Friday, January
29
2:30-3:30 p.m.
IMU Sassafras
Room
Michael McRaith, IU Distinguished Alum with a BA in
Psychology and English, will discuss his career path and the idea that
career/life are inseparable and inform each other. He will also speak about the
issues that may arise in the corporate workplace for LGBT individuals. RSVP Here.
Bio
Michael T. McRaith
was appointed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to serve as the
inaugural director of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), an office created by
the Dodd-Frank Act, in 2011. In his role, McRaith and his team monitor all
aspects of the insurance industry in order to ensure affordable, dependable
insurance options are available and safe guards are in place to avoid an
economic or industrial collapse.
Under his
leadership, FIO:
·
Enacted policies
which require insurance companies to have ‘living wills’ or resolution plans in
case companies experience a financial collapse. The purpose of this policy is
to “substantially mitigate the risk that the failure of a company would have
serious adverse effects on the financial stability of the US economy.”
·
Challenged auto
insurance companies to provide driving discounts to all couples, regardless of
their marital status
·
Collaborates with
law enforcement communities, state agencies, and others to develop a cyber-security
strategy for the insurance industry
·
Provides
insurance expertise as a non-voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight
Council (Council), and has authority to recommend oversight of an insurer or
its affiliates by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.
·
Coordinates
federal efforts and works to develop policy on standardizing insurance both
here in the US and abroad – working closely with other federal agencies,
international organizations and state regulators
McRaith spent 15
years working in Chicago as a commercial litigation attorney before being
appointed as the Director of Insurance for the State of Illinois in 2005.
During his time as director, McRaith was known to be a compassionate,
knowledgeable leader who worked with colleagues to build bi-partisan support
for initiatives that protected Illinois consumers while creating economically
viable situations for companies.
Throughout his
career as a public servant, both at the state and federal level, McRaith has enacted
and implemented social reforms that champion equality and remove prejudicial
barriers from the insurance industry. An Evanston, Ill. native, McRaith earned
a bachelor’s degree in psychology and English from Indiana University in 1986.
