Townsend "The organizations that thrive won't be the ones that adopt AI the fastest. They'll be the ones that build trust the fastest." – Reggie Townsend "Responsible AI is no longer just an ethics conversation. It's becoming a leadership conversation, an operational conversation, and ultimately a competitive advantage." – Sabine VanderLinden "As AI becomes more autonomous, our responsibility as leaders becomes even more intentional." – Sabine VanderLinden "The future belongs to organizations that can turn responsible AI from a policy into a practice." – Sabine VanderLinden ABOUT THE GUEST Reggie Townsend is Vice President of AI Ethics, Governance and Social Impact at SAS, where he leads SAS’ global AI Ethics, Governance and Social Impact organization. His remit includes the company’s Data & AI Ethics Practice, AI & Society initiatives, AI Governance Advisory, Standards, Regulations & Risk Intelligence programs, and Accessible & Adaptive AI efforts. He drives SAS’ work on trustworthy, human-centric innovation across products, policies, and partnerships. Reggie is recognized as one of the clearest voices in responsible and trustworthy AI. He has served as a member of the White House National AI Advisory Committee, sits on the board of EqualAI, and works at the intersection of responsible innovation, enterprise governance, social impact, and emerging AI regulation. In this conversation, he explores how organizations can turn AI governance from a source of friction into a driver of adoption, accountability, and growth. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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Dale Diamond: When a $25K Claim Becomes a $7M Verdict or More

2w ago01:15:45Tap to summarize

Dale Diamond: When a $25K Claim Becomes a $7M Verdict or More A small claim is no longer a small claim. It can be the first signal of a verdict that changes everything. Dale Diamond, J.D., Vice President of Claims at NAMICO, joins Sabine VanderLinden to unpack one of the most urgent realities facing mutual insurers today: nuclear verdicts are not random events. They are often predictable. And if they are predictable, they can be prevented. With more than 30 years of experience across appellate law, bad-faith defense, complex professional liability claims, underwriting, and claims leadership, Dale brings a rare three-dimensional view of what is changing within US insurance. He has seen the courtroom. He has seen the underwriting file. He has seen the claim review where one missed signal can turn a $25,000 auto liability claim into a $7 million jury verdict. The uncomfortable truth? The old claims playbook was built for a world that no longer exists. This conversation is for mutual insurance CEOs, claims leaders, underwriters, reinsurers, and transformation executives navigating social inflation, plaintiff sophistication, AI-enabled litigation, climate volatility, and the new protection gap. KEY TAKEAWAYS One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation is that claims are no longer simply an operational function; they have become one of the most important strategic differentiators in insurance. Dale made it clear that the difference between a well-managed claim and a nuclear verdict often comes down to the decisions made in the first few months. Early collaboration, honest assessment, and having the courage to settle the right cases before positions harden can dramatically change outcomes. I was also fascinated by how artificial intelligence is reshaping both sides of litigation. While insurers are embracing AI to analyze documents, accelerate investigations, and support claims professionals, plaintiff firms are using the same technologies to generate stronger complaints, organize evidence faster, and pursue increasingly sophisticated litigation strategies. AI isn't creating the problem—it is accelerating it for everyone. Another insight that stayed with me is the importance of trust. Whether we are talking about policyholders, mutual insurers, or regulators, insurance remains a promise business. Technology should never replace empathy or transparency. Instead, it should free experienced claims professionals to focus on judgment, negotiation, and building stronger customer relationships. Finally, Dale reinforced something I believe will define the future of insurance leadership: the best organizations won't simply automate existing processes. They'll redesign work around people. As routine activities become increasingly automated, the most valuable professionals will be those who combine technical expertise with communication skills, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence. That combination will become one of the industry's greatest competitive advantages. BEST MOMENTS "Insurance wasn't my first career choice… I always thought I'd be much more useful before all the problems happened, to prevent them rather than defend them afterwards." – Dale Diamond "All the departments have to work together. If one gear breaks, the whole machine stops working." – Dale Diamond "You don't just want to sell all the business you can—you want to make sure it's profitable business." – Dale Diamond "Claims today are about much more than processing files. They're about protecting the customer, protecting the insurer, and making strategic decisions early." – Sabine VanderLinden "The most dangerous cases are the ones with clear liability but disputed damages." – Dale Diamond "Insurance is selling a promise." – Dale Diamond "Technology should augment human judgment—not replace it." – Sabine VanderLinden "As AI takes away the routine work, claims professionals will spend more time making decisions, building relationships and analysing complex situations." – Dale Diamond ABOUT THE GUEST Dale Diamond, J.D., is Vice President of Claims at NAMICO, the insurance arm of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. With more than three decades of experience across appellate law, insurance coverage, bad-faith defense, professional liability, EPLI and D&O underwriting, and complex claims leadership, Dale brings a deeply cross-functional perspective to the challenges facing mutual insurers. His work focuses on helping NAMIC members navigate nuclear verdicts, social inflation, bad-faith exposure, litigation funding, claims modernization, and the operational realities of defending mutual carriers in a more volatile claims environment. In this conversation, Dale helps decode the new survival playbook for mutual insurers in 2026: earlier intervention, better data, stronger talent, verified property intelligence, and sharper leadership discipline. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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Willem Paling: From Messy Middles to Autonomous Agents and the Race for Trust at Scale

