Mojgan Lefebvre is EVP and Chief Technology & Operations Officer at Travelers, where she oversees technology, data, analytics, AI, cybersecurity, customer service and business operations, driving enterprise-wide transformation through AI and digital innovation. Since joining Travelers in 2018, she has been a driving force behind the company’s digital and operational transformation, enabling business growth through technology. Mojgan earned a computer science degree, summa cum laude, from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Her career spans leadership roles at Bain & Company, bioMérieux and Liberty Mutual. She has been recognized as a Forbes Next 50 Innovative Technology Leader and was inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame in 2022.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CIO Magazine, Mojgan shared insights into how an unconventional path from Iran to Tel Aviv to the United States shaped her belief that technology is one of the most effective tools for solving complex problems. On trends, she called generative AI the most consequential shift, emphasizing that the real question is building foundations of trusted proprietary data, governance, and an empowered workforce to use AI with precision and accountability. She also shared her personal hobbies and interests, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
As a senior technology and analytics executive, your career has been marked by a passion for solving business challenges with technology. What sparked this interest, and how has it shaped your professional journey?
My passion for technology grew from a simple but powerful realization: It is one of the most effective tools we have for solving real, complex problems – and I have spent my career proving this out.
My path into tech was anything but conventional. I grew up in Iran and moved frequently as a child because of my father’s work. I attended a British school in Tel Aviv, learned a new language, navigated new cultures and became comfortable with uncertainty early. When I eventually left Iran and came to the United States, I had planned to study medicine – but the cost was prohibitive, and I was funding my own education. I had a strong math background, and people told me I should try computer science. I had never seen a computer in my life, but I decided to take that advice. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.
From there, I was intentional about pairing technical depth with business acumen. I pursued an MBA at Harvard Business School and built strategy capabilities at Bain – not to move away from technology but to ensure that I could apply it where it matters most: to real business outcomes. That philosophy has shaped every role I’ve taken on since.
What do you love the most about your current role?
What I love most is the opportunity to develop people and to watch someone grow into a leader they didn’t know they could become. That is what I find genuinely energizing at this stage of my career.
The scope of impact in this role is also extraordinary. I lead global technology and operations, and I get to see directly how our work shapes the experience of customers, employees and communities. Seeing years of strategic investment come to life – from our AI-powered Wildfire Loss Detector to TravAI, our enterprise generative AI platform, and our newly launched TravelersLLM – has been deeply rewarding. But what gives all of that meaning is the people behind it.
Technology and analytics are rapidly evolving. What trends do you see shaping the future of these fields, and how can professionals prepare?
Generative AI is the most consequential shift we’re seeing right now. We are only beginning to understand its transformative potential, not just in automating tasks but in fundamentally reimagining how work gets done. At Travelers, we are embedding AI across every stage of the software and analytics development life cycle, from product design and user story writing to code review, testing and deployment. We are also going further, building agentic systems – where multiple AI agents coordinate across complex, multistep workflows – that are already in production in parts of our operations. Code reviews that once took days can now be completed in minutes. That pace of change is real, and it is accelerating.
The more important question for organizations is not whether to adopt AI but whether they are building the foundations to use it with precision and accountability. That means proprietary data they can trust, governance frameworks that hold up under scrutiny, and a workforce that is genuinely empowered rather than just exposed to the tools.
Professionals looking to stay ahead should adopt a genuine growth mindset because in this field, the only constant is change. Remain relentlessly curious. Surround yourself with people who challenge you, invest in continuous learning and never stop asking “Why?” Leaders should actively model exploration and experimentation. That is how organizations transform and how individuals stay relevant as the landscape keeps shifting.
What skills or experiences do you believe are essential for success in these fields, and how can aspiring professionals acquire them?
First, learn to speak business. Being a great technologist is not enough. You have to help others understand why your work matters to the organization. Always work backward from the customer and the business outcome. Second, invest in relationships with genuine intention. Decisions about you are made when you are not in the room. Relationships are what ensure that you are well represented in those moments.
Third, embrace candor, but deliver it with care. You can and should care personally for your colleagues while also challenging them directly. The best teams are built on mutual trust, accountability and honest feedback, all given with genuine regard for the other person.
Finally, seek out mentors and sponsors. Not just people who offer advice, but advocates who will use their voice and influence to create opportunities for you. And when you are in a position to do so, return that favor without hesitation.
