Columbia Impact Awards 2021: Welcome from Tim Arnold, Chamber Board Chairman
About Timothy Arnold
Timothy Arnold, Executive Vice President of Voluntary Benefits and President of Colonial Life at Unum, published a book titled "Leading Change" in late 2024. In promotional material for the book, Arnold stated that "well over half of organizational change efforts disappoint and underdeliver" and described change as "a powerful force that often stirs up feelings of resistance and fear." He argued that organizations should take a "both/and approach" to change, managing what he called "healthy tension" in five areas: innovation and consistency, facts and feelings, short-term and long-term focus, planning and action, and complexity and simplicity. Arnold said the book provides "a straightforward plan" to help leaders "turn resistance into resilience." In earlier appearances on Carolina Business Review, Arnold discussed the insurance industry and the Affordable Care Act. He stated in 2015 that the ACA "has actually helped raise the awareness around the need for medical benefits" and noted that high-deductible health plans create demand for supplemental products. In 2018, he said the "climate in DC is not really being helpful" regarding healthcare costs and that "people haven't figured out how to bend the cost curve for medical costs." In 2021, Arnold said the pandemic highlighted that "most of America's workers are underinsured for life and disability" and that Colonial Life saw an improvement in employee engagement scores during remote work. He also served as chairman of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce's board of directors in 2021.