Corporate headquarters: 8125 Sedgwick Way Memphis, TN 38125 United States
Founded: 1969
Employees: 30,000
Countries: 65
Locations: 900+
Leadership: David North (executive chairman), Mike Arbour (CEO), Bob Peterson (president)
Sedgwick may have been established as a regional claims administrator in 1969, but it has since grown into a global provider of technology-enabled risk, benefits, and integrated business solutions, with 30,000 employees spread across 65 countries. The company’s solutions span from casualty risk to benefits, and property and loss adjusting to marine claims, alongside offering innovative technology platforms and global expertise in areas such as workers’ compensation, liability, property, disability, and absence management.
Sedgwick also has several wholly-owned subsidiary companies that are specialty service providers. These include:
North has served as the leader of Sedgwick for more than 20 years. Under his leadership, the company has grown from a boutique, regional third-party claims administrator to a global provider of innovative business solutions in the areas of workers’ compensation, disability, absence management, property loss adjusting and more. North is a frequent keynote speaker at national and industry events. He has been recognized with several awards, including the 2018 CLM Lifetime Achievement Award, and co-authored the book The Art of Self-Insurance.
In 2016, North was appointed by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to serve on The University of Memphis’s newly chartered board of trustees; he previously served on the university’s board of visitors and concurrently serves on the foundation board and the president’s innovation board.
Arbour was appointed CEO of Sedgwick in August 2020, becoming the third person to hold the position. Prior to this, he served as group president for global operations. He was also the CEO of the Verclaim companies, which Sedgwick acquired in 2014.
Arbour boasts nearly two decades of experience in the insurance services industry, including eight years as CEO of T&H Global, LLC, the company from which Sedgwick acquired Vericlaim, Inc., vrs>Vericlaim U.K., Ltd. and Unified Investigations & Sciences. He also previously worked as a private equity investor focused on the business services, technology and healthcare sectors. Arbour has B.A. from Kenyon College, and a MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management (Northwestern University).
Peterson was promoted to the role of president in August 2020. Before this, he was group president of sales and marketing, where he was responsible for promoting Sedgwick’s growth and the delivery of industry-leading, client-focused services. Peterson also previously served as a senior vice-president and has been with Sedgwick for more than 20 years. He has over 26 years of insurance and risk management industry experience.
Peterson graduated from DePaul University with a Bachelor of art degree in business communication. He also holds the associate in risk management (ARM), and the associate in loss control management (ALCM) insurance designations.
Major companies in the insurance sector often have social responsibility and community giving goals. Sedgwick, for example, partners with and contributes to organizations that provide sustainable solutions for the social, health, and educational needs of its communities.
“We embrace and encourage every office – and we have nearly 900 of them around the planet – that each of them in their own community with the make-up of their workforce, whether they’re a small office or a large office, whatever they want to get engaged in their community, they should do that,” said North. “We should encourage that, and provide our financial resources and our commitment to allow people to have the time to devote to things that they care about as individuals – that to me is the power of our charitable intent.”
In Phoenix, the company has provided support to the Children’s Hospital, while in Memphis, where Sedgwick is headquartered, the company does a lot of work with Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. North was also asked to sit on the Board of Trustees for the University of Memphis, besides Sedgwick’s other involvements with education, such as the sponsoring of that university’s Finish Line Program, which helps students who had to abandon their college degrees get over the ‘finish line.’
Key areas include cyber threats, disaster recovery, and evolving workplace dynamics
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