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Three Marsh Colleagues Named 2020 Women to Watch

Three Marsh colleagues were recently selected Women to Watch by Business Insurance, in its annual award program.

Congratulations are in order for three outstanding Marsh colleagues who were recently selected by Business Insurance as 2020 "Women to Watch."

Hande Bilgisu, Head of Marsh Advisory, Marsh Middle East & Africa; Nilay Ozden, FINPRO Practice Leader, Marsh Continental Europe; and Julie Wood, Southeast Zone Leader, Marsh US, will be honored at virtual events later this year and profiled in the December issue of the magazine. 

Now in its 15th year, Business Insurance’s Women to Watch awards program recognizes women leaders in North America doing outstanding work in risk management and commercial insurance. In 2017, the publication began a separate awards program for women executives in EMEA. Honorees for both programs are selected based on recent professional accomplishments, expertise, leadership, and future career prospects.

Hande Bilgisu

Hande Bilgisu became the first woman to lead Marsh’s Middle East and Africa Risk Advisory Practice earlier this year and has quickly earned the trust and respect of her team of mostly male engineers whose work primarily involves getting down-and-dirty in heavy industries like energy, power, generation, mining, and manufacturing.

Hande began her career in auditing at Deloitte before transitioning into risk consulting at Marsh in 2007. In 2013, she assumed the role of Risk Consulting Leader of the Turkey, Middle East and North Africa region, and was named to her current position in 2020.

Nilay Ozden

Nilay Ozden is the FINPRO Practice Leader of Marsh JLT Specialty in Continental Europe. She also sits on the Executive Committee of Marsh in Continental Europe and on the Board of Marsh Sigorta ve Reasurans Borkerligi AS in Turkey.

Nilay started her career in project finance at a global bank in Turkey after completing university. She then received her MBA from Leeds University Business School in the UK, and subsequently started her career at Marsh in 2001 in Istanbul as a Senior Client Executive in the Specialty Department. She moved to the Marsh London office in 2004 and was named to her current role in 2012.

Julie Wood

In 2018, Julie Wood became Marsh’s Southeast Zone Leader and a member of Marsh’s Executive Committee in North America. In her role, she oversees 11 offices from Washington, D.C. to Florida.

Julie joined Marsh in 2014 from Zurich as a Casualty Placement Leader. Soon after, she assumed the role of Atlanta Office Head and then Southeast Partnership Leader before being named to her current zone leadership role.