Popeye the Sailor Man, with signature can of spinach (Moviestore/Rex)
A candid panel unpacks what it takes to stay adaptable in a market where the only constant is change.
At the 2025 BrokerTech Connect: Chicago conference, one of the most dynamic discussions came from a panel focused not on the technology behind AI and automation, but on the people who must adopt it. Using cartoon characters, basketball legends, and hard-learned lessons from the field, the panelists broke down what really drives — or derails — successful change.
The overarching message? Technology doesn’t transform an organization. People do.
The panelists included:
- Kacie Conroy, Vice President Information Technology at M3 Insurance
- Sam Hosey, Director of Innovation at AF Group
- Ritesh Koul, Sr Vice President Digital Delivery and Innovation, Celsior Technologies
- Mark Rose, Director Sales Operations and Innovation, The Partner Group
Why “just eat the spinach” doesn’t work in insurance
Remember how Popeye got superhuman strength from eating spinach? The message didn’t exactly persuade viewers to eat the stuff, even when they were promised superpowers. According to Hosey, that’s the challenge insurers face when rolling out AI and automation. The technology is powerful, but getting people to “just eat the spinach” is the real work.
“Most of us don’t wake up saying, ‘I can’t wait to change everything about how I work today,’” says Hosey. “People don’t naturally resist technology. They resist uncertainty, new habits, and anything that threatens their comfort or identity. Without a clear sense of value, even the smartest tools fail to take root.”
Conroy sees this pattern all the time. “The tech isn’t the hard part — it’s the people side. If you skip the upfront analysis to understand the value, you just end up at the wrong spot faster.”
She noted that many teams jump into solutions based on hallway conversations, conference buzz, or simply because their peers are using it. “Boom, the analysis is done,” says Conroy. “You go right into execution. But once tech gets entrenched, it’s 20 times harder to replace.”
Understanding change styles using the Pippen playbook
One of the biggest reasons change fails, the panel argued, is that leaders assume everyone reacts to change the same way. To combat this assumption, Conroy introduced the Change Style Indicator (CSI) — a simple but powerful way to assess how people respond to new ideas:
- Originators – These people thrive on chaos, love new ideas, and are quick adopters. “These are your Michael Jordans,” says Conroy.
- Conservers – These people prefer stability. They need a process and want predictability. According to Conroy, “These are your Ron Harpers — the ones who say, ‘Why change what works?’ You want to pull them in early to be part of the conversation.”
- Pragmatists – These people bridge both sides. They translate and negotiate. “They’re your Scottie Pippens — the glue players,” says Conroy.
According to Conroy, without aligning roles to change style, adoption becomes uphill work. “Put originators in innovation roles. They’re your Jordans. Conservers are your Harpers. They plug the holes in the boat. And your pragmatists are the Pippens. They should run projects because they translate both sides and bring people together.”
Three non-negotiables for successful transformation
Despite different backgrounds and roles, the panelists agreed on one thing: Meaningful transformation relies on a few core disciplines. Here are the three they say no organization can skip.
- Lead with trust, not tech. Koul emphasized the role of internal credibility: “Subject matter experts — those trusted by frontline teams — drive credibility. If your underwriters don’t believe in the AI tool, no one will.”
Rose agreed: “Success happens when the solution is discovered by someone internal. Trust turns resistance into curiosity, and eventually, momentum.”
- Start micro, and scale smart. Rose urged companies to avoid long, expensive, enterprise-wide deployments. Instead, “Favor short contracts and pilot projects.” He shared a recent example:
“One carrier tested AI on 5% of claims. Recovery rates jumped 30%. Then buy-in exploded. Small wins like this build momentum.” He adds, “Pilots reduce risk and create undeniable evidence that the new approach works.”
- Analyze before you automate. Not every process deserves automation, or even survival. One of Conroy’s strongest warnings came from a real and costly mistake: “A broker wasted $200K automating a process that should’ve been eliminated.” Her recommendation is to “Always ask: ‘Does this problem even need solving?’ If that answer isn’t crystal clear, hit pause.”
Why leadership — not tech — determines success
As the only vendor on the panel, Koul offered a grounded view from the implementation side. Having worked across banking, finance, and insurance, Koul stressed that technology alone can’t carry transformation forward — leadership must set the direction and sustain momentum.
“All the tech in the world that we’re talking about today will be outdated tomorrow,” he said. “Change has to be managed correctly, or the organization won’t keep up.” For Koul, that means aligning technology decisions to clear business value and ensuring leaders can articulate that value all the way to the boardroom.
Transformation is a team sport
Koul emphasized the idea of “the tribe” — a reminder that successful adoption depends on bringing business leaders, subject matter experts, and technologists together early. “Tech folks can’t just deliver and walk away,” he explained. “You need clear mechanisms to demonstrate value, and you need the business involved from the start.”
Koul’s advice mirrors the panel’s broader message: start small, prove value, and build credibility through action. “Pick a small, high-risk problem. Solve it. Demonstrate it. Rinse and repeat,” Koul said. “Nothing sells better internally than a proven win.”
Managing constant change without losing your mind
Insurance organizations are shifting faster than ever, and the panel acknowledged that change can feel inconsistent or abrupt. Rose explained their firm’s philosophy, “We want people to get better in 1–3% increments, not 40% jumps. If the mindset is incremental improvement, then change becomes the norm — not a disruption.”
He offered a memorable analogy, “Rodman knew exactly where to position himself based on how each teammate shot. That’s change management —knowing what’s coming and positioning your firm to catch the rebound.”
The real currency: Trust
Trust surfaced again as the underlying theme. Rose shared how he builds it intentionally: “You need a subject matter expert early — someone the team trusts. And you build that trust by showing up regularly, not by dropping in only when you need something.”
Hosey keeps informal lunches and casual check-ins with teams, “So when I walk in with a new idea, it’s not ‘Here comes the crazy innovation guy.’ It’s just Hosey.”
The overall message? Trust is cumulative — and leaders must bank it long before they spend it.
The new vendor reality
Trust may fuel internal adoption, but insurers also need flexibility in the partners they choose. That’s where the next shift comes in: the vendor world is changing just as rapidly as the tech itself.
The industry is shifting from permanence to adaptability. In this new reality, flexibility is more important than long-term commitments. Long-term vendor deals? They aren’t really a thing anymore. Rose put it simply: “Most of us aren’t signing more than a one-year contract anymore. We don’t know what next year’s solutions will even look like.”
He described vendors who radically reinvented their offerings within 18 months — sometimes in ways he hadn’t even anticipated. “We have to stay flexible. Don’t get too attached.”
So, what now? Start with these essentials
Change in insurance isn’t about chasing the latest tech trend—it’s about understanding people, building trust, and moving deliberately. Here’s your quick-start checklist, straight from the panel:
- Map your change styles using the Change Style Indicator (CSI). It takes just 15 minutes and helps you understand who embraces change, who resists it, and who can bridge the two.
- Pilot before you pledge. Start small, prove value, and scale only after you’ve validated results in real workflows.
- Sell the spinach — not the software. Frame every change in terms of the team’s “Popeye moment”: how it makes their day easier, better, or more meaningful.
- Build trust early — long before implementation. The relationships you form today become the credibility you’ll need tomorrow.
- Avoid long-term contracts and stay flexible. Vendors and tools evolve fast, so keep the freedom to pivot as new capabilities emerge.
From Popeye’s spinach to Pippen’s plays, the lessons are clear: know your team, start small, celebrate wins, and keep flexibility at the core. With these principles in hand, insurers can not only survive constant change but turn it into a competitive advantage.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026