WHO WE ARE

As the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Rachel O’Neill leads Travelers’ corporate compliance function. Her team handles a variety of compliance issues including privacy, market regulation, consumer affairs, economic and trade sanctions and company licensing, as well as internal investigations. The team’s most visible role, however, is administering the company’s annual Code of Business Conduct and Ethics training and certification for all employees.

Rachel’s team also partners with our compliance officers in different business units and functional areas to understand the work they’re doing and what regulatory requirements they need to meet.

She says, “At their core, compliance and ethics are really about doing the right thing for our shareholders, customers, distribution partners and employees – and making sure our employees are educated on what that means and equipped with the right resources to support them.”

Rachel’s team monitors the current laws and regulations that Travelers is subject to and tracks potential developments that may impact the company in the future. When the team spots something on the horizon, they work with partners across the business to assess the risk, understand the operational impact and coordinate a response. Doing this helps Travelers maintain its reputation today so the company can continue to do business tomorrow.

For example, a few years ago, a Travelers colleague who was looking at the evolution of AI asked, “Do we have a framework for how we are going to responsibly use this?” In response, Rachel’s team collaborated with other key stakeholders to understand the risks, the business needs and the impact, and then outlined our Responsible AI Framework, which is publicly available on the company’s Sustainability site. This work is a great example of how Travelers watches for emerging issues and collaborates.

Successes like this result from staying close to business partners and working to understand their strategic goals. However, as Rachel emphasizes, you don’t have to be part of our Ethics & Compliance team to help make an impact at Travelers, as all employees can help create sustained value for Travelers. “Just do the right thing,” she says. “If you have questions, reach out. There are so many smart people who want the best for the company and our customers. That’s why Travelers has been around so long and why our reputation is what it is.”