Illinois State University’s Katie School of Insurance and Financial Services named the chairman of Lockton Cos. L.L.C. its 2014 Hall of Fame Laureate.

The Katie School also recognized two insurance professionals and one insurance company Thursday night at its biennial Innovation & Leadership Awards dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago.

David M. Lockton, chairman of Kansas City, Missouri-based Lockton, the world’s largest privately held commercial insurance broker, received the Hall of Fame Laureate for his leadership excellence during a career that began in 1976 at the firm started by his late brother, Jack, 10 years earlier.

Before becoming chairman of the board in 2003, Mr. Lockton was president and CEO of the family owned company. He’s credited with playing a lead role in growing Lockton from nine employees and less than $1 million in annual revenue, into the No. 10 broker in the world with 5,300 employees and 2013 revenue of $1.1 billion.

In accepting the coveted Hall of Fame award from Illinois State University President Larry Dietz, Mr. Lockton credited “all the wonderful Lockton associates’’ for the company’s success. Referring to his late brother, Jack, he told the audience at the awards dinner that “neither one of us would have been voted most likely to succeed’’ when we were growing up.

Speaking about the key to Lockton’s consistent growth, Mr. Lockton said the company has a strong culture and purpose that keeps it squarely focused on its customers, associates and communities.

Also recognized were Marcie Stephan, who received the Young Leader Award, Jim Parizek, who garnered the Individual Award, and Amica Insurance, which received the Insurance Organization award.

Ms. Stephan, assistant vice president, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, was previously with Lexington Insurance Co. Among her community service activities, the Katie School graduate serves as vice president of the associate board of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation and co-chaired the sponsorship committee for the foundation’s 2014 Women in Insurance Regional Forum.

Mr. Parizek, who is retired, was a senior vice president at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. He is a past president of the LaSalle Street Club and the Marine Multi-Peril Society of Illinois, as well as a past board member of the Chicago Chapter CPCU, Underwriters and Brokers Association of Chicago, Chicago Board of Underwriters, and The Insurance Forum.

Lincoln, Rhode Island-based Amica Insurance received the Insurance Organization Award for its use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology in the insurance claims process. The company’s real-time catastrophe viewer application helps claims managers to identify disasters, such as weather events, earthquakes, wildfires and explosions, that could result claims.

This was the Katie School’s second Hall of Fame Laureate selection. In 2012, Patrick G. Ryan, founding chairman and CEO of Ryan Specialty Group L.L.C., was named its first Hall of Fame Laureate.