"Catherine Smola has departed from CSIO to pursue other challenges." With these words, the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations announced the departure of its President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who had held that position since January 2012.
In a statement dated March 11, the organization thanked her "for her contributions over the last 13 years." When asked for further details by the Insurance Portal, CSIO listed several initiatives launched during Smola’s tenure.
The most recent one dates back to 2022: "CSIOnet, our industry-leading platform for insurers and brokers to exchange eDocs and messages, was upgraded to a secure, cloud-based Amazon Web Services platform. This equipped CSIOnet with enhanced reliability for optimal performance, improved download speeds and upgraded security measures to better protect information shared across the system."
The first initiative goes back ten years earlier, in 2012, when CSIO launched eDocs, allowing “insurers, vendors, and brokers to securely transfer electronic documents and signatures that all systems understand – and, in turn, to satisfy customer needs much more quickly."
Interim president
Kathryn Sinclair, the organization's current Vice President, Strategy & Operations, has been appointed interim president. She will remain in the role "until CSIO appoints a permanent President and CEO," the organization told the Insurance Portal.
Contacted via LinkedIn by the Insurance Portal, Catherine Smola had not responded at the time of publication. Before joining CSIO, Smola spent 14 years at ING Canada, which became Intact Financial Corporation in 2009.
