Women to Watch: Elizabeth Francy Demaret

Elizabeth Francy Demaret

Managing Director, Worldwide Risk Services Group

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Itasca, Ill.

Age: 40

Elizabeth Francy Demaret got her start in the industry as a summer intern prior to attending college. Early in her career, she worked for CIGNA Corp. and Home Insurance Co, and in 1995, while working at Near North Insurance Co., she developed the Worldlink system which provided insurance regulation information in more than 100 countries worldwide for risk managers and insurance carriers. For the past five years, she has headed the Worldwide Risk Services Group for Gallagher, overseeing the international retail market niche.

Greatest influence: "The biggest influence on my career is that at each stop along the way and at each level, I found a mentor. A mentor can become a roadmap for your career, pointing out a new path that you haven't seen, identifying issues that you should focus on or skill sets that you need. Some people are lucky enough to find one mentor during their careers; I have been lucky enough to find several."