Insurance Business has named Colleen MacCarthy as a winner in its prestigious IB Elite Women 2026 report, recognising her as one of the industry’s most outstanding female leaders.

MacCarthy built her career by challenging accepted processes and constantly asking, “there has to be a better way.” Starting in insurance operations, she repeatedly automated and improved functions that others took for granted, unlocking bigger opportunities at every step.
 
That innovative mindset led her to co-found Grappler in 2015 with Alistair Harold and John Nowak   . A decade on, Grappler is trusted by insurers, MGAs and syndicates across multiple continents, underscoring the impact of MacCarthy’s vision at the intersection of insurance and technology. 

As COO, MacCarthy is known for her calm authority, shaped by experience “having seen almost everything go wrong at least once, and knowing exactly how to fix it.” She has also quietly built one of the more diverse teams in insurance technology, an achievement she counts among her proudest. 

To compile IB Elite Women 2026, Insurance Business invited nominations from across the Asia-Pacific insurance market, asking nominators to detail each candidate’s achievements and initiatives over the past 12 months. Entries were judged on how each nominee made a meaningful contribution to the industry. The field was narrowed to the final 70 Elite Women across Asia, Australia and New Zealand who have made the biggest impact.