Tracie Grella
Global head of professional liability, financial lines
American International Group Inc.
New York
Age: 41

Tracie Grella was drawn to American International Group Inc. after interning with the company during school as a high school senior and during college.

“I liked the environment, the dynamic organization, and really enjoyed the people I worked with here,” said Ms. Grella, who has risen to become global head of professional liability, financial lines for AIG.

She began her career at the insurer in 1995 after earning a degree in finance from Rutgers University and after working at CNA Financial Corp. for a short time before she returned to AIG in 2001 to lead the professional liability national accounts team.

She rose through the ranks, becoming chief underwriting officer for professional liability in 2006; head of professional liability for the U.S. and Canada in 2009; and global head of professional liability, financial lines in 2012.

She has made cyber protection a priority. She developed AIG's CyberEdge PC cyber insurance product, launched in April 2014, as well as others.

“I'm in this great space right now where I'm running cyber liability, and this is a significant focus within the insurance industry. There's great potential here, and there's great opportunity to grow,” she said. Clients, she added, want “so much information about this.”

Another priority for Ms. Grella has been counseling other women within the insurance industry.

“I have helped give other women career guidance and shared with them the things with which I have struggled,” she said, letting other women know that such challenges can indeed be overcome.

“Tracie is an integral member of AIG's leadership team,” said James Shea, president, financial lines, for AIG, in an email. “She has proven herself to be a dedicated and collaborative leader who is fully focused on the needs of customers, especially in the area of cyber security. Tracie has played a pivotal role in raising the level of cyber security risk awareness as the result of her close partnership with various industry, government, financial, and mainstream organizations.”

By Matthew Lerner