2020 Women to Watch: Christina Welch
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Christina Welch
President and CEO
FCCI Insurance Group
Sarasota, Florida
Age: 51
When Christina “Cina” Welch wasn’t exploring the world over her 22-year career in insurance, she was venturing her way through job titles at FCCI Insurance Group, learning the facets of the business that led to her latest role: president and CEO.
“I always laugh when I tell this story: I responded to an ad in the newspaper to get my first job here. That’s how long it’s been,” she said from her office in Sarasota, Florida, where she was born and raised and where she wanted to work to be closer to family.
A young lawyer at the time who worked in the legal department of a hospital in Gainesville, Florida, she accepted her first position at FCCI as an associate attorney. She moved on to work as a vice president in claims, then became general counsel and, later, chief audit and compliance officer.
“She has had about every job in the company but the CFO,” Chairman Jack Cox said. “She‘s been an incredible asset over the last two decades.”
The work she’s most proud of? “Helping others work their way up,” she said.
“That’s my passion, seeing people succeed in their own careers and grow; it makes me happy to see people excel and be happy,” she said.
“I am a big believer in learning and development. I love for people to think more broadly about what could be. Some people get stuck and siloed… I love giving them that holistic view: What else is there out there?”
Her other passions include the company’s Halloween “Fall Fest,” an annual officewide costume and skit event that always brings up funny memories — with Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts, and Britney Spears among her personas — and seeing the world.
“You might find me on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro or on a trek in Uganda,” she said. “I might be on a cage dive with great white sharks. … I am always looking for new adventures.”
“Certainly with COVID I’ve had to change a lot of plans,” she added. “But when this is all over you will catch me in the world doing something fun.”
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2020 WOMEN TO WATCH
The Business Insurance Women to Watch awards program highlights the achievements of female leaders in the insurance sector to celebrate their success and promote gender diversity in the industry.
