Current Executive in Residence

M. Steven DeCarlo, Chief Executive Officer, AmWINS Group, Inc.

Steve DeCarlo has worked in the insurance industry for more than 20 years. Prior to joining AmWINS, he held various leadership positions with Royal & SunAlliance USA, Inc., including Senior Vice President for Business Insurance and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Royal Specialty Underwriting Inc., Royal & SunAlliance's excess and surplus lines division. Steve now serves as Chief Executive Officer of AmWINS Group, Inc, where he has directed overall operations for eight years. He has served on the AmWINS board of directors since joining AmWINS in December 2000.

In less than a decade, AmWINS has been transformed from a small retail brokerage start-up into one of the nation's largest wholesale distribution firms. The original company, Americana Financial Services, was founded to build a retail brokerage operation primarily through acquisitions and was capitalized with private equity. In 2001, Steve and his management team joined the company and shifted its focus to wholesale distribusion. The subsequent addition of five well-established wholesale brokerage and MGU operations led to the formation of AmWINS in 2002.

The first wholesaler to be appointed to the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB) board of directors, Steve's collaborative spirit reaches far beyond the walls of AmWINS. He is the founder of the CIAB's Wholesale Insurance Leadership Forum, a group of business leaders and executives who come together to address the needs and future of the wholesale industry.

Steve was recently named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Carolinas. The award recognizes individuals who exhibit extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their business and community.

Steve holds a B.S. in Accounting from East Tennessee State University.