Emma Garner is Executive Vice President and a member of CRC Group’s Senior Leadership Team, with a primary focus on difficult to place property risks. She’s a passionate leader dedicated to mentoring others and shaping a corporate culture that fosters lasting relationships with employees, partners, and clients.
Emma joined the insurance industry at the age of 19 when she was hired as the first female broker by Cooper Gay, a London-based brokerage firm. She placed U.S. catastrophe property reinsurance and wholesale business into the London market, and in 1996 she was offered the opportunity to move to Cooper Gay’s New York office for a 2-year assignment. Shortly after moving to New York, Cooper Gay opened a wholesale operation, and Emma’s move to New York became a permanent one. Her role evolved to include managing the wholesale business nationally while maintaining her own book of business. When Cooper Gay merged with Swett and Crawford in 2010, Emma joined Swett’s Senior Leadership Team and served as an integral force in driving the business forward. Since CRC purchased the company in 2016, her ability to keep the big picture in view, nurture vital relationships with carriers, and skill in reading the market, have continued to play a foundational role in the growth and stability of CRC’s portfolio.
While the business continues to grow and change, Emma never takes success for granted, and continues to plan for the future so that clients can continue to count on CRC’s capacity and capability to meet their needs. Mentoring and developing young people on the path to success is an important part of that long-term strategy. Emma is also committed to investing herself in others by empowering women to enter the industry and helping to develop female business colleagues.
Emma and Alf live in New York with their three children – Max, Charlie, and Grace. As a mother, Emma strives for a work/life balance that allows her to be fully present and available as her children grow. Outside the office, you’ll find her taking the kids to soccer or gymnastics practice, enjoying spin class, or conquering the flying trapeze.