Keeping PLUS Designations Relevant: The Role of the ExecPLP and CPLP Committees

Earning a professional designation represents more than completing a series of educational requirements. A strong designation must continue to evolve alongside the profession it represents.

That is where the PLUS ExecPLP and CPLP Committees play an important role.

Made up of experienced designation holders and industry professionals, these committees help PLUS maintain the relevance and value of two of its specialized professional designations: the Executive Lines Professional Liability Practitioner (ExecPLP) designation and the Cyber Professional Liability Practitioner (CPLP) designation.

Cyber Professional Liability Practitioner (CPLP) Designation Committee Members

Jessica Centeno, Kroll

Betty Shepherd, Great American Insurance Group

Ahmad H. Taylor, RSUI Group, Inc.

Executive Lines Professional Liability Practitioner (ExecPLP) Designation Committee Members

Michele L. Epstein, Amwins Insurance Brokerage, LLC

Ebony Head, Skyward Specialty

Alex Hopkins, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.

Andrew Kelly, Alexander J. Wayne & Associates, Inc.

Eric Roberts, Relm Insurance

Debbie Schaffel

While each committee focuses on a different area of professional liability, they share a common purpose: bringing current industry expertise into the ongoing development of PLUS education and ensuring the designations continue to reflect the knowledge professionals need in an evolving marketplace.

Bringing Practitioner Expertise to PLUS Designations

The ExecPLP Committee provides subject matter expertise in D&O professional liability insurance, while the CPLP Committee provides expertise in cyber professional liability insurance.

Committee members are themselves ExecPLP or CPLP designees and bring significant industry experience to their roles. This practitioner perspective helps PLUS connect designation requirements and affiliated educational programming with what professionals are encountering in the marketplace.

Both committees advise PLUS on content-related questions, help identify subject matter experts, and assist in keeping designation requirements current and relevant.

That ongoing involvement is particularly important in areas like executive lines and cyber, where changes in regulation, litigation, technology, business practices, emerging exposures, and the insurance marketplace can quickly affect the knowledge professionals need to be successful.

Why These Committees Matter

Professional designations carry the greatest value when the knowledge they represent remains meaningful to both professionals and employers.

The ExecPLP and CPLP Committees help protect that value by providing an ongoing connection between PLUS and experienced practitioners working in these specialized areas of professional liability.

Their involvement helps PLUS:

• Keep designation requirements aligned with changes in the profession.
• Incorporate current practitioner perspectives into educational decisions.
• Identify emerging D&O and cyber issues that warrant additional education.
• Connect PLUS with knowledgeable subject matter experts and speakers.
• Support continuing professional development beyond earning the designation.
• Strengthen awareness and recognition of the ExecPLP and CPLP credentials.

Designees Helping Shape What Comes Next

There is another important element to these committees: they give professionals who have earned a PLUS designation an opportunity to contribute to its future.

ExecPLP and CPLP committee members bring the experience they have developed throughout their careers and through earning the designation itself back into the PLUS learning community. In doing so, they help ensure that future designees receive education informed by professionals who understand both the subject matter and the demands of the industry.

This creates a valuable cycle of professional development: industry professionals build their expertise, earn a PLUS designation, and then have opportunities to use that expertise to strengthen education for those who follow.

As executive lines and cyber risks continue to evolve, the knowledge associated with these specialties must evolve with them. Through the involvement of experienced designees and practitioners, the ExecPLP and CPLP Committees help PLUS ensure its specialized designations remain current, credible, and connected to the professional liability industry they are designed to serve.