Sarah Murrow, President and CEO of Allianz Trade in Americas, has spent her career in trade credit insurance, financial risk management and trade finance driving commercial success. She's led high-performing teams through transformational change at country, regional and global levels. Murrow took on her current role in July of this year and oversees the operations of the USA, Brazil and Canada. This includes strategic leadership, business growth, cultural transformation and digital innovation for Allianz Trade.
Murrow graduated with an undergraduate degree from Roanoke University in 2003, where she studied international politics and Spanish. She knew that she wanted to work internationally, or with a multi-national organization, driven by her background of growing up in Singapore and her love of travel. While in college, Murrow met her college sweetheart–now husband–and didn't want to move internationally without him. After graduating college, they moved to Baltimore, where Murrow discovered Allianz Trade. As an internationally-facing business, Murrow saw that a role with the organization would make a great fit.
"I applied in November of 2003 for an entry level job within Allianz Trade, but I was not successful. They didn't hire me for the job. I really wanted to work there, I was really upset!" shared Murrow. "I kept following the website, and another role became available in February of 2004, which is when I applied again and was hired."
Murrow added, "I tell this story to my team, because I'm now the CEO of this organization. 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 is enthusiastically dedicated to her role as a leader and her commitment to championing female talent in the trade credit insurance industry. In her previous role as the CEO for Allianz Trade in UK and Ireland, the organization achieved double-digit growth in new business and exceptionally high customer satisfaction scores, reflecting a strong performance in client focus and service delivery. She also established the
"It really was so fulfilling, it was a pet project of mine that I watched grow, and the market embraced it," said Murrow. "It was such a wonderful thing for me to leave behind when I left London earlier this year."
During her time in the UK, she implemented Go2025, a three-year strategy that focused on expanding core business areas, scaling growth initiatives, becoming a multi-product business and delivering profitability through technical excellence. She also extended
When asked for career advice, Murrow points to the importance of confidence, resilience and professional visibility.
"Much of the success that I've had in life is a result of risk taking, which means you have to believe in yourself. Even faking confidence if you don't have it- it's such an important skillset to have and to be mindful of," said Murrow. "Another is intentional networking, which is increasingly important with so much hybrid working–you're not just bumping into people in the hallways anymore."
She continued, "You need to be intentional. Once I make a connection, I continue to strengthen and nurture the bond. Rather than simply adding to my list of contacts, I strive to build meaningful, lasting relationships. Engage with them on LinkedIn, send an article their way you think they may like, check in from time-to-time; that's what it means to network with purpose."
Murrow has also learned how to adjust her own behaviors, in order to be a more effective leader.
"I like brainstorming and being a super active participant in meetings, but if I do that too much now, as a CEO, I risk silencing people because of the perceived hierarchy, and I don't give them the opportunity to share what could be much, much better ideas than what I have," said stated. "That's just one example of development and self awareness that while there are things that have made you successful in the past, they won't necessarily make you successful going forward."
Outside of work, Murrow is very family-oriented and enjoys spending time with her two daughters and their new dog they adopted earlier this year. She also enjoys reading and recommends three books that are highly effective for building one's leadership skills: "The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business," by Erin Meyer, which she recommends for anyone who works in an international setting; "The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company," by Bob Iger, not only a memoir but also a leadership book; and "What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful," by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter.
