Kate Sampson
Lyft
San Francisco, CA USA
"Don’t put too much pressure on having to know everything. Each role you have will continue to build on your knowledge and allow you to be adaptable."
Career Roadmap
Kate's work combines: Business, Entrepreneurship, and Problem Solving
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
When I first told people I was working for an insurance company, I got a lot of confused reactions from people that just didn't get why. People's reactions had me questioning whether it was the right choice. I eventually realized that they were the ones with the wrong preconceived notions about the industry. I didn't let their opinions bother me and decided to get involved in new areas of the field.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Economics, General
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Bachelor's Degree
Political Science and Government, General
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Born and raised in Massachusetts—attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she graduated with her degree in political science and economics.
2.
During her junior year, she took an internship at an insurance brokerage in Chicago—admits she knew nothing about the insurance industry and hadn’t even considered that as a career option.
3.
After her internship concluded, she was offered a job selling commercial insurance as an account executive at their Boston office.
4.
After working there for a year, she decided to take a huge risk and move to San Francisco—got a job cold calling clients and selling insurance for Marsh Risk & Insurance Services.
5.
Over the course of the next 20 years, she worked in a variety of roles at Marsh, getting experience in as many areas of the business as she could.
6.
Met the founders of Lyft when they became her clients—temporarily left Marsh to work in-house at Lyft, building a risk solutions team.
7.
Was recruited back to Marsh for her “dream job,” running their San Francisco office—but after only a few months, she realized she missed her role at Lyft and the opportunities it had given her.
8.
Decided to return to Lyft, where she now works as the vice president of risk solutions, working to solve the complex insurance problems surrounding ride sharing and autonomous vehicles.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You're working at an insurance brokerage? Oh boy...
How I responded:
When I first told people I was working for an insurance company, I got a lot of confused reactions from people that just didn't get why. People's reactions had me questioning whether it was the right choice. I eventually realized that they were the ones with the wrong preconceived notions about the industry. I didn't let their opinions bother me and decided to get involved in new areas of the field.