Elite Women 2023

Regarding the issue of women standing out in insurance, Hart acknowledges lingering problems associated with society, such as “unconscious bias,” but sees things changing.  

“For me it’s very much a strategic issue for organizations because when you look at demographics and you look at the talent pool and the talent pool is going to be more diverse,” she says. “You just look at graduation rates and who’s coming and who’s going to be available, and your customers are going to be more diverse, and more diverse customers are going to demand more diverse partners. But you know the difficulty for individuals is some of it is still society and some are still the organizations that may not have prioritized diversity as much.” 

“I was able to leverage my sales background and passion for clients”
Carrie BarrVerisk

What differentiates IBA’s winners from their peers? 

Carrie Barr, president of casualty solutions at Verisk, has distinguished herself by being relentless about the customer experience and remaining collaborative yet decisive in leadership. This trait has been combined with her passion for coaching and “growing” people. 
 
As a result, she has managed to: 

• receive various company awards for sales performance 
   

• help clients save nearly $250 million in Medicare liens over a two-year period 
   

• save over $2.2 million in Treasury Department disputes 
   

• improve application of comparative liability by up to 20% 
   

• reduce medical review times by up to 90% 

Wade Associates president Cheryl Nabell has similarly been marked out as a top performer by transitioning from an actuary to a producer, then to an executive. Along the way, she has mentored young and other promising people in the industry. 

As a result of her noteworthy efforts, she has: 

• developed a highly functioning team that has worked to increase agency 2019 revenue by almost 50% by the end of this year 
   

• helped her company become a Big I Best Practices Agency for the first time ever in 2022 

Meanwhile, Maureen Caviston, the executive vice president at Amwins, has stood out by: 

• securing a seat next to male colleagues at “the table”  
   

• becoming the first female president of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO), now the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association 
   

• maintaining excellent relations with all colleagues 

Challenges surmounted by 2023’s Elite Women

Throughout their careers, one common denominator with IBA’s winners has been persevering and succeeding in the face of adversity.  

For Barr, that has meant transitioning from sales to operations. “It was unfamiliar territory for me after being in a client-facing role for so long,” she says. “But I was able to leverage my sales background and passion for clients in the new position.” This self-development was an ongoing process.  

Barr adds, “I routinely held customer-specific stewardship and focus meetings aimed at deeply understanding client needs, so we could continue to provide innovative and superior solutions for the industry.” 
 
For Nabell, persevering has meant juggling family and career commitments even though there have been some testing periods.  

“One of my strong suits is multitasking,” she says. “But sometimes there are just more balls in the air than you can conceivably catch – and those days can be really tough. When I look at my career, I’m really glad that I was given all these opportunities because I feel like I’ve had it all... I have a career that I love and kids who are doing great in life, and I’m very proud of that. So, I think overall it’s worked out.” 

Meanwhile, for Caviston, persevering has meant progressing in an overwhelmingly male-dominated client-facing role. 

“I saw it as a very male-dominated industry, so I made a number of decisions which got me a seat at the table and led to a number of opportunities, not only in business and positions that I earned, but also in industry associations.” 
 
And she adds, “I was the first woman president of NAPSLO. I was pretty young at the time. Since that time, there have been seven or eight women presidents. I’m still the first and only president to give birth while in office.” 

“One of my strong suits is multitasking. But sometimes there are just more balls in the air than you can conceivably catch – and those days can be really tough”
Cheryl NabellWade Associates

Future is bright for women leaders in insurance 

Barr says there are more opportunities than ever for women. Today, numerous fields can lead into insurance; remote or flexible roles often benefit working mothers; and the impending mass retirement – approximately 25,000 in claims alone over the next decade, she says – will free up opportunities. 

“Unemployment in the US remains historically low, and the insurance industry unemployment rate is even lower,” she says. “At the end of 2022, the industry had about 386,000 open jobs. That, combined with the wave of pending industry retirements, provides endless opportunities for career mobility and growth for women. Likewise, the post-COVID environment has created more opportunities for remote work, which is favorable to those balancing their career and family life.” 

Nabell is similarly optimistic about the future of women leaders in insurance.  

“There are so many opportunities and so many openings right now,” she says. “What’s more, the labor shortage has created opportunities for anybody who’s really looking to work hard and move ahead. I think we learned from the pandemic that we can be flexible in many more ways than we ever thought we could, and we can offer more opportunities to more men and women than ever could before – no matter their geographical location or their life situation.” 

And Caviston adds, “I’m very optimistic. We’re very supportive of women. I’m on the steering committee for the Women’s Leadership Program at Amwins, and we have 15 high-potential women across the five divisions that we have. It’s a passion of mine to get more women in the C-suite.” 

In conclusion, Elite Women judge Hart is similarly positive about the opportunities for women going forward. 

She says, “One of the challenges is the industry continuing to promote diversity and inclusion, driving the brand and attracting diverse individuals to the industry. What IBA and other organizations are doing by bringing attention to women and insurance is certainly helping.” 

