Head of Customer Strategy

The Hartford•Hartford, CT

About The Position

The Head of Customer Strategy for Middle & Large (M&L) Business is responsible for defining how M&L wins with customers. Reporting to the EVP & Head of Middle & Large Business, this leader will create and activate a One Hartford Customer Blueprint that translates customer, broker, market, and operational insights into a differentiated approach to serving customers. The role focuses on customer value creation, loyalty, retention, growth enablement, resilience, risk prevention, and simplification. Working across Sales & Development, Underwriting, Claims, Risk Engineering, Operations, Service, and Innovation, the Head of Customer Strategy aligns leaders around customer outcomes and helps transform customer-centricity into a core business discipline—not a standalone program.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive leadership experience in commercial insurance, customer strategy, distribution, underwriting, claims, risk advisory, operations, marketing, and/or strategy.
Deep understanding of commercial insurance customers, brokers, industries, risk dynamics, and business economics, with the ability to translate customer and market needs into business priorities; agent/broker, Risk Engineering, and/or Claims experience strongly preferred.
Proven ability to lead through influence in a complex, matrixed organization, aligning senior leaders and cross-functional teams around shared outcomes without direct authority.
Strong strategic, analytical, and business acumen, including the ability to synthesize customer, market, operational, and Voice of Customer insights into actionable strategies and operating priorities.
Demonstrated success translating strategy into execution, including developing playbooks, operating routines, governance mechanisms, and change initiatives that drive measurable business results.
Exceptional communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to influence executive audiences, shape market-facing narratives, and build alignment around a strategic vision.
Track record of driving customer value, growth, retention, risk mitigation, operational simplification, and customer-centric culture change across multiple functions.
Demonstrated experience partnering with brokers, agents, and cross-functional business leaders to develop and execute customer-focused strategies that enhance retention, strengthen relationships, and deliver a differentiated customer experience.
Strong understanding of risk mitigation and total cost of risk concepts, with the ability to collaborate effectively across underwriting, claims, and risk engineering functions to develop solutions that help customers prevent losses and improve outcomes.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree preferred; advanced degree and/or insurance or risk management designation preferred, or equivalent relevant experience.

Responsibilities

Define and Activate the M&L Customer Blueprint: Build a market-leading understanding of customers, brokers, industries, risks, and growth opportunities, integrating customer, market, field, and business insights into a clear point of view. Define and continuously evolve a differentiated M&L customer blueprint that translates those insights into customer priorities, standards, and expectations across the business.
Drive Customer Value Creation and Differentiation: Shape how M&L creates value for customers by integrating the capabilities of Sales, Underwriting, Claims, Risk Engineering, Operations, Service, and Innovation into a seamless customer proposition. Advance proactive, advisory, and insight-led engagement that helps customers prevent losses, navigate emerging risks, improve resilience, and strengthen business outcomes.
Align the Organization Around Customer Outcomes: Align regions, business units, and functions around a common definition of customer success, shared priorities, and consistent execution expectations. Equip field leaders and customer-facing teams with the playbooks, insights, stewardship routines, and capabilities needed to consistently deliver the customer blueprint.
Simplify the Customer Experience and Embed Accountability: Partner with business and functional leaders to eliminate customer friction, simplify processes, improve responsiveness, and expand the effective use of digital, AI, and automation capabilities. Embed customer-centricity into leadership expectations, business planning, investment decisions, operating routines, and performance measures, with clear metrics tied to customer and business outcomes.