Message from Our President

Caldwell NJ — Dear Members, Sponsors and Colleagues:

As my presidency ends, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for your support and assistance. I am encouraged by the success of this year’s conferences and membership growth, and wanted to share some of our accomplishments and new initiatives with you. It seems like the doldrums of the pandemic are finally behind us. We are poised for growth as evidenced by the enthusiastic attendance at our conferences, with about 100 registered for this year’s Annual Conference. 

Our goal has been to provide opportunities for member engagement, introducing topics relevant to the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of our industry. Over the past year, we have launched several new initiatives including a committee to refresh the strategic vision of the SIFM. The committee members are Russell Sommers (Baker Tilly); Sarah Sheldon (Lincoln Financial); Alyssa Cotillo (Grant Thornton); Julia Paromchik (QBE); Monica Rosenthal (PwC) and Steven Thornton (Forvis Mazars). Since early summer, the committee has developed four strategic goals, each with tactical implementation proposals: 

• Grow Membership
• Demographic Diversification
• Increase Conference and Meeting Attendance
• Leverage Experience of Leadership 

We have begun implementing some of these while others are being reviewed by our Board of Directors. For example, new initiatives include:

• Expanding our mission to include reinsurance, life and annuity insurance and private equity organizations, including middle-market clients in the New York and Philadelphia metro regions. This has been evident in the speakers at our conferences. 
• Co-Branding events with other organizations, including a panel with SIFM members at the LICONY annual meeting in October; co-sponsoring the Black-Tie Charity Ball with the NY Chapter of Chartered Accountants; and others are under consideration.
• Reintroducing the Young Professional Spotlights monthly, Rob Cedrone (Spinnaker), Rory Rose (Hudson), Julia Paromchik (QBE) have been presented this month as our first Spotlights. Upcoming spotlights include Chris Callahan (GNY); Linh Jusino (EY); Eleanore Craig (Forvis Mazars).
• Implementing a 60 second self-introduction of new members at the June and Annual Conferences and promoting guest attendance at future conferences.
• Implementing a buddy system to acquaint new members with current members. 
• Expanding our footprint by hosting a Women of SIFM meeting at Grant Thornton’s Philadelphia office on October 29, 2024 with a panel of our Women in Insurance Leaders.
• Organizing a Meet & Greet Breakfast at Baker Tilly’s New York office in November 2024.
• Planning a roundtable session for March 2025 curated by members with 3-4 topics. 

As I conclude my term as President, I want to thank the Board of Directors, the President’s Advisory Council and our Sponsors for their support and guidance over the last two years. I appreciate the honor of being a part of SIFM and leading it into the future.  As I hand off the Presidency to Yelena La Forgia, I wish her the best for a successful term.  

Sincerely,
John Yoon
President, SIFM
Chief Accounting Officer, QBE North America