Scouting for Growth

Trust Is the Operating System of the Agentic Enterprise

 

In this episode, Sabine VanderLinden is joined by Franklin Manchester, Global Insurance Strategic Advisor at SAS, and Steven Abel, Global Technology Partner and Deputy Global Head of AI & Transformation at Oliver Wyman. Together, they unpack the concept of "trust by design" in the context of agentic enterprises and AI adoption. 

 

The conversation pivots from traditional risk frameworks and compliance-based approaches to trust, to the urgent need for architectural and cultural transformations in which trust is embedded in every system and decision. They explore why organisations often confuse expanding AI tools with genuine readiness for autonomy, discuss why "human in the loop" is no longer sufficient, and offer perspectives on scaling trust, managing risk, and redefining organisational roles. 

 

The trio debates actionable leadership moves for CEOs and boards, the evolving skills for insurance professionals, and how the frontier firm of the future will distinguish itself through intentional trust-building—not just AI deployment.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 

Many organisations treat AI trust as a compliance issue, which hinders safe scaling. The fundamental shift involves deploying autonomous decision-makers, making trust by design an architectural and leadership mandate.

 

We, as an industry, over-invest in AI models and technology while under-investing in people and trust. Simply using more models or data doesn't guarantee higher trust, especially without architectures built for transparency and governance. Franklin noted a disconnect where insurers use AI but lack trustworthy systems, surprisingly favouring newer generative AI over established machine learning.

 

I question the efficacy of "human in the loop" controls in high-stakes industries, while Steven advocates embedded, infrastructure-level trust solutions. Franklin identified processes as primary failure points, particularly when tacit knowledge is overlooked (citing Cigna's mass claim denials).

 

The discussion explores the need for new AI risk and governance roles, akin to past actuarial practices. While human-centricity should drive design, scalability is challenging as organisations move toward agentic systems in which humans supervise, rather than directly control, risking brand integrity if governance fails.

 

For leaders, I urge you to shift focus from technology hype to foundational trust. Steven prioritises "under the water" capabilities, such as risk and regulatory expertise. Franklin recommends three people-centric actions: embracing new skills, breaking data silos, and protecting the brand.

 

The truly future-ready firm embeds trust into every decision system—a practice rooted in culture, governance, and leadership, not just technology. Scaling AI without trust is merely scaling risk; organisations must engineer trust as a core operating principle.

 

BEST MOMENTS

 

"Trust isn't what you say, it is what your system does." — Sabine VanderLinden

 

"The architecture of these models themselves don’t lend themselves to a high trust environment." — Steven Abel

 

"We trust generative AI 200% more than machine learning. Which is bonkers to me because machine learning has been around for like 30 years." — Franklin Manchester

 

“There’s still no more sophisticated sensor than a human being and a more powerful computer than the human brain.” — Franklin Manchester

 

“Auditability, transparency, and a connection with the human ecosystem and judgment—these things are non-negotiable.” — Steven Abel

 

"It is clear that the adoption is moving fast, and we need to make sure within regulated industry that we apply trust in everything we do. Otherwise, we are going to shun both customers." — Sabine VanderLinden

 

ABOUT THE GUEST

 

Franklin Manchester

Prior to joining SAS, Franklin served as a Global Insurance Strategic Advisor at SAS Institute, bringing over 20 years of experience in insurance underwriting and analytics. Known for his deep industry insight and passionate advocacy for trustworthy AI, Franklin is currently focused on linking insurance expertise with AI-driven transformation, highlighting the importance of governance, ethical frameworks, and human-centricity in future-ready companies.

 

Steven Abel

Global Technology Partner at Oliver Wyman and Deputy Global Head of AI and Transformation, Steven leverages his extensive background in tech innovation and large-scale enterprise change. As a self-proclaimed technology enthusiast, he offers critical perspectives on the infrastructural and professional challenges organisations face in scaling agentic AI responsibly and with embedded trust, urging leaders to rethink assumptions and prioritise under-the-surface architectural investments.

 

ABOUT THE HOST

 

Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.

 

If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.

