NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Business Insurance announced the names of their 25 Women to Watch honorees in print and online Dec. 3, 2012, and celebrates their achievement at an awards luncheon Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, in New York.  Keynote speaker will be Suzy Welch, best-selling author, popular television commentator, and noted business journalist.  

Business Insurance's Women to Watch feature is an annual salute to business leaders and influential executives who are doing outstanding work in commercial insurance, risk management, employee benefits and related fields. 2012 marks the seventh year of this recognition, and the fifth year for the awards luncheon. In addition to the annual awards luncheon, Business Insurance produces a Leadership Workshop. This one-day educational and networking event focuses on relevant issues affecting the advancement of women in the insurance industry, highlighting many of the honorees as speakers.

"The Women to Watch program is an integral part of the Business Insurance calendar. The awards shine a light on women doing exceptional work in an industry that is still dominated at the executive levels by men," said Gavin Souter, editor of Business Insurance. "The 2012 honorees come from wide range of organizations and are at a variety of stages in their careers, but they all excel in their positions, regardless of their gender."

"The Leadership Workshop is a recent addition to the program that provides a platform to discuss the issue of diversity and explore the crucial role that corporate efforts to promote diversity can play in producing equitable organizations and improving profitability," he said.

This year's honorees were selected after an evaluation of nominations by Business Insurance senior editors. Nominees are chosen based on recent professional achievements, influence on the marketplace, and contributions to the advancement of women in business. The list is open to women leaders worldwide. The list of 2012 honorees is as follows:

The 2012 Women to Watch Leadership Workshop & Awards Luncheon will be held at the Hilton Midtown in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. The annual event brings together the current class of honorees and past recipients who wish to celebrate the newest members of this exclusive group and to expand and strengthen their professional contacts. This year's event was sponsored by AIG, Alliant, CS Stars, Guy Carpenter, Sedgwick, XL Group, and Zurich NA.  Media partner for Women to Watch is APIW.

For more information, please go to www.BusinessInsurance.com/womentowatch

About Business Insurance: In print, online and in custom e-mail news alert products, Business Insurance reports on risk management, risk financing, employee benefits management and workers compensation. Business Insurance is read by corporate risk and benefit executives as well as financial and administrative executives. Its audience also includes insurance brokers, agents, consultants, insurers, reinsurers, and others concerned with corporate insurance, risk management, alternative risk financing, employee benefits, workers compensation and reinsurance. Circulation is 45,594. It is published by Crain Communications Inc.

SOURCE Business Insurance