3w ago00:46:54Tap to summarize

Willem Paling: From Messy Middles to Autonomous Agents and the Race for Trust at Scale While the insurance sector has long flirted with artificial intelligence, a vast majority of firms find themselves paralyzed in perpetual pilot phases. In this installment of Scouting for Growth, I sit down with Willem Paling, Executive Manager of AI and Analytics at IAG, to decode the transition from mere experimentation to the realization of operational AI at scale. Reflecting on IAG’s aggressive deployment—launching more models in the past year than in the previous six years combined—Willem highlights that success in insurance will be anchored in trust architecture and governance rather than in model complexity alone. We unpack the friction of deploying in a regulated environment, moving beyond the "messy middle" of claims workflows toward a future of autonomous agents that enhance decision-making while ensuring human accountability remains paramount. Our dialogue ventures into the frontiers of agentic commerce, machine-readable products, and the looming challenges of AI-driven fraud. As we look toward 2030, the vision of an AI-native insurer emerges, revealing why the winners will be those who weaponize their data foundations and human-AI collaboration today to dominate the industry's next era. Key Takeaways What stood out to me most from my conversation with Willem is that the AI race in insurance is no longer about access to models. Frontier models are becoming increasingly available to everyone. The real differentiator is the ability to operationalize AI safely, consistently, and at scale. Trust architecture, governance, monitoring, explainability, and human oversight are becoming strategic assets rather than compliance requirements. I was particularly struck by Willem’s observation that the industry must stop treating AI as a series of experiments and start treating it as a core operating capability. The organizations creating value today are those that have embedded AI into business workflows, assigned clear ownership, and built repeatable deployment mechanisms that move beyond proof-of-concept thinking. Another important lesson is that the greatest near-term value lies in the “messy middle” of insurance operations. By automating document-heavy, repetitive, and semi-structured tasks, AI can free highly skilled professionals to focus on judgment, customer relationships, negotiation, and exception handling—the areas where human expertise remains essential. Our discussion also reinforced how dramatically the distribution of products may change as AI agents increasingly influence product discovery and purchasing decisions. Insurers must prepare for a world in which products must be machine-readable, API-enabled, and easily consumable by AI systems, not just by human buyers. Finally, Willem highlighted an often-overlooked challenge: AI is not only helping insurers but also empowering bad actors. AI-generated fraud, synthetic identities, deepfakes, and manipulated evidence will require stronger trust mechanisms, verification systems, and provenance controls. The insurers that thrive by 2030 will be those that invest today in trustworthy AI foundations while redesigning their organizations around human-AI collaboration. Best Moments “This is what the messy middle actually looks like. Not the hype, not the holdouts—the insurer that stopped experimenting and started shipping.” – Sabine VanderLinden “We stopped doing experiments, and we focused on delivery.” – Willem Paling “The frontier is no longer just model capability. It’s whether you can industrialize AI with trust.” – Willem Paling “Trust architecture isn’t separate from value creation. Trust is what turns AI from an impressive model into something that improves insurance at scale.” – Willem Paling “We’re talking about expert judgment, decision-making, critical thinking, and empathy.” – Sabine VanderLinden “The goal is not to preserve every task in the old role. It’s to preserve and elevate the expertise inside the role.” – Willem Paling “The most underestimated risk is AI on the other side—AI attacking the evidence layer of insurance.” – Willem Paling “The winning insurer in 2030 will be AI-native in how it operates, not just AI-enabled in a few functions.” – Willem Paling “The companies who win the agentic frontier aren’t the ones with the biggest models. They are the ones who earn autonomy instead of declaring it.” – Sabine VanderLinden ABOUT THE GUEST Willem Paling is the Executive Manager of AI and Analytics at IAG, Insurance Australia Group, Australia’s largest general insurer, operating brands including NRMA Insurance, CGU, WFI, and Swann Insurance. He leads the strategy and industrialization of AI across the organization, including production-grade systems in claims, underwriting, customer service, responsible AI governance, and human-AI teaming. His work focuses on moving AI from experimentation into trusted execution. Willem has helped shape IAG’s responsible AI commitments, supported the Australian Responsible AI Index, and contributed to the AI 2030 Horizons perspective following the ITC 2025 executive summit. His mission connects frontier capability with the governance, explainability, and operating discipline required to deploy AI safely in an industry built on customer promises. Read the latest report: The State of AI in Insurance ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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Patrick Van Deven: The Frontier Firm's Moat isn't Data. It's The Layer that Governs It.

