Interview: Vinita Jajware-Beatty, Enkompass

We are inspired by people who are passionate about insurance, project finance, and technology that solves pressing global challenges. In this interview series, our chief actuary, Sherry Huang, talks with friends of New Energy Risk whose work makes a difference, and whose journeys will inspire you, too.

I first met Vinita Jajware-Beatty at the Women In Insurance Tech Conference in 2022.  She was the chairperson of the conference, partnering with the organizer (Altaworld) and representing the Toronto Insurance Women’s Association (TIWA) as its president.  The conference included a wide range of topics on innovative technologies serving the insurance industry. Vinita was the best MC I have ever met at any conference.  She was knowledgeable, engaged, and authentic, reading the room and connecting the dots between different segments of the insurance industries, technology vendors, as well as current trends.

I spoke to Vinita afterwards and found out she has a diverse background that combines engineering risk assessment and various related insurance applications. Vinita is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Enkompass Power & Energy Corporation, a national engineering and field services firm, Enkompass has operations rooted in industries including construction; telecommunications; healthcare; manufacturing; food and beverage; pharmaceutical; mining; and insurance.

Vinita is responsible for operational oversight of engineering and field services including Enterprise Risk Management and Human Resources, while maintaining a loss control engineering and commissioning professional practice. In addition to her leadership roles at Enkompass, TIWA and Altaworld, Vinita also serves as Chair of Dive In in Canada, a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) initiative from Lloyds of London.

After our meeting, we are excited to find out more about each other’s work as we both operate on the intersection of engineering and insurance.  I am also intrigued by her drive for excellence and sense of purpose in moving DEI forward.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Please tell us a little about how you got to where you are today.

Through grit, hard work, and perseverance. I was fortunate to have excellent mentors and career champions along my journey but even with those resources it did not replace the hard work needed along the way.

You are the best MC I have ever met! What foundations provided you with the building blocks for your communications skills?

Thank you for the kind words! I was fortunate that, at a young age, I was able to hone my public speaking skills through extracurricular activities in student leadership going back to my early high school days. Through my work with the Toronto South Asian Film Festival (Filmi) and starting a not-for-profit organization within the student leadership space, I was able to hone both my public speaking and media facing experience.

How do engineers and insurance professionals view risk differently?

Insurance professionals tend to think in absolute terms with very little grey area and this is often reflected in traditional insurance policies. Engineers are trained, regulated professionals who manage risk by nature of their profession, typically dealing with one or more constraints at the same time, while attempting to solve a problem. As the engineering profession is regulated around public safety and welfare, this places the onus of risk mitigation as paramount in the professional’s practice. Some creative insurance professionals also view risk in the same lens and ensure their policies are treated the same way.

Has there been a mentor(s) in your life who changed the trajectory of your career path?

I am very fortunate to have had many mentors over the last fifteen years of my career. These individuals include clients, senior engineering colleagues, and the insurance executives and professionals that I am privileged to work with on DEI initiatives. I would be remiss if I did not mention Professor Helmut Brosz and Steve Paniri, two senior electrical forensic engineers who were instrumental in providing me with a strong technical foundation, as well as Eileen Greene with HKMB HUB International for her guidance, mentorship, and support over the years.

What is your leadership style?

Based on conventional leadership archetypes, I definitely identify as a Servant Leader. In today’s knowledge-based workforce that can be an advantage toward motivating teams to reach their goals and objectives. At the same time, I am also an empath and that can be a challenge to compartmentalize the issues within a team and not have that affect me personally.

What does success mean to you?

Being able to live wisely, agreeably, and well by knowing my personal values, morals, mission, and vision is aligned with the work that I do. Having the freedom to pursue projects and initiatives that align with those values and general purpose is how I define success, as well as the means to support the goals of my family.