Good communication and teamwork, creating a culture of collaboration, delegating to a team of experts, and doing what you love—these are just a few of the career leadership lessons named by Constantine “Dinos” Iordanou, chairman and CEO of Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL). Executive SummaryWith the culture of Hank Greenberg’s AIG molding his leadership style and advice from Warren Buffett guiding his approach to decision-making, Dinos Iordanou moved from an aerospace engineering background to become chair and CEO of Arch Capital Group. With the retirement date from his CEO role approaching, Iordanou looks back on lessons learned and shares advice for future leaders with Carrier Management’s International Editor Lisa Howard.
When his insurance career began 41 years ago, it didn’t take Iordanou long to get on the leadership ladder.
After earning a degree in aerospace engineering from New York University, he was lured into the insurance industry in 1976, at the age of 26, by American International Group, which was recruiting engineers to help underwriters assess the risks associated with a relatively new line of business: satellite launch insurance.
It was the beginning of the communications revolution, and insurance was needed for launch vehicles as well as for lifetime coverage of these satellites, said Iordanou, who is retiring as CEO of ACGL in March 2018, although he will continue as the group’s chairman.