Jun 1100:43:24Tap to summarize

Patrick Van Deven: The Frontier Firm's moat isn't data — it's the layer that governs it. In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden sits down with Patrick Van Deven to unpack one of the biggest hidden blockers to becoming a true AI-native enterprise: legacy data infrastructure. As organizations rush toward the “Frontier Firm” vision championed by Microsoft — intelligence on tap, human-agent collaboration, and AI-powered workflows — Patrick argues that most regulated industries are still running on fragmented data pipelines built decades ago. Beneath the excitement around agentic AI lies a critical operational reality: data remains horizontally distributed across systems such as SAP, Salesforce, Guidewire, and legacy warehouses, stitched together by opaque code that no one fully understands anymore. Patrick explains why the future of AI in regulated industries depends less on flashy copilots and more on deterministic, governed, audit-ready data transformation. Drawing from his 35 years in enterprise software and his leadership at Volspeed, he outlines how AI is now reshaping data engineering itself — automating the “plumbing” layer while generating the metadata and lineage AI systems need to operate responsibly. Together, Sabine and Patrick explore why re-architecting does not require a dangerous core system replacement, how organizations can solve tractable business problems in months rather than years, and why the next generation of enterprise leaders must bridge business expertise and data intelligence. This conversation is a practical roadmap for any executive navigating AI transformation inside complex, regulated environments. KEY TAKEAWAYS What stood out most to me in this conversation with Patrick was the reality that the “Frontier Firm” conversation is no longer about experimentation. It is about operational readiness. Every organization I speak to wants intelligence on tap, agentic workflows, and AI-enabled productivity, yet many are still constrained by fragmented legacy systems and undocumented data logic buried deep inside their infrastructure. Patrick made it very clear: if we do not solve the data foundation problem, we simply accelerate complexity and risk. One insight that resonated deeply was the idea that data engineering is entering the same transformation that software engineering experienced with generative AI. The real opportunity is not just automation, but abstraction — enabling smaller teams to solve historically impossible integration problems while creating governed, machine-readable metadata that AI systems can actually trust and consume responsibly. I was also struck by Patrick’s perspective on talent. Rather than replacing expertise, AI elevates the importance of subject matter experts who understand the business context behind the data. The future belongs to professionals who can bridge operational understanding with technical fluency and collaborate effectively with AI-enabled systems. Most importantly, this conversation reinforced that becoming a Frontier Firm does not require ripping out every core system overnight. The no-regret move is to start solving tractable, high-value data problems now — especially those tied to governance, lineage, regulatory reporting, and customer intelligence. Organizations that modernize their deterministic data layer today will be the ones capable of building scalable, trustworthy AI tomorrow. BEST MOMENTS “You can bolt all the AI you want on top of that. It will not make you a frontier firm. It will just make your regulatory problems arrive faster.” — Sabine VanderLinden “AI is coming to data engineering just like it came to software engineering.” — Patrick Van Deven “The board looks at AI at the end of the value chain of data. But how did that data come to be?” — Patrick Van Deven “There is no world where a company would run on one system.” — Patrick Van Deven “Treat the AI agent like an employee. Onboard it, brief it, give it a personality.” — Sabine VanderLinden “The dragon in the basement has finally reached the boardroom.” — Patrick Van Deven “No data lineage. No agent bosses. No governed transformation. No intelligence on tap.” — Sabine VanderLinden “This is a new era for subject matter experts.” — Patrick Van Deven ABOUT THE GUEST Patrick Van Deven is the CEO of Vaultspeed and a veteran enterprise software leader with more than 35 years of experience in software engineering, predictive analytics, data infrastructure, and venture investing. Patrick began his career as a software engineer, building and selling his first commercial application at just 22 years old. He later spent 15 years at SAS Institute, where he helped build data and predictive analytics applications for enterprise environments. He then transitioned into venture capital as an Operating Partner and General Partner at Fortino Capital, investing in software and AI startups across Europe. In 2025, Patrick stepped back into an operational leadership role as CEO of Vaultspeed, driven by his belief that automating deterministic, governed data transformation is one of the most critical “no-regret moves” organizations can make in the age of AI. Today, Vaultspeed works with major global enterprises, including organizations operating across highly regulated industries such as insurance, banking, and financial services. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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Brad Wetherall: AI Search, Agentic AI, and How Corporations Must Adapt to Digital Discovery

