Leadership Unscripted: GEICO Execs Examine the Modern Workplace Amid COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the way much of the world lives and works, and it’s unclear both when a return to normal may occur and what that return may look like. What practices, many born out of necessity, will carry over to a post-COVID world? Which will be dispatched as soon as possible? At a virtual Leadership Unscripted event hosted by the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and moderated by Professor Elena Loutskina on 28 October 2020, a pair of executives from GEICO offered a snapshot into pandemic preparations and execution at one of the world’s largest insurance companies. GEICO executives Maria Scarangella, vice president of talent acquisition and onboarding, and Steve Smith, vice president of information technology, recalled the unusual time more than six months ago, when the organization was among those suddenly forced to pivot to a largely work-from-home environment.