WIL 2025 honoree profiles

January 6, 2026 3:09 PM

People sitting together at several tables — The WIL 2025 awards luncheon held in New York on December 2, 2025.

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The Women in Insurance Leadership (WIL) program was launched in 2006 and recognizes senior executives who are driving the evolution of their businesses and the insurance industry at large. Ten women were selected as Women in Insurance Leadership honorees.

The Women in Insurance Leadership: NEXT program expanded the program in 2019 to recognize emerging leaders in the industry. These are women under the age of 40 who have demonstrated an outstanding ability while embracing the rapidly evolving field of digital innovation. Five women were selected as 2025 Women in Insurance Leadership: NEXT honorees.

A new category was added in 2024 to recognize women who have been trailblazers and forward-thinking visionaries in the industry for well over two decades. Their leadership and insight have changed the trajectories of their companies as well as the careers of those fortunate enough to be within their sphere of influence. Stacey Warren was selected as the 2025 Women in Insurance Leadership Lifetime Achievement honoree.

All of the honorees were recognized at an awards luncheon held in New York on December 2, 2025.

Below are the profiles for the 2025 honorees.

Stacy Warren, EVP and chief operating officer, Lockton

"I think there is such tremendous opportunity in this industry. There are so many diverse paths that you can take that offer unique opportunities, and this industry is growing and evolving at such a rapid pace," Warren shares.

WIL 2025: Stacy Warren: Shaping the future of insurance

Donna Carr, SVP, head of U.S. group service and operations, MetLife

"I just pride myself on being extremely transparent. I tell people you never have to guess that I'm thinking, you will know. I'm a huge believer in driving accountability and giving folks the freedom and space to deliver," shares Carr.

WIL 2025: MetLife's Donna Carr leads by example

Sarah Murrow, CEO, Allianz Trade America

"Difficulty can build resilience and tenacity, this is what's so important for growth and professional development. If someone tells you 'no,' you can't just roll over. You have to get back up and fight for exactly what you want," Murrow said.

WIL 2025: Sarah Murrow on resilience and her commitment to quality leadership

Sabine Cain, SVP, digital production & distribution leader, Chubb

"Being a good listener and accepting feedback and processing that feedback is always something that has been helpful to me when I manage a big team, as well as when I'm trying to influence as many people as I'm influencing now," Cain said. "Taking away any noise and getting to the heart of what the issue is, always served me well in leadership."

Chubb Marketplace distribution leader Sabine Cain values authenticity

Belen Tokarski, president and COO, Mylo

Mylo-Belen Tokarski DR2_1638 sitting casual final.jpg

"It's leadership not 'likership,'" Tokarski said. "Leadership is being able to provide very clear goals to people and help them understand what it is that they do every day, how what they do every day has a direct impact to what our goals are, so that they have a very clear line of sight on what they're doing."

Mylo's Belen Tokarski sees leadership as 'confident humility'

Sarah Griffin, SVP personal lines product & underwriting, Nationwide Insurance

"At the end of the day, we're selling a promise," Griffin explains, noting that "in the traditional model, insurance is only there to make you whole if you experience a loss. That's the way most customers perceive how they get value out of it. We want to shift that paradigm; we think of it as being partners in protection."

WIL 2025: Sarah Griffin

Kari Allen, VP, head of sales, Insureon

"There are only so many hours in the day, but at the end of the day I need to be remembered for something," Allen adds. "I can't just be somebody who was good at her job."

WIL 2025: Kari Allen

Lindsey DiGangi, VP of field operations and marketing, Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company

"To drive change, you really have to understand the perspective of those different departments," DiGangi says. "Change has less resistance when people feel their voice is heard in developing solutions – their pain points, their priorities. It can't be one-size-fits-all; you need to present a solution that helps that specific group of stakeholders. Explain how it's going to help us, as an organization, and here's how it's going to help you."

WIL 2025: Lindsey DiGangi

Linda Fallon, division president, consumer business, Arch Insurance Group

"I always say vision without execution is a hallucination," Fallon added. "So, it's about executing on the vision, and you won't get everything right, so being able to be nimble enough and flexible enough so that you can make adjustments quickly, is important."

WIL 2025: Leaders have vision, Arch's Linda Fallon

Michelle Carter, chief underwriting officer, Kinetic

"I knew that we couldn't be all things to all people," Carter recalls. "Let's better define our lane, see how deep and wide we can go."

WIL 2025: Michelle Carter

Amanda Smith, chief product officer, Plymouth Rock Assurance

"As a leader, you are as strong as your team is," Smith said. "I feel fortunate that I've been able to hire most of my team, and they are people that are equally passionate and engaged in driving results. I think that makes it a really collaborative and fun place to want to work. For me, I want to empower them all to feel the fun piece, but we also still have to deliver the business results at the end of the day."

WIL 2025, Amanda Smith: Strong leaders empower people

Tresa Stephens, regional head of cyber, tech & media - North America, Allianz Commercial

"Insurance is an industry where you get to learn a little bit about every business, and that's really fulfilling for a lifelong nerd," Stephens shares.

2025 WIL: Tresa Stephens

Korey Bruner, VP, underwriting operations, Inland Marine – Argo Group

"I listen to what underwriters and support teams are struggling with, things like: 'I wish this button did this' or 'This process takes forever,' and I turn those pain points into solutions," says Bruner.

2025 WIL NEXT: Korey Bruner

Kelsie Bicking, VP, marketplace agent experience, Chubb

"I work across different teams to help them decide what their roadmaps are for how we're going to improve our agent facing platform, what we're going to put on it, and develop new products and architecture to make that all happen," Bicking said.

Chubb's Kelsie Bicking applies product focus to insurtech

Colleen Finn, chief marketing officer for homeowners insurance, Plymouth Rock Assurance

"It was really a tale of two books: One book needed to be cleaned up and one book needed to be grown and nurtured," Finn says.

2025 WIL Next: Colleen Finn

Waika Embry, regional vice president, E&S property, Arch Insurance Group

"The biggest thing is maintaining the morale and making sure that the team knows that they're supported," Embry says. "You can't sit there and mull over a decision for hours. You have to trust the analytics, you have to trust your gut and you have to make a decision and move on."

2025 WIL Next: Waika Embry

Digital Insurance Staff