 

And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]

In this riveting solo episode, Sabine VanderLinden confronts what she calls "the capacity gap"—a silent barrier that undermines organizational success in today's complex business landscape. Rather than blaming common culprits like strategy, leadership, or talent, she reframes the issue as a structural mismatch between ambitious goals and the finite resources available to deliver on them. 

 

Drawing from her extensive experience in the insurance sector and referencing compelling case studies from companies like Ping An and Nestlé, Sabine VanderLinden unpacks the math behind the capacity gap and lays out a practical five-step playbook to help leaders bridge it and thrive in the era of AI-driven transformation.

 

Key Takeaways

Reflecting on the capacity gap, it becomes clear to me that most organizations are not failing due to weak ideas or a lack of vision, but because they are unable to match their strategic ambitions to their actual capacity to implement them. The sheer pace of technological change, combined with heightened expectations around innovation, puts immense pressure on existing operating models, especially in sectors like insurance. 

 

The essential insight I share is that companies will win not by having the grandest vision, but by developing the operational elasticity to close the capacity gap faster than competitors. This requires a rigorous assessment of current delivery abilities, a relentless focus on throughput, leveraging external partners as capacity multipliers, and embedding elasticity into both technology and workforce design.

 

Most crucially, making capacity a leadership and board-level metric shifts the organization from admiring problems to solving them. As I explore in the episode, frontier firms show us what’s possible when capacity is managed as a dynamic asset rather than a limiting factor. The future belongs to those who can execute, not just strategize.

 

Best Moments

 

"What if the single greatest obstacle to your company's future success isn't the competition, a lack of budget, or even the speed of technological change—but a silent thief of momentum that lives in the space between your boardroom's bold vision and your team's daily reality?"

 

"It is not a people problem. It is a math problem, a fundamental mismatch between the infinite demands of strategic ambition and the finite capacity of your organization to execute."

 

"The winners will not be the companies with the most visionary strategies. They will be the companies with the smallest capacity gap."

 

"Frontier firms are not just managing capacity; they are weaponizing it."

 

"Closing the capacity gap is not about asking your teams to work harder. It is about redesigning the work itself."

 

ABOUT THE HOST

 

Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.

 

If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.

 

And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]

In this episode of "Scouting for Growth," Sabine VanderLinden welcomes Florian Graillot, founding partner at Astorya VC, for an in-depth conversation about the evolving landscape of risk management and insurance innovation. The discussion explores how risk management is shifting from static predictions to adaptive strategies designed for tomorrow's uncertainties, emphasizing the rise of the “frontier firm”—organizations that continuously learn, adapt, and act in real time.

 

Florian Graillot shares insights from his experience investing across insurtech, cyber, climate risk, and financial fraud, highlighting the increasing importance of technology, data, and AI. 

 

Together, Sabine VanderLinden and Florian Graillot discuss the structural advantages Europe may hold in building AI-native, trust-driven business models and the critical role of agent-human collaboration in future risk management. They address the challenges faced by incumbents—including talent acquisition, cost efficiency, and profitable growth—and consider what distinguishes great founders in the frontier firm era.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 

This episode underlines that risk management is no longer about controlling yesterday’s uncertainties but engineering resilience for tomorrow. I was struck by Florian Graillot's argument that insurance leaders must rethink the entire risk value chain—not just the insurance segment—but encompassing prevention, risk assessment, capital efficiency, and claims. Simply layering AI onto legacy workflows isn’t enough; true transformation requires intention, an openness to external partnerships, and a clear ROI focus.

 

It’s clear to me that embracing AI isn’t “optional practice"—it’s existential. Organizations that experiment vigorously and collaborate with tech-first ventures gain a competitive edge, especially as emerging risks outpace traditional data models. Europe’s more measured regulatory approach, sometimes critiqued as cautious, actually presents an opportunity to build trust-by-design, ensuring AI is explainable and aligned with both ethics and end-customer value.

 

Ultimately, the essence of any successful frontier firm lies in clarity of vision, a readiness for real change, and a focus on trust between leaders, employees, and customers. As the industry shifts, those who can articulate and measure technology’s value, while empowering agent-human teams, will undoubtedly shape the risk landscape of the future.