Jun 400:57:14Tap to summarize

Brad Wetherall: AI Search, Agentic AI, and How Corporations Must Adapt to Digital Discovery In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden is joined by Brad Wetherall, former Director of Operations at Google and current COO of Esquire Digital, to unpack the transformative impact of AI on search engines and digital visibility. The conversation explores how search is moving beyond traditional search engine optimization (SEO) to an era where AI agents, neural networks, and zero-click searches are redefining how brands are discovered, trusted, and chosen online. Brad Wetherall outlines the emergence of "agentic AI" and the rise of the "frontier firm," where human expertise and AI collaborate to generate both authority and visibility in this new digital ecosystem. This episode offers actionable strategies for corporations, regulated industries, and innovators aiming to future-proof their digital presence and leverage the next chapter of AI-led search. KEY TAKEAWAYS The traditional SEO playbook is now outdated. The critical question is no longer “How do I rank number one on Google?” but “What does AI say about my company?” AI-generated summaries and answer engines sit at the top of results, often preventing users from ever clicking on links. To succeed, businesses—especially in highly regulated industries—must ensure their information is not just human-readable but also machine-readable, authoritative, and genuinely original. Websites should be built with both humans and AI in mind, making content easily digestible for AI agents. Content creation has become an interplay of art and science: AI values unique human perspective, expertise, and experience—simply generating generic, regurgitated answers will not suffice and may even have negative consequences, as Google’s recent algorithm updates penalize unoriginal, AI-generated spam. Building trust, authority, and relevance is now an ongoing process. It’s essential to invest in structured content, active reputation management, robust Google Business profiles, and credible third-party validation through PR. AI agents are becoming the intermediaries of trust, filtering which brands and content make it into these AI overviews. Organizations must become agent bosses, orchestrating both human and machine intelligence, and focusing on verifiable outcomes, not just website traffic. The early adopters who build their authority and distinct voice now will lead in this new landscape and avoid the scramble of playing catch-up. BEST MOMENTS "The question is no longer how do I rank, but rather, what does AI say about my company?" — Sabine VanderLinden "AI is fundamentally changing the rules of digital discovery. We're seeing a once-in-a-generation shift equivalent to the disruption caused by the Internet itself." — Brad Wetherall "There is no easy button. There’s no shortcut. It’s not just about buying backlinks anymore—AI search requires a different blueprint." — Brad Wetherall "AI wants to know who you are. The authoritativeness and trust in your company or as an individual now matter more than ever." — Brad Wetherall "Clicks were always a flawed metric. Now, what matters is how many customers you get—not just traffic but outcome." — Brad Wetherall "The companies that do this well—who invest in website optimization, unique content, reputation, and public relations—will win the race. It’s hard work, but it’s how you’ll stand out in an AI-driven world." — Brad Wetherall ABOUT THE GUEST Brad Wetherall is the Chief Operating Officer at Esquire Digital and the best-selling author of AI and the Future of Search. He spent over a decade at Google, leading operations and shaping products like Google Business Profile, Google Shopping, Google Wallet, and Google Domains—helping over 100 million businesses to be discovered online. Now at Esquire Digital, Brad applies his deep expertise to help companies adapt to the ever-evolving landscape of AI-driven search and digital visibility. His work focuses on demystifying the complex world of AI search and equipping organizations with the tools and strategies they need to remain competitive and authoritative as the digital economy transforms. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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The App Era Is Over: Wallet-Native Insurance & the Agentic Frontier — Marc Lampe × Ernesto Suarez Talk Collaboration

