Sarah Friend

You have a podcast called “At the Core with Sarah Friend,” in which you interview other women business leaders. How did “At the Core” come to be?

Way back before my insurance career started, I really wanted to be the next Katie Couric. I always had this heart for storytelling, for breaking down big, complex topics into simpler ideas that people could really grab hold of and do something with. A few years ago, our marketing team came to me and said, “We want to do a podcast. Will you do it?” And I said, “Yes, I will do a podcast, on one condition: I get to choose the topic.”

So focusing strictly on women business leaders was a conscious decision on your part?

It was. Our industry is pretty balanced between men and women. The gender gap widens significantly when you look at executive-level positions. I love our industry. Ensuring support, mentorship, and opportunities for everyone makes it stronger. Celebrating the impact of women leaders through these stories is one small way to make a positive difference.

You told me earlier that when you tell people you’re from Portland, Oregon, they often ask: How is Portland these days? So let me ask: How is Portland?

I love our city. As somebody who was born in Portland, raised in Portland, and cannot see myself ever completely leaving Portland, I do feel a little defensive when I get that question. At the same time, we have faced really, really hard challenges as a city, going back to pre-pandemic, going back to Occupy Portland, and George Floyd, and the protests after his killing, and then the pandemic, and really bad decisions as a city around how to deal with people experiencing homelessness and drug addiction. All of those things combined have really devastated our downtown.

I think we’ve made some good decisions that are going to change the direction around some important policies. We have business leaders in downtown who are fully committed to public-private partnerships and bringing back our incredible downtown, and so I am optimistic. It is not going to be overnight that our downtown is revitalized, but we will get there.

What would your co-workers be surprised to learn about you?

How much I love being outdoors. I love to hike, backpack, swim, ski, boat— anything in nature I’m all in.

What three words would your co-workers use to describe your management style?

Positive, open, and collaborative.

What does a perfect weekend look like?

A perfect weekend is in Florence [on the Oregon coast], at the lake, unplugged, with at least one walk on the nearby beach with my dogs, one of which is [a] 150-pound Newfoundland who brings joy to the world. His name is Fezzik, named after the giant in The Princess Bride. A perfect weekend includes some activity on the lake— swimming, water-skiing, kayaking—and a big compound dinner with a whole crew of friends and family eating fresh crab that somebody else caught. And a midnight kayak. Kayaking in the pitch black with a bunch of friends under the stars—you cannot get better than that.

If you could change one thing about the insurance industry, what would it be?

Affordability. On both the benefits and P&C side, this is a huge issue for our customers. The status quo is not sustainable, and we have the opportunity and the expertise to advocate in powerful ways.

You recently joined The Council board. Why did you want to join?

To come together and leverage our collective voices and have a bigger impact for our customers. I really believe in what the CIAB is doing. They’re advocating for our industry and for our clients. I think I’m going to learn a lot from my fellow board members, from The Council staff, and that will benefit our firm, our employees, our customers. I hope I can add value to the conversations and really lean in where I can help accelerate positive change.