 

BEST MOMENTS

 

"Risk management is no longer about predicting yesterday's risk. It is about designing for tomorrow's uncertainty." 

 

"Either you consider emerging risks as a threat and retreat from the market, or you leverage technology to build resilience. That resilience is the optimistic side of the challenge." 

 

"The perfect founding team is a blend of technology expertise and deep industry knowledge—you need both to create real value in insurance." 

 

"If you expect big figures tomorrow morning, it will not work... But if you are ready to take more time and invest accordingly, innovation can deliver real and very nice results." 

 

"In the end, technology doesn’t remove risk. It actually reveals our choices." 

 

ABOUT THE GUEST

 

Florian Graillot is the co-founder and founding partner at Astorya VC, one of Europe’s most influential venture capital firms focused on early-stage insurtech, risk, and regulatory technology. 

 

With 15 years of tech investing experience—ten of them specializing in insurtech—Florian Graillot has an unparalleled vantage point on the evolution of the insurance and risk landscape. He is passionate about backing founders who are redefining resilience, tackling climate, cyber, and financial fraud with cutting-edge data and algorithms, and reshaping how risk is owned and governed across enterprises.

 

ABOUT THE HOST

 

Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.

 

If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.

 

And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]

In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden welcomes industry veteran Karl Grandl, now of Miss Moneypenny Technologies, for a wide-ranging conversation on the real transformation underway in financial services and insurance. 

Sabine VanderLinden sets the stage by emphasizing that digitization is no longer enough—true change means re-architecting operating models for velocity, intelligence, and trust at scale. Together, they explore the pitfalls of strategic complacency, the opportunities provided by European regulation, and the immense potential of intelligence layers and wallet technology to redefine how institutions interact with customers. 

The discussion moves from strategic leadership to practical use cases—from frictionless onboarding and claims to agentic customer experiences—offering a roadmap for both incumbents and challenger firms looking to thrive in the era of real-time risk and embedded governance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Reflecting on my conversation with Karl Grandl, what became clear is that transformation in financial services isn’t just about digitizing legacy systems—it’s about fundamentally re-architecting the industry. For decades, institutions like banks and insurers were built for stability, but the pace of change and customer expectation today demands real-time, intelligent, and seamless experiences. Simply layering new digital tools over old processes leads to fragmentation, not progress.

We’re stepping into the era of frontier firms: organizations powered by intelligence, human-agent collaboration, and embedded governance. As Karl emphasized, automation by itself doesn’t mean autonomy or intelligence. Instead, success hinges on evolving operating models and creating trust at scale. Regulatory changes, particularly in Europe—such as the EU AI Act and the introduction of digital identity wallets—are not burdens, but strategic advantages. They force discipline, drive infrastructure modernization, and create opportunities to offer frictionless experiences for 450 million citizens.

Karl’s insight into customer experience “activation layers” resonated deeply. True transformation is about orchestrating intelligent touchpoints so insurance feels invisible and effortless, yet highly trustworthy, especially at moments of service or claim. This approach preserves the value of brokers and advisors, enhancing their roles as strategic risk partners instead of replacing them.

Finally, leadership, not technology, is at the heart of transformation. The ability to articulate a clear vision and quickly demonstrate value is what distinguishes the winners. Real-time governance, compliance by design, and empathetic human engagement are becoming essential to build—and keep—customer trust. The challenge for every executive now is not just to optimize yesterday’s operations but to actively build tomorrow’s intelligence layer. The frontier is being defined now, and it begins with a leadership mindset ready for structural redesign and velocity.

BEST MOMENTS

"Automation is not autonomy, efficiency is not intelligence, and digital channels without orchestration create digital fragmentation." 

"European regulation is our unfair advantage. It’s not just about discipline, it’s about infrastructure." 

"You have to evolve—from transaction intermediary into a strategic risk advisor, augmented by intelligence that handles routine so you can focus on relationships, empathy, and judgment." 

"Governance is about to become the most strategic capability. When compliance agents and financial AI are embedded in every workflow, governance shifts from retrospective reporting to real-time intervention." 