May 2801:12:34Tap to summarize

The App Era Is Over: Wallet-Native Insurance & the Agentic Frontier — Marc Lampe × Ernesto Suarez Talk Collaboration In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden sits down with Ernesto Suarez and Marc Lampe to explore why the future of insurance is moving beyond apps and into wallet-native, AI-ready experiences. The conversation begins with a powerful reminder of why customer experience matters: a traveler stranded abroad, unable to prove they had insurance in an emergency. From there, the discussion unpacks the hidden friction embedded across the insurance journey — especially in claims, servicing, and customer engagement. Ernesto shares how Gigasure was designed as a digital-native travel MGA focused on mobile-first engagement, instant gratification, and removing the traditional “handoffs” that frustrate policyholders. Marc explains how Wallet Studio, developed by Miss Moneypenny Technologies after nearly a decade of experimentation, enables insurers to create dynamic wallet-based insurance experiences that sit directly alongside boarding passes, payments, and loyalty cards. Together, they reveal how the partnership rapidly launched over 50,000 digital wallet cards in just a few months, achieving remarkable customer engagement and demonstrating that insurance can become proactive, contextual, and genuinely useful. The episode also dives into parametric claims, embedded insurance, MGA innovation, AI-enabled customer journeys, and why ecosystem collaboration — not disruption alone — is shaping the next era of InsurTech. KEY TAKEAWAYS What struck me most in this conversation is how both Ernesto and Marc are solving an issue the industry has talked about for years but rarely fixed: making insurance truly accessible and useful at the exact moment customers need it most. We often talk about “customer experience” in insurance, yet too many journeys still rely on PDFs buried in inboxes, disconnected claims processes, and handoffs between providers. This discussion showed what happens when founders design around real human behavior instead of legacy systems. I was particularly fascinated by the simplicity and power of wallet-native insurance. Consumers already use wallet technology every day for boarding passes, payments, loyalty cards, and transport tickets. Integrating insurance directly into that ecosystem feels obvious once you see it in action. The results speak volumes: more than 50,000 wallet cards issued within months and exceptionally high customer engagement rates. That tells us customers are ready for insurance experiences that are frictionless, visible, and mobile-first. Another important insight is how the MGA model is evolving. Ernesto highlighted how modern MGAs are increasingly powered by specialist InsurTech enablers rather than trying to build every capability themselves. The future is less about disruption in isolation and more about intelligent collaboration, integration, and speed to market. This partnership demonstrates how insurers, MGAs, and technology providers can create far more value together than separately. Finally, I loved the honesty around AI and the “agentic frontier.” Both guests acknowledged that technology alone is not enough. The real challenge is guiding customers through increasingly complex ecosystems in ways that remain trustworthy, intuitive, and human-centered. The winners in this next phase of insurance innovation will be the companies that combine intelligent automation with seamless customer trust. BEST MOMENTS “The era of the app, as we have known it, is over.” — Marc Lampe “88% said they have trouble finding their documents.” — Ernesto Suarez “Insurance has never been tangible. And I feel like this is a little piece that we can give customers for what they’ve purchased.” — Ernesto Suarez “The solution is not to build the perfect AI-driven functionality, but to deliver that actually to the customer.” — Marc Lampe “We’re all very good at selling, but it’s the post-sale service element that I feel is a big lie.” — Ernesto Suarez “The customer should only have the experience and not struggle.” — Marc Lampe “We are trying to eat away at the friction.” — Ernesto Suarez “Customer experience in insurance can actually be good.” — Sabine VanderLinden ABOUT THE GUESTS Ernesto Suarez Ernesto Suarez is the Founder and CEO of Gigasure, a digital-native MGA redefining travel insurance through mobile-first engagement and wallet-native customer experiences. With more than 25 years in the insurance industry, Ernesto previously founded and exited a successful niche insurance venture focused on car hire excess protection. Through Gigasure, he is building a new generation of insurance products designed specifically for millennials and Gen Z consumers, combining embedded services, parametric claims, instant payouts, and app-driven customer servicing. Marc Lampe Marc Lampe is the Co-founder of Miss Moneypenny Technologies, the company behind Wallet Studio, a wallet-native platform enabling insurers to create dynamic digital insurance cards and customer engagement experiences. An entrepreneur since the age of 17, Marc has spent more than a decade developing wallet technology solutions across industries before focusing on insurance. Today, Wallet Studio powers wallet-native experiences for more than 20 insurers and MGAs, helping carriers modernize customer engagement, claims interaction, and embedded insurance journeys. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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David Daiches: Inside INSHUR — From Manhattan Uber Rides to Insuring Autonomous Fleets

