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2021 Women to Watch Awards Americas EMEA

Jill Bryant Head of digital, small commercial

Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.

Cincinnati

Women in the workplace could benefit from a little grace, the kind they can give themselves, Jill Bryant believes.

A single mom most of her career, Ms. Bryant encourages women — particularly those raising children alone — to go easier on themselves. “We should spend a little more time giving ourselves grace and recognizing the wonderful things we have done. And celebrate a little more,” she said. “I don’t know anyone who is harder on themselves than working moms.”

“My crowning achievement is I have two amazing children in college,” said Ms. Bryant, who raised them after their dad died when they were in elementary school.

Employers today are generally more receptive to requests by mothers who need to tend to a sick child or leave work early to attend a school concert, she said. That wasn’t true during most of her career, though, when “you were viewed poorly if you did that.”

In her case, Ms. Bryant has managed the demands of raising her children while building a successful career, which began when she joined Hanover Insurance Group Inc. as a claims adjuster in the early 1990s. Her career highlights include eight years with Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd., where she served as vice president, segments, and two years as head of small business at The Cincinnati Insurance Cos. before joining Axis.

Career-wise, one of her most notable accomplishments was the development of an insurance product that has a domestic element to it: coverage for home-based businesses. The fully digital product that Ms. Bryant and her team developed for this underserved niche market provides customized insurance, including general liability, professional liability, crime, property and cyber risks. Axis began piloting the program late last year.

“She has a deep customer understanding and isn’t just pushing products out to new segments without understanding their needs — what they want and what they are willing to pay for it,” Scott Aiello, vice president of commercial strategy at digital broker Simply Business Inc., said of Ms. Bryant. “She knows what success looks like.”