Climate risk is no longer a future scenario — it’s a live signal. And insurers who can’t see it in real time are already behind. In this episode of the Scouting for Growth Podcast, Sabine VanderLinden sits down with Jeff Williams, former Managing Director of Kayrros USA, to explore how geospatial intelligence is reshaping risk assessment, underwriting, and catastrophe response across insurance, energy, and financial services. Jeff’s journey begins in Texas — at the intersection of energy, consulting, and data-driven decision-making. Starting his career in top-tier consulting and M&A within the energy sector, he quickly realised something critical: almost all operational risk is spatial. Assets are spread across vast geographies, surrounded by sensors, yet much of that data remains underused. That insight led Jeff into the world of geospatial startups — and ultimately to Kayrros. Kayrros is a Series C scale-up that has already proven its commercial value in commodities and energy markets. Originally known for using satellite radar to estimate global crude oil tank levels, the company has evolved into a climate data intelligence platform — one that doesn’t just observe emissions like methane, but connects cause and effect across climate-related risks. That evolution is what makes Kayrros increasingly relevant to insurance. The platform now supports pre-risk assessment, live event monitoring, and post-event damage evaluation using a combination of satellite imagery, weather data, landslide analytics, AI, and advanced modelling. From wildfire detection with rapid updates, to flood and emissions tracking, Kayrros delivers insights that cut across underwriting, customer communication, and claims — not as isolated tools, but as an integrated risk layer. One of the most compelling parts of the discussion is Kayrros’ stance on transparency. Jeff is candid about the industry’s problem with “geospatial fatigue” — caused by black-box models, poor data refresh rates, and insufficient granularity. Kayrros takes a different approach: white-box analytics. Insurers and regulators can see exactly which data sources feed each insight, co-creating scoring mechanisms aligned to regulatory and underwriting needs. This isn’t about selling another dashboard. It’s about becoming a long-term geospatial partner for insurers grappling with systemic risks like wildfires, floods, and climate volatility — risks that can no longer be modelled once a year, or explained after the fact. This episode is essential listening for: Insurance leaders tackling climate-driven catastrophe risk Underwriters seeking transparent, data-rich decision tools Risk and sustainability executives integrating ESG with underwriting Innovators exploring satellite, AI, and real-time analytics As Jeff makes clear, the future of insurance depends on seeing risk as it forms — not after it strikes. And geospatial intelligence is quickly becoming the lens that makes that possible.