Women to Watch: Susanne Murray

Susanne Murray

Executive Vp and D&O Practice Leader

Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co.

New York

Age: 47

Before joining HRH in 2002, Susanne Murray was D&O senior vp, practice leader and director of the executive risk claims teams at Willis Group Holdings Ltd. She joined Willis in 1997 after spending 10 years at the New York law firm D'Amato & Lynch. Ms. Murray oversees the directors and officers and professional liability practice for HRH's Executive Risk Solutions.

Advice to young women: "Specialization. For me personally, and for many of the women that are on this list, the opportunity to specialize in a particular field of insurance, and taking advantage of that opportunity, cannot be stressed enough. While most of us fell into our careers (and perhaps continue to do so), I strongly recommend grabbing hold of a specialization and then continuously working at perfecting that specialization. This learning never stops, and that is just as important. Even if we don't want to call ourselves experts, we can provide a valuable service to others and be confident in our own abilities when we know what we are talking about.