May 2101:04:00Tap to summarize

David Daiches: Inside INSHUR — From Manhattan Uber Rides to Insuring Autonomous Fleets In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden speaks with David Daiches, co-founder and COO of Insure, about building insurance solutions for the on-demand economy. The conversation traces Insure’s origins to a simple yet powerful insight: traditional insurance models were not designed for gig workers like Uber drivers, who operate entirely on their smartphones and cannot afford downtime. David explains how Insure addressed this gap by creating flexible, usage-based insurance embedded directly into platform ecosystems. They explore the importance of “fluency over features,” emphasizing that successful insurtechs solve real operational problems rather than just showcasing technology. A central theme is that claims, not policies, define the true value of insurance, leading Insure to bring claims in-house to improve customer experience and data insights. The discussion also looks ahead to emerging challenges, including electric vehicles and autonomous mobility, where insurance must evolve to cover complex ecosystems of software, hardware, and data. Finally, David shares candid lessons on scaling, partnerships, and the growing role of AI, highlighting the need for adaptability, continuous learning, and strong teams in building resilient insurtech businesses. KEY TAKEAWAYS What stands out most is the importance of starting with the problem, not the technology. David and his team didn’t build Insure by showcasing features; they immersed themselves in the daily realities of gig workers and platform operators. That mindset shaped everything, from product design to partnerships. It reinforces my belief that fluency in a partner’s business model is far more valuable than any standalone innovation. Another key insight is how insurance must adapt to changing customer behaviors. The on-demand economy is no longer a niche; it supports millions of people. Traditional annual policies simply do not fit this model. By aligning insurance coverage with actual usage, Insure has shown how to close protection gaps while improving affordability and access. What resonated deeply with me is the idea that claims are the product. Customers only truly experience insurance when something goes wrong. Investing in claims operations, empathy, and responsiveness is therefore not optional; it is the core value proposition. I was also struck by the operational lessons. Scaling too quickly, hiring without enough rigor, and taking partnerships for granted are common pitfalls. Building a strong, empowered team and maintaining close alignment with partners is essential for long-term success. Finally, the future of mobility and insurance will require entirely new thinking. Autonomous vehicles, AI, and data-driven ecosystems are reshaping risk. The winners will be those who can navigate this complexity while staying grounded in customer needs. BEST MOMENTS “Claims is the product. Everything else just gets us to that point.” – David Daiches “We didn’t just sell insurance, we solved problems in the platform’s business model.” – David Daiches “People are not interested in a fancy UI when something goes wrong. They want a product that is there at the moment they need it the most.” – Sabine VanderLinden “Make yourself easy to do business with.” – David Daiches “The best insurtech founders aren’t selling insurance, they are removing friction from someone else’s business model.” – Sabine VanderLinden “If you’re not spending time learning AI now, you risk being left behind.” – David Daiches ABOUT THE GUEST David Daiches is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Inshur, a digital-first managing general agent focused on the on-demand economy. With a background in technology and retail, he entered the insurance industry over 15 years ago and identified significant opportunities for digital transformation. At Inshur, David has led the development of embedded, usage-based insurance solutions for platforms such as Uber, Amazon, and DoorDash. David is particularly focused on innovation in mobility insurance, including the future of autonomous vehicles and AI-driven claims and underwriting. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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Alan Martin: Why Insurers Who Invest in Wellness Win — The Healthcare Innovation Playbook still works

