In celebration of the 20th annual presentation of its Women to Watch Awards, Business Insurance on Wednesday announced the 2025 winners and special awards for past winners who have achieved extraordinary success.
The awards program was established in 2006 to honor the achievements of outstanding female leaders in insurance and risk management and to recognize their contributions in an industry traditionally male-dominated at the executive level.
Many past winners have advanced to senior executive roles in the industry. To celebrate the anniversary, the Women to Watch Board and senior Business Insurance staff selected 10 Iconic Leaders to honor again this year. Below are those executives and the years they received their original awards:
Tracey Ant, head of middle and large commercial at The Hartford (2006)
Brenda (Ballard) Austenfeld, co-president of RT Specialty and CEO of RT National Property, Ryan Specialty (2006)
Lisa Corless, president and CEO, AF Group (2017)
Alexis Faber, chief operating officer, Willis Towers Watson (2010)
Alexandra Glickman, senior managing director, global practice leader real estate and hospitality, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (2010)
Lori Goltermann, CEO, North America and global regions, Aon (2016)
Sabrina Hart, president and CEO, Munich Re Specialty (2013)
Carolina Klint, chief commercial officer Europe, Marsh McLennan (2013)
Michelle Sartain, president, Marsh U.S. and Canada (2022)
Julie Wood, CEO, QBE North America (2020)
The Iconic Leaders will be celebrated at the New York Women to Watch Awards gala in November.
In addition to the special awards, Business Insurance named the 2025 winners.
Business Insurance readers nominated candidates for Women to Watch and Women to Watch Europe, the Middle East and Africa. A panel of the publication’s editors selected the honorees based on those nominations.
Below are this year’s 25 honorees for Women to Watch and 25 honorees for Women to Watch EMEA.
Women to Watch
Andreea Brezeanu-Merewitz, BDO
Laura Burke, Canopius
Ashlyn Capote, Goldberg Segalla
Jenni Lee Crocker, Alliant
Shawn Crosby, Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation
Lauren Cunningham, Sedgwick
Nancy Dorvil, Allianz
Sara Walsh Elliott, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Latosha Ellis, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Nikki Lankford, Liberty Mutual
Melissa Lewis, Risk Strategies, part of Brown & Brown
Danielle Librizzi, QBE North America
Cléa Liquard, Covington & Burling
Shelly Mills, Higginbotham
Courtney Montfort, Gibson
Denise Perlman, Aon
Marta Pilch, CNA
Bettina Rhodes, Chubb
Emily Rudowitz, Acrisure Re
Lauren Savage, Tokio Marine Highland
Katrina Schellens, Lockton
Sarah Scott, Corvel
Megan Perkins Smith, Guy Carpenter
Amy Michelle Windhauser, Hub
Iva Yuan, ICW Group
Women to Watch EMEA
Susan Barber, Liberty Mutual Reinsurance
Blanca Berruguete, Descartes Underwriting
Sally Bliss, RSA Insurance
Sophie Caltiau, QBE Re
Marine Charbonnier, Axa XL
Emma Crookes, Aon
Lucy Darbey, Euclid Transactional
Nicola Dryden, Sedgwick
Susan Fallon, Zurich
Constanza Gállegos, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
Catrina Gemmerich, VIG Re
Camilla Gower, Tokio Marine HCC International
Özge Güngör, Yildirim
Caroline King, Pen Underwriting
Innes Leighton, Ryan Specialty
Olga Losing-Malota, Fresenius Medical Care
Paloma Quiroga, Swiss Re
Pilar Rodriguez, DAC Beachcroft
Lisa Rowe, Specialty MGA
Lorraine Stack, Marsh
Michelle To, Howden Re
Marina Tsokur, Cargill
Sweta Tzimopoulos, Ascot
Sydonie Williams, Beazley
Charlotte Worlock, Atheria Law
Profiles of the winners will appear in the December issue of Business Insurance.
The winners will be celebrated at the New York gala and the London awards in December.