"The frontier firm is not defined by how much AI it deploys; it is defined by how intelligently it integrates risk, compliance, capital, and customer experience."

ABOUT THE GUEST

Karl Grandl is often dubbed an “insurance dinosaur,” with over 30 years in the industry spanning Swiss Life, GetSafe, WeFox, and now Miss Moneypenny Technologies. His experience spans product development, distribution, and embedded insurance, as well as scaling tech-driven aggregators across markets. 

At Miss Moneypenny, Karl is spearheading the integration of wallet technology and intelligence layers, focusing on frictionless customer interaction and embedding trust and compliance by design. 

An advocate for regulation as a strategic advantage and transformation as a leadership imperative, Karl is a sought-after voice for both legacy insurers and challenger MGAs looking to build tomorrow’s intelligence-driven operating models. 

Connect with him via LinkedIn or at upcoming events such as InsurTech Week and InsurTech Insights in London.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.

If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.

And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]

In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden sits down with Manish Shah, President and Chief Product Officer at Majesco, to explore the rapidly changing landscape of insurance core systems. 

Together, they examine how AI is shifting the industry from being purely a protector to one that also focuses on prevention and dynamic participation. The conversation covers everything from the persistent protection gap and the urgent need for behavioral—not just technological—transformation in insurance to the practical realities and fears surrounding the implementation of agentic AI systems. 

Manish Shah shares actionable insights on overcoming internal resistance, building trust with customers, and the importance of leadership courage. Throughout, listeners will gain an insider’s view on how insurance models are transforming and what sets bold, future-ready leaders apart.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

I was delighted to welcome Manish Shah to explore how the insurance industry is being transformed at its core. Our discussion began with the fundamental premise that insurance is built on trust and a promise of protection—yet today, both are being challenged by shifting customer expectations, legacy systems, and the rapid evolution of AI technologies. 

Manish emphasized that closing the protection gap is not merely an issue of customer education but primarily a challenge of product and experience design. If customers do not understand or value our offerings, it's a failure of design, not comprehension.

We agreed that the path to genuine transformation must be grounded in a behavioral shift—beyond technology upgrades or business process reengineering. Transformation executives must start by listening deeply to customers, adapting to their evolving needs, and fostering a culture that is not afraid to take bold risks rather than settle for incremental change.

The conversation also delved into how AI, when embedded into the core—not bolted on as an afterthought—can help insurers move from process-led to truly human-centered operations. This enables better capacity, more personalized experiences, and the ability to anticipate rather than react to customers’ needs.

Crucially, Manish Shah articulated the importance of trust, transparency, and auditability in the AI era: true trust is built through consistent, clear, empathetic engagement, supported by AI that augments—not replaces—human judgment. The insurers that will thrive in the next 3-5 years are those who are brave enough to rethink their business models, leverage intelligent, agentic cores, and prioritize behavioral change. 

The future belongs to those willing to become active partners in their customers' lives, focused on prevention, participation, and peace of mind.

BEST MOMENTS

“If our customers don’t understand or see the value in the product, then it is a design problem. It’s not really a customer problem or an education problem.

“Trust is built in small moments, not in any marketing material or strategic deck.” 

“If we can actually execute well as an industry, insurance should feel more like a proactive safety net than a just reactive payment mechanism.” 

“The brave ones… are those who are willing to rethink their business model and not just the tech stack.” 

ABOUT THE GUEST

 Manish Shah is the President and Chief Product Officer at Majesco, a leader at the intersection of technology, product strategy, and insurance industry expertise. 

With over 30 years in the insurance sector, Manish Shah has been both a witness and a driver of major transformation, from the analog days of the industry to today’s AI-driven innovation. He is particularly passionate about embedding intelligence into the foundation of insurance operations—not just talking about AI, but delivering it as an engine of change. 

At Majesco, Manish Shah oversees strategy for their cloud-native, intelligent core platform, with a special focus on agentic workflows, operational effectiveness, and preparing insurers for future challenges and opportunities in P&C, Life, Health, and Benefits.

If you want to connect with Manish Shah, he encourages open dialogue and learning across the industry.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.

If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.

And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]