FORTY Under 40: Stacey Hoyte

Looking back at your journey over the past year, what accomplishment are you most proud of and how has becoming a FORTY Under 40 finalist influenced your perspective on that achievement?

I’m most proud of taking the leap into a new leadership role while creating space for others to grow.

After 12 years in Bermuda, 10 of those with Aon, I’ve always valued stability progressing steadily through the organisation. Stepping into the associate director role with Aon