May 1401:08:29Tap to summarize

Alan Martin: Why Insurers Who Invest in Wellness Win - The Healthcare Innovation Playbook still works In this episode, Sabine VanderLinden sits down with Alan Martin, founder of Resilient Risk and Health Solutions, to challenge the fundamentals of life and health insurance. The conversation highlights a growing disconnect between insurers, customers, and the health tech ecosystem, and why current “wellness” programs often fail to deliver meaningful outcomes. Alan argues that most insurance products remain transactional, focused on payouts rather than prevention and long-term resilience. He introduces the concept of “modifiable risk,” emphasizing that many health risks are within individual control and should be actively managed through continuous engagement rather than static underwriting. The discussion explores how insurers can evolve from passive payers to active health partners by embedding personalized, digital care pathways and leveraging ecosystem collaboration. The episode also tackles systemic issues such as low customer engagement, outdated service delivery models, and the widening protection gap. Alan and Sabine conclude that meaningful transformation requires bold leadership, dynamic pricing models, and a shift toward service-led propositions that genuinely improve health outcomes while creating sustainable economic value for insurers. KEY TAKEAWAYS What really stood out to me in this conversation is that we are still thinking about insurance in far too narrow a way. We’ve designed products that only show up when something goes wrong, even though the greatest value we can deliver is helping people stay healthy in the first place. If we reposition insurance as a resilience partner rather than just a financial backstop, we unlock a completely different level of relevance for customers, especially younger generations who expect ongoing value, not just a payout. I’m also struck by how many wellness initiatives miss the mark. Too often, we reward those who are already healthy, while the people who truly need support remain disengaged. If we are serious about impact, we need to design for the harder-to-reach segments and build solutions that genuinely change behavior, not just tick a box. Another key insight is the importance of rethinking how services are delivered. Traditional models, such as nurse hotlines, are costly and underutilized. Digital, personalized care pathways offer a way to scale engagement while improving outcomes and reducing costs. Finally, I believe we need to rethink incentives across the entire system. Concepts like dynamic pricing and modifiable risk are not just technical shifts; they fundamentally reshape the relationship between insurer and customer. When combined with stronger ecosystem collaboration, they create a pathway toward a more proactive, impactful, and sustainable insurance model. BEST MOMENTS “It is wellness theater dressed up as risk management.” “The best way of protecting the family is to make sure they don’t pass away.” “Insurance isn’t just a financial product, it should be a product of resilience.” “Diagnosis is not the end point, there is always something you can do to improve health.” “The gap between the insurance we have and the one we need is not a technology problem, it is a courage problem.” “If you want real impact, you have to design for the people who actually need the support.” ABOUT THE GUEST Alan Martin is a Chartered Insurer and the founder of Resilient Risk and Health Solutions, a consultancy that bridges the gap between insurance and the health tech ecosystem. With over 30 years of experience in life and health reinsurance, Alan has held roles spanning underwriting, claims, pricing, and product development. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with insurers, reinsurers, and health innovators to design solutions that improve health outcomes while delivering sustainable business value. He is particularly known for his work on modifiable risk strategies, helping insurers rethink how they engage with policyholders and manage long-term health risks. Alan brings a rare combination of deep technical insurance expertise and a strong understanding of healthcare and emerging technologies, positioning him at the forefront of the shift from traditional insurance models toward prevention-led, customer-centric propositions. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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Xavier Lestrade: From Insurance to Personalized Care Pathways: The New Blueprint for Growth

May 700:26:42Tap to summarize

Xavier Lestrade: From Insurance to Personalized Care Pathways In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden explores the transformation of health insurance from a claims-paying model to a care partnership approach with Xavier Lestrade, Managing Director of AXA Health International within AXA Global Healthcare. The conversation delves into how AXA Global Healthcare is redefining industry standards by transitioning from traditional insurance products to an integrated membership model focused on prevention, personalization, and digital engagement. Together, they discuss the operational, regulatory, and technological complexities of building all-in-one health platforms and the broader mission of combating medical inflation while making quality healthcare accessible globally. This episode offers an inside look into what it takes for a leading insurer to become indispensable to its members, not just reactive in times of crisis. KEY TAKEAWAYS The future of health insurance is defined by proactive support rather than reactive compensation. The shift Xavier and I discussed is not merely technological; it’s cultural and strategic, centered on creating integrated, member-centric experiences that anticipate needs. I learned that true differentiation in this space hinges on our ability to orchestrate seamless journeys by combining wellness, prevention, payments, and claims into a cohesive platform. The greatest challenge, according to Xavier Lestrade, is bridging regulatory regimes across payments, insurance, and healthcare, which demands expertise beyond traditional insurance boundaries. Moving forward, he sees the largest value in member experience and sustainable healthcare access, not just improved retention or cost control. I was struck by the ambition to leverage AI and ecosystem partnerships, blending human and machine expertise to be not just insurers, but trusted medical concierges for globally mobile members. Ultimately, the discussion reinforced my belief that becoming a care partner is about operational courage, relentless execution, and an unyielding commitment to making health protection truly indispensable, even when no claim is made. BEST MOMENTS “What happens when an insurer stops talking about becoming a care partner and actually starts building like one?” — Sabine VanderLinden “We are kind of the private banking of health insurance. Our members...are expatriates, diplomats, wealthy people, individuals willing to access and navigate the best of healthcare in the world.” — Xavier Lestrade “Bringing this all-in-one app, building bridges between wellness and prevention, virtual healthcare, and insurance into one app, helping us orchestrate the patient journeys of our members.” — Xavier Lestrade “The dream we have is to position ourselves in the eyes of our members as their medical concierge…the person they come to when they’ve got questions regarding preventative healthcare.” — Xavier Lestrade “The most powerful insurance isn’t the policy that pays the claim—it is the partnership that prevents it in the first place.” — Sabine VanderLinden ABOUT THE GUEST Xavier Lestrade is the Managing Director of AXA Health International within AXA Global Healthcare. With over 31 years at AXA and extensive international leadership experience, he has been at the forefront of transforming health insurance into a proactive, data-driven, and member-centered service. Xavier Lestrade leads a global business serving mobile individuals and organizations in 200 countries, focusing on integrating wellness, prevention, and streamlined healthcare journeys to position AXA as a global leader in forward-thinking health solutions. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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From Org Charts to Work Charts: What the MIT Frontier Firm Paper Means for Insurance, Finance & Risk