Can you share a book or resource that inspires you, and why?
Kim Scott’s “Radical Candor,” which she also calls “compassionate candor,” is one I return to again and again because it captures something I believe deeply about leadership: Empathy and accountability are not opposing forces; they are deeply connected.
Leaders can get this balance wrong in both directions. Some over-rotate toward results, believing that pressure and pace alone will drive performance. That may produce outcomes in the short term, but over time it erodes trust, engagement and retention. Others lean too heavily into empathy, avoiding the hard conversations in an effort to protect people. But as Scott explains, when you don’t have those conversations, you often end up doing the wrong thing for the person and the organization.
What the book reinforces for me is that leading with heart does not mean lowering expectations. It means being clear about outcomes, holding people accountable and making difficult decisions – all while genuinely caring about the people doing the work.
As a mentor and advocate for women in technology, you’ve founded initiatives like Empower Together and partnered with nonprofits like Girls Who Code. What drives your commitment to diversity and inclusion?
It comes from a very personal place. I know what it means to navigate spaces where people who look like you are underrepresented. And I know what it costs, quietly, when you feel like you have to make yourself smaller to fit in.
Early in my career, my name, Mojgan, was often difficult for people to pronounce. Wanting to reduce friction, I started introducing myself as Megan. It seemed practical at the time, but I felt disconnected from myself every time I heard that name – like I had compromised something essential for someone else’s convenience. After about six months, I went back to my name. That experience taught me that authenticity is not just a personal value; it is a leadership strength. When you bring yourself fully to the table, you create space for others to do the same. That leads to stronger teams, better ideas and more resilient organizations.
That is what drives my commitment. I founded Empower Together and partnered with Girls Who Code because I want to make sure that others, especially young women entering technology, have advocates, not just examples. I was fortunate to have mentors and sponsors throughout my career who saw potential in me before I fully saw it in myself. That experience taught me the lasting power of advocacy. When you are in a position to do it, you have an obligation to give it back.
What are some of your passions outside of work? What do you like to do in your time off?
Giving back is genuinely important to me. I volunteer with Birthday Wishes, which ensures that children experiencing homelessness don’t go without celebrating their birthdays – something most of us take for granted. That simplicity is exactly what draws me to it. I also support the Art Resource Collaborative for Kids, which keeps arts access alive for children who would otherwise go without. And I serve on advisory boards for both Georgia Tech and Boston University, which keeps me connected to the next generation of technologists coming up.
Beyond that, I believe deeply that having a supportive partner and family makes an enormous difference, both in work and in life. I love traveling with my husband and our two daughters. Experiencing new places together has always been one of the things that recharges me most.
What is your biggest goal? Where do you see yourself in five years from now?
I tend not to think about it in terms of a specific role or title. What matters most to me is the impact I am having and the kind of organization I am helping to build.
Over the next five years, my focus is on helping Travelers fully realize the potential of AI – not just adopting the technology, but fundamentally reimagining how we operate, make decisions and serve our customers at scale. We have built real foundations: proprietary data, purpose-built models and agentic systems already running in production. The next chapter is about converting that foundation into enduring competitive advantage. We are still early in that journey, and the opportunity ahead is significant.
Just as important, I want to develop leaders who can lead in that environment with confidence, leaders who are comfortable with change, who stay curious and who can translate technology into real business outcomes. That, to me, is how transformation becomes durable: not through platforms alone, but through the people who know how to use them and keep pushing them further.
If five years from now we have built a more adaptive, more innovative organization and developed a generation of leaders who can sustain that momentum long after any single person has moved on, that is what I will consider my most meaningful contribution.
What advice would you give to aspiring technology leaders looking to make a meaningful impact?
We have touched on many of these themes already, but if I had to distill it: Connect everything you do to business strategy. Build relationships with real intention. Align and genuinely empower the people around you. Adopt a growth mindset and speak candidly, with compassion, not armor.
And then one more thing I feel strongly about: Be generous with your time and your voice because you never know whose path you might change. Some of the most meaningful guidance I have given and received has happened in 10- or 15-minute conversations: a hallway exchange, a quick call, a reply to a message someone almost didn’t send. Never underestimate the impact of showing up for someone in a small moment. It compounds in ways you cannot see.