Every aspect of our 100 Leading Women project has exceeded my most optimistic expectations.

As I said last week in my note accompanying our special report, I was overwhelmed by the number of women who were eminently qualified to be included in our issue last week honoring the leading 100 women in risk management, employee benefits, commercial insurance and related fields. Our working list approached 300.

Since publication of our report, all of us at Business Insurance have greatly appreciated the enthusiastic response of our readers, which has come from both women and men. People not only have applauded us for taking on this assignment but also have recognized what a huge effort it entailed for our entire staff who conducted the interviews, assembled the photographs and edited the copy.

A retired male insurance brokerage executive wrote last week to our editor: “Congratulations on recognizing the real power of the commercial insurance industry: women. Your challenge to select 100 leading women from the thousands of highly qualified decision-makers, promise makers and promise keepers must have been daunting. Your write-up on how you picked the 100 seemed reasonable and fair, with due acknowledgement to those not on the list.”

That comment was most welcome and is representative of what many others have said to me personally.

We also received gracious congratulations from women who were not on the list.

A woman specializing in marketing for the insurance business wrote: “What a great idea! I think the list is wonderful and is a good way to illustrate just how many women are in top positions in the industry. I must admit I was beginning to feel as if women were really being forced out of the major companies because of all the mergers and acquisitions. Paranoia was setting in. Your article and list made me rethink my bias and realize that there are a lot of women in high positions.”

That is exactly the message that we hoped to send with this special project.

And I will treasure the letters that I have received from women on the list who have shared with me how much this acknowledgement means to them personally as well as to all women in the business.

As one honoree eloquently wrote: “Thank you for your salute to 100 Leading Women. I am very honored and appreciative to be included in such august company. I was inspired by the group’s accomplishments and the survey demonstrated in very real terms the increasing influence that women have exercised in this industry. I liked the combination of individual experiences along with feature stories on the general issues women face today. It was an excellent overview of where we have been and where we are heading in a tumultuous and highly competitive market. The issue was terrific and a landmark for us all.”

I’m also looking forward to the historic luncheon that will be held on Tuesday, where we will honor these 100 women. We’ve had to move to a larger ballroom at The Fairmont Hotel in Chicago to accommodate the nearly 500 people who want to gather in celebration of our honorees. Among the guests will be representatives of the seven insurers and three brokers who have generously signed on with us as sponsors of the luncheon. Thanks to the support of ACE USA, Aon Corp., CNA Financial Corp., Kemper Insurance Cos., Marsh Inc., XL Capital Ltd., American International Group Inc., FM Global, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and Swiss Re, we will make a generous contribution to the annual insurance industry campaign to raise money for breast cancer research at City of Hope in honor of these women.

Finally, I was personally overwhelmed by the flattering column that Editor Paul Winston wrote about me last week, which I did not know he was doing. I hadn’t seen it before publication, a feat he managed because I was out of the office when his column closed.

When I opened my copy of Business Insurance Monday morning and saw his column for the first time, I was at first a little miffed that he had found a way to work me into the issue after all, since we had agreed it would be inappropriate for me to be on this list. But now I am indebted to him for all his kind words. I am especially grateful because his column has saved me a lot of explaining when people asked me why I wasn’t on the list. All I had to say was: “Read Paul’s column.” Thanks, Paul.

Publisher and Editorial Director Kathryn J. McIntyre’s commentary appears fortnightly and at www.business

insurance.com. She can be reached at [email protected]