Wendi Bukowitz is a strategic innovation leader in the insurance industry. She uses the tools and techniques of innovation to help organizations challenge their assumptions and create value in new ways. Most recently, she served as Director of Strategic Innovation at The Cincinnati Insurance Companies. There she built the Strategic Innovation Group from the ground up. Her team applied Lean Startup principles and a portfolio approach to innovation. The work spanned process and product improvements in the core business, plus future-focused bets with startups and academia. Wendi Bukowitz spoke at the InsurTech Spring Conference on the panel “Driving Digital Growth in Specialty & Commercial.” It was moderated by Denise Campbell, with co-panelists Roi Hansraj of InsurTechNY, Philip Charles-Pierre of Semsee, and Andrew Wynn of Ascend.
Before Cincinnati, Wendi led the Innovation Lab at Munich Reinsurance America. The Lab built a portfolio of new ventures, each with the potential to reach real scale. Under her leadership, it brought new products to market. These included a digital insurance agent for homeowners and a pay-by-the-mile motorcycle insurance product. She entered the insurance and reinsurance industry through reinsurance — an unusual path in the field.
Earlier in her career, Wendi founded and led RGsquared, an innovation advisory firm. She also co-founded hopscotch, a venture connecting corporate and social enterprises. Before that, she was Director of Innovation at Watson Wyatt Worldwide. There she established a new innovation discipline within a large compensation and benefits consultancy.
Wendi earned an MBA in Marketing from The Wharton School. She also holds a BA in Religion from Duke University.
