awards and Honorees
Each year, the Business Insurance Women to Watch Awards showcase an outstanding group of female executives in the insurance and risk management sector.
When the publication began the program in 2006, many women were carving out impressive careers in insurance, but few were making it to the highest levels of management.
Frustratingly for many, that is still the case today, but progress is being made. Our 2019 Inspiration Award winner, Jane Tutoki, held numerous senior positions at some of the biggest companies in the industry before making it to the CEO ranks in 2014.
Female insurance professionals from Australia to Arizona and Paris to Puerto Rico are advancing their teams, units and organizations, and changing the face of the industry. We now honor 50 women annually from around the globe as Women to Watch and all have achieved exceptional levels of success and many of the winners are actively involved in programs that promote diversity in the insurance business.
All the winners are selected through a rigorous nomination process. Beginning in June, we seek nominations detailing information on nominees’ expertise, leadership qualities and achievements. The hundreds of nominations are then reviewed by Business Insurance editorial staff, and finalists are selected after multiple rounds of judging. After speaking with references, we then name 20 winners from Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 30 from North America and the rest of the world. All the winners have unique and compelling stories. We hope you enjoy reading about them.
Gavin Souter, editor
Recent Honorees
2020 Inspiration Award
Dame Inga Beale, Non-Executive Board Director, Crawford & Company
Women to Watch 2020
Virna Alexander Rhodes, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.
Johnte’ Archer, J. Archer Insurance Group
Preeti Asthana, Aon PLC
Martha Bane, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Danette Beck, USI Insurance Services LLC
Ashleigh Cashman, International Catastrophe Insurance Managers LLC, a unit of Victor Insurance Holdings
Elaine Coffman, Lockton Cos. LLC
Ingrid Cook, SHzoom It LLC
Courtney Davis Curtis, University of Chicago
Amy Evans, Intercare Insurance Services, a unit of Intercare Holdings LLC
Erin Fry, Munich Re Specialty Insurance, a unit of Munich Reinsurance Group
Catrina Gilbert, DFW International Airport
Donna Glenn, National Council on Compensation Insurance
Susan Gonzales, American International Group Inc.
Reema Hammoud, Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc.
Heidi Hull, FM Global
Dana Lodge, Everest Insurance, a unit of Everest Re Group Ltd.
Megan Miller, Spencer Educational Foundation
Diane Mittenzwei, Risk Strategies Co. Inc.
Lan Nguyen, BioMed Realty
Vasantha Prammagnanam, Corvel Corp.
Kim Riley, Hylant Group Inc.
Shannon Stefanski, R-T Specialty LLC
Sharon Robinson, Zurich Insurance Group
Christina Terplan, Atheria Law P.C.
Rhonda Tobin, Robinson + Cole LLP
Michele Twyman, Chubb Ltd.
Juliet White, Axa XL, a unit of Axa SA
Christina Welch, FCCI Insurance Group
Julie Wood, Marsh LLC
Women to Watch EMEA 2020
Lisa Bartlett, Crawford & Company
Andrea Best, McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP
Hande Bilgisu, Marsh LLC
Melissa Boyars, Generali Group
Elizabeth Carbonaro, Willis Towers Watson PLC
Ana Franco De Sarabia, Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc.
Sophia Dunér, Aon Reinsurance Solutions
Nina Duft, American International Group Inc.
Jackie Hyde, Stanmore Insurance Brokers Ltd.
Victoria Jewell, McLarens Global Ltd.
Tracy-Lee Kus, Aon PLC
Vered Lobel, American International Group UK Ltd.
Kera McDonald, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions
Melanie O’Neill, Liberty Specialty Markets
Nilay Ozden, Marsh Ltd.
Petra Riga, Zurich Insurance Group
Linda Ryan, Everest Re Group Ltd.
Kay Smith, THB Group, a unit of AmWINS Group Inc.
Connie Tregidga, QBE Insurance Group Ltd.
Beatriz Valenti Barbat, Zurich Insurance Group