“It’s a passion of mine to get more women in the C-suite”
Maureen CavistonAmwins

Elite Women 2023

• 
  Abby Davis
  Executive Vice President and National Director,
  Clinical Consulting
  Alliant Insurance Services
   
  
• 
  Alexandra Littlejohn
  Executive Vice President and Managing Director
  Alliant Property & Casualty
  Alliant Insurance Services
   
  
• 
  Carolyn Toomey
  Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer, Healthcare
  Arch Insurance
   
  
• 
  Carrie Barr
  President, Casualty Solutions
  Verisk
   
  
• 
  Linda Sullivan
  President and Chief Executive Officer
  Administrative Strategies
   
  
• 
  Marilyn Quinlan
  Executive Vice President
  Alliant Insurance Services
   
  
• 
  Martina Seferovic
  CEO and President
  Outsource Insurance Professionals
   
  
• 
  Rekha Skantharaja
  Chief Executive Officer and President
  Tangram Insurance Services
   
  
• 
  Carrie Little
  Divisional Group President
  Great American Insurance Group
   
  
• 
  Cheryl Nabell
  President
  Wade Associates
   
  
• 
  Christina Geller
  Head of Wholesale Financial Institutions
  AXIS Capital
   
  
• 
  Geion Bright
  Executive Vice President 
  Amwins Group
   
  
• 
  Karen London
  President, Specialty Casualty
  QBE North America
   
  
• 
  Laura Hay
  Global Head of Insurance
  KPMG International
   
  
• 
  Maureen Caviston
  Executive Vice President
  Amwins Group
   
  

• Allison Blum
  Senior Program Manager
  Zurich North America
• Amanda Huang
  President and Chief Operating Officer
  Continental Underwriters
• Amore D’Angelo
  Chief Executive Officer
  InsurancePM
• Andrea “Cris” Dyer
  President and CEO
  HCP National Insurance Services
• Angela Lee
  Senior Vice President and Regional Claims Director
  Marsh McLennan Agency
• Anne Marie Towle
  CEO, Global Captive Solutions
  Hylant Group
• Carol Murphy
  Executive Vice President and Casualty Practice Leader
  HUB International
• Carrie A. Ryan
  Chief Executive Officer
  Hanson & Ryan
• Catherine Mulligan
  Enterprise Client Leader
  Aon Reinsurance Solutions
• Catherine Rudow
  Global Head of Cyber Reinsurance
  Everest Reinsurance Company
• Charmaine Davis
  Senior Vice President
  Marsh
• Chavonne Hudson
  VP, Strategic Operations
  Zurich North America
• Claudia Timbo
  Chief Executive Officer and President
  CompanyVoice
• Danette Beck
  National Construction Practice Leader
  USI Insurance Services
• Dawn Miller
  SVP, Internal Audit and Controls, TMHCC
  International Head of Internal Audit, Tokio Marine Holdings
• Denise Campbell
  Senior Vice President, Client Executive
  President, National African American Insurance Association, New York Tri-State Chapter
  Marsh
• Denise Johnson
  President and CEO
  Big I Oklahoma
• Elizabeth Gavino
  Founder/Principal
  Lewin & Gavino
• Emily Loupee
  Area Senior Vice President, Management Liability
  Gallagher
• Emily Maier
  SVP, Head of Transactional Insurance
  Woodruff Sawyer
• Helaina Jolly
  Senior Broker Relationship Leader
  Munich Re
• Jennifer Riley
  Executive Vice President, Head of Digital Strategy and Operations
  Chubb
• Jenny Mackay
  Senior Director of Digital Transformation
  H.W. Kaufman Group
• Juneen Belknap Kirk
  Partner
  PwC
• Kailee Mastel
  Chief Operating Officer
  Insurance Center of Buffalo
• Katie Davies
  CEO/President, JEM Underwriting Managers
  CEO, Technical Risk Underwriters
• Kerry Crockett
  Chief Executive Officer
  Insurance Accounting and Systems Association
• Kim Barnett
  Senior Vice President, Chief Underwriting Officer of Treaty Reinsurance
  Safety National Re
• Leasha West
  President
  West Financial Group
• Marilyn M. Blosser
  President and Founder
  Blosser Financial Services
• Marya Propis
  Executive Vice President, Retail Distribution
  RT Specialty
• Maura Freiwald
  Head of Casualty
  Munich Reinsurance America
• Michele G. Centeno
  Senior Vice President
  Lockton
• Nikki Toon
  Chief Operating Officer
  Combined Agents of America
• Ngozi Nnaji
  Founder and Managing Partner
  Ako Brokerage Services
• Precious Norman Walton
  President
  Lovejoy Risk Management
• Rachel Perry
  Chief Innovation Officer, Commercial Risk North America
  Aon
• Telisa Yancy
  President
  American Family Group
• Teresa Black
  Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Chubb Surety
  Chubb