The Insurance Coffee House with Nick Hoadley · 2026-02-24 · 42 min
On this episode of the Insurance Coffee House, Nick Hoadley is joined by Val Rahmani, a leading board director across insurance and financial markets, currently serving on the boards of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), RenaissanceRe, and Entrust. Val shares how a 28-year career at IBM, followed by startup CEO experience, shaped her approach to leadership, strategy, and governance. Val reflects on her early career, starting as a chemistry PhD student who wanted to move into sales, and how IBM redirected her into systems engineering so she could learn the product before selling it. She describes the pivotal moment when she was selected to work in the CEO’s office and how that fast-tracked her exposure to top-level decision-making. Val shares practical lessons from that period, including how to think clearly under pressure, how to listen to specialists on the ground, and why taking opportunities quickly can change the trajectory of a career. The conversation then moves into Val’s transition from big tech to startup leadership.
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