What if risk management were not about playing defense, but about giving innovation the confidence to move forward?
This is a replay of one of the most listened to Innovation Storytellers episodes of 2025. I am revisiting my conversation with Rose Hall, a former senior innovation leader at AXA XL, professional engineer, and long-time advocate for rethinking how organizations approach risk, because the ideas shared here feel even more relevant today.
Drawing on her experience building digital platforms, business ecosystems, and client-driven innovation programs, Rose explains why risk and innovation are far more connected than most leaders realize. We talk about the often invisible role insurance plays beneath some of the world’s most ambitious innovations, from advanced infrastructure projects to space exploration.
Rose shares how companies like SpaceX approach complex, layered risk and why traditional insurance models are struggling to keep pace with realities such as cyber exposure, climate volatility, and geopolitical uncertainty.
The conversation also turns to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. There is no single insurance product designed to cover AI, but Rose unpacks how existing policies may respond when things go wrong, and why that gray area demands a more adaptive and informed approach to risk management. It is a reminder that innovation rarely fits neatly into legacy frameworks.
Partnerships emerge as a central theme. Rose argues that no organization can solve these challenges alone. Progress depends on collaboration between insurers, startups, and large enterprises who are willing to share insight, experiment responsibly, and rethink old assumptions together.
This episode replay challenges the idea that risk management slows progress. Instead, Rose reframes it as a foundational enabler of growth, resilience, and long-term value. When risk is understood and managed well, innovation does not shrink; it accelerates. Has risk management been holding your organization back, or could it be the very thing that helps you move faster and smarter?
Guest Details:
Name: Rose Hall
Title: SVP, Head of Innovation, Americas
Company: AXA
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Rose Hall, PE, is a winning intrapreneur, business model innovator, engineer, empathetic leader, keynote speaker, and endurance athlete. She previously served as Senior Vice President of AXA XL’s Digital Commercial Platform, where she led innovation initiatives focused on business ecosystems, technology enablement, differentiated insurance solutions, and improved client service across commercial lines in the Americas. During her time at AXA XL, she also served as a global ambassador for the firm. She co-founded the triple-award-winning AXA XL Ecosystem, helping clients strengthen technological maturity, advance risk management practices, and support long-term, sustainable growth.
Before her work in insurance innovation, Rose built more than two decades of hands-on experience in engineering, project management, and risk management. Her career includes leadership roles at Turner Construction Company and work as an expert witness and litigation support consultant with WCD Group, now part of Gallagher Bassett. This blend of operational, technical, and strategic experience continues to inform her perspective on innovation, resilience, and leadership.
Rose holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a master’s degree from Stanford University. She is a licensed Professional Engineer, a LEED Accredited Professional, and a Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist. She serves on multiple industry leadership and advisory boards. She has been widely recognized for her contributions, including Insurance Business America’s Elite Women in Insurance in 2017 and 2020, CLM Professional of the Year in 2019, PropertyCasualty360 Insurance Innovator Award in 2021, and the IRMI Words of Wisdom Award in 2022.