Apr 3000:27:11Tap to summarize

From Org Charts to Work Charts: What the MIT Frontier Firm Paper Means for Insurance, Finance & Risk In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden explores a 2026 research paper from MIT CISR on how business models are evolving in the age of agentic AI. Drawing on longitudinal data from nearly 2,400 companies, the research highlights a major shift from traditional digital business models toward AI-driven ones. Sabine explains how earlier models, such as supplier, omnichannel, modular producer, and ecosystem driver, have now evolved into four new archetypes: existing plus, customer proxy, modular creator, and orchestrator. She emphasizes that most financial institutions and insurers remain stuck in incremental “existing plus” adaptations, while the real competitive advantage lies in becoming orchestrators that dynamically coordinate ecosystems to deliver customer outcomes. Using her “frontier insurer matrix,” Sabine illustrates how firms can move from rigid, process-driven structures to adaptive, AI-enabled ecosystems. The episode also examines the implications for finance and risk management, highlighting the importance of real-time decision-making, AI governance, and human-AI collaboration. Sabine concludes with five practical imperatives for leaders, stressing that this transformation is not just about adopting AI, but fundamentally rethinking how value is created, delivered, and captured in a rapidly changing landscape. KEY TAKEAWAYS What stood out to me most from the MIT CISR research is that we are not simply witnessing a technology shift. We are seeing a fundamental redesign of business models. Too many organizations are still treating AI as an incremental improvement when, in reality, the opportunity lies in rethinking how value is created and delivered. Moving from “existing plus” to orchestrator requires a mindset shift as much as a technical one. I also see a clear gap between where most insurers and financial institutions operate today and where they need to be. Legacy systems, rigid processes, and siloed structures limit their ability to scale and respond dynamically. The firms that will lead are those that embrace modularity, ecosystem thinking, and API-first architectures, allowing AI agents to operate at speed and scale. Another critical insight is the evolving role of humans. AI can handle routine processes, but trust, empathy, and judgment remain uniquely human strengths. Designing the right human-to-agent ratio for each task will be essential, particularly in high-stakes scenarios. Finally, governance becomes a design challenge rather than just a control function. Risk leaders must define guardrails upfront, shaping how AI operates rather than reacting to its outputs. This is a shift from oversight to architecture. Ultimately, the organizations that succeed will be those that ask not how to use AI, but what new value they can create for customers because of it. BEST MOMENTS “This is not a technology gap, it is a business model gap.” “Scale your ecosystem or get out, or you will be competed by someone who does.” “The frontier insurer doesn’t just pay the claim, it prevents the loss and manages the recovery.” “Risk management has to move upstream from auditor to architect.” “This is not a technology story, this is a purpose story.” “The real question is not how do we add AI, but what can we now do that was impossible before?” ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

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All episodes

Reggie Townsend: Making Responsible AI Irresistible

Dale Diamond: When a $25K Claim Becomes a $7M Verdict or More

Willem Paling: From Messy Middles to Autonomous Agents and the Race for Trust at Scale

Patrick Van Deven: The Frontier Firm's Moat isn't Data. It's The Layer that Governs It.

Brad Wetherall: AI Search, Agentic AI, and How Corporations Must Adapt to Digital Discovery

The App Era Is Over: Wallet-Native Insurance & the Agentic Frontier — Marc Lampe × Ernesto Suarez Talk Collaboration

David Daiches: Inside INSHUR — From Manhattan Uber Rides to Insuring Autonomous Fleets

Alan Martin: Why Insurers Who Invest in Wellness Win — The Healthcare Innovation Playbook still works

Xavier Lestrade: From Insurance to Personalized Care Pathways: The New Blueprint for Growth

From Org Charts to Work Charts: What the MIT Frontier Firm Paper Means for Insurance, Finance & Risk