2022 Women to Watch Awards Americas EMEA
Carmella Capitano Senior vice president of commercial casualty, energy, energy excess, environmental excess casualty, risk management
Starr Insurance Cos.
New York
After 20 years in the insurance industry, Carmella Capitano can confidently say she loves what she does.
“I’ve had a great career. I’ve had a lot of fun. It’s been challenging, but I know the decisions I made were right for me,” she said.
A risk management graduate of Temple University, Ms. Capitano started with American International Group Inc., where she spent nine years, rising to head of national accounts for the global energy division.
In 2008, she joined Starr Insurance and has held various leadership positions over the years, including building the energy practice, which she grew from a three-person team to what is now one of the insurer’s largest primary groups.
Ms. Capitano was then asked to help grow the risk management business, as well as lead the general excess casualty and environmental excess casualty lines.
“Once you do something right, they keep knocking on your door,” Ms. Capitano said, adding she couldn’t do any of it without her strong management team.
Her work has been noticed by clients, as well, said Chris Koppang, senior vice president of risk management at Aimbridge Hospitality, who has collaborated with Ms. Capitano on Aimbridge’s hospitality insurance program for the last seven years. During the pandemic, she was invaluable in helping the company navigate the many challenges that arose, he said.
“You think you have a partnership with an insurance company, but you never really know until it’s tested. And with Carmella, we put it to the test, and she was able to support us in a way that I had never thought was going to be necessary,” he said.
Ms. Capitano is committed to being a resource to younger women in the sector, serving on the board and as a past president of the New York City Association of Insurance Women. She urges other women to take advantage of the many networking opportunities available.
“People love to talk about what they do, so try to be a sponge and really learn from the people who have been doing this for so long,” she said.
