FORTY under 40: Grace Topete
Grace Topete, client relationship manager, Helio Risk.
Grace Topete is passionate about helping people and organisations grow effectively. As a client relationship manager at Helio Risk, Topete manages all aspects of an organisation’s captive journey, from exploration of a captive solution to fully operational captive company. She is particularly focused on nonprofit clients. Topete is active in CICA, helping organise webinars with its NEXTGen committee, and speaking at the 2025 annual conference on a panel related to professional development. Topete divides her time between the Oklahoma City and Dallas offices and works for clients across the US.
Before Helio, Topete worked in nonprofit consulting, where she spearheaded the launch of the Nonprofit Impact Institute at SVP Dallas, a best practices resource for board members, nonprofit leaders and social impact consultants in North Texas. She also ran the Dana Juett Residency, a hands-on capacity building training programme for young professionals of all industries to contribute their expertise to social impact organisations. She is a licensed consultant for the Standards for Excellence Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
Before working in social impact, Topete was involved in education at various levels. From teaching freshman biology to joining an educational video game start-up, her work has focused on finding innovative ways to foster growth and self-determination in individuals as well as companies.
Topete was a Eugene McDermott Scholar at UT Dallas, and the inaugural graduate Charles Butt Scholar at SMU.
She is deeply involved in community service, currently as president of the McDermott Alumni Association, a member of the UT Dallas Executive Board, a City of Richardson community inclusion and engagement commissioner, and UT System centurion. She and her spouse are proud to support the arts, especially film, as well as environmental and social justice causes. They live in Dallas with their family.
How did you first become involved in captive insurance?
I have been around the captive industry for most of my life. In high school and college, I got to travel with my mom (Heather McClure) to industry conferences and learn from her and the people she worked with. After a detour in education, venture philanthropy and social impact – industries that are still close to my heart and that I serve now on the corporate side – she convinced me to join the exciting and growing world of captives professionally, and I am so very glad I did.
What are the greatest challenges of working in this industry, and what do you find most rewarding?
The hardest part of working in this industry is getting the word out fast enough to all the people and organisations who need to hear about captives. Captives are an amazing vehicle to long-term stability, risk control and good corporate citizenship, and more companies need to know about it!
Would you recommend the captive insurance industry to young people as a future career path?
I have been so struck by the opportunities to build your skills and advance quickly. The growth potential is tremendous, and in an increasingly shaky world, it’s a great opportunity to contribute to stability – your own as well as the market’s.
Captives are an amazing vehicle to long-term stability, risk control and good corporate citizenship
What developments do you see ahead for captives?
We're seeing a ton of growth in property, which I think is incredibly symbolic given the origins of insurance in protecting owners of ships. With the effects of climate change ever looming, I think the desire for companies to control their property coverage will only continue to grow. I'm also particularly excited about the opportunities with parametric coverage to allow companies to be leaders in their communities when disaster strikes while still making sound business decisions.
Do you think your long-term future remains in the captives market?
100%.
Click here to read Captive International’s third FORTY Under 40 2025 publication.
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