The Women to Watch awards program has been significantly expanded this year.
Since its inception in 2006, the program has highlighted the achievements of women working in the risk management and insurance sector around the world, but the majority of our honorees were based in North America.
As the program matured and gained more recognition, we saw an increase in international nominations, particularly from Europe. As a result, this year we established a separate awards program recognizing 15 outstanding female executives in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The awards were presented in London last month at our Women to Watch Awards & Leadership Conference EMEA 2017, and the honorees are profiled in this issue of Business Insurance.
In addition, starting this year, we are presenting the awards in conjunction with our sister organization, the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. With the addition of CLM to the program, we saw a sharp increase in North American nominations. As a result, we expanded the number of honorees who will be recognized at our New York event later this month to 30 from 25.
The expansion of the program reflects the continued interest in promoting diversity in the risk management and insurance sector, which is still male-dominated at the executive levels.
All of the honorees were nominated by readers and were selected by a panel of Business Insurance editors. The selection criteria include recent professional achievements, leadership qualities and professional expertise.
Congratulations to all the 2017 Women to Watch. We hope you enjoy reading their stories.
2017 WOMEN TO WATCH HONOREES
Pamela Anthony
Restore Rehabilitation L.L.C.
Lori Bailey
Zurich North America
Meredith Bullock
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Co.
Lisa Corless
AF Group
Constance A. Endelicato
Wood Smith Henning & Berman L.L.P.
Gayle Falvey
Hanover Insurance Group Inc.
Erica Fichter
Broadspire Services Inc.
Elizabeth Fitch
Righi Fitch Law Group
Shannon Groeber
JLT Specialty USA
LaKeysha Greer Isaac
Cosmich Simmons & Brown P.L.L.C.
Christy Kaufman
American Family Insurance Group
Lisa Kerr
Henry Schein Inc.
Kim Kramer
American International Group Inc.
Debra Livingston
ReEmployAbility Inc.
Barbara Luck
XL Group Ltd.
Erin Lynch
Beecher Carlson Holdings Inc.
Brenna Melvin
Alliant Insurance Services Inc.
Debbie Michel
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.
Penni L. Nelson
Hillwood Co. L.L.C.
Carolyn F. O’Connor
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker L.L.P.
Kendra Schropp
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina
Veronica Scotti
Swiss Re Ltd.
Leigh Anne Sherman
Chubb Ltd.
Jillian Slyfield
Aon Risk Solutions
Teresa Snider
Butler Rubin Saltarelli & Boyd L.L.P.
Julie Stephenson
CNA Financial Corp.
Lynn Tu
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Alice Underwood
Willis Towers Watson P.L.C.
Dawn Watkins
Los Angeles Unified School District
Kathleen Zortman
QBE North America
EMEA HONOREES
Amy Barnes
Marsh Ltd.
Gillian Barnes
Ironshore International
Heather Batchelor
Travelers Cos. Inc.
Catherine Bourland
Aon Benfield France
Rachel Cope
FM Global
Andrea Fregona
Crawford & Co. (Germany) GmbH
Simona Fumagalli
XL Group Ltd.
Janice Hamilton
AmTrust International
Tracy Harrington Cloud
Axis Insurance
Patty Karuiahe-Martin
Namibia Reinsurance Corp.
Mary O’Connor
Willis Towers Watson P.L.C.
Romaney O’Malley
American International Group Inc.
Julie Page
Aon Risk Solutions U.K.
Kerry Rainer
DXC Technology
Carol Richmond
Arthur J. Gallagher (U.K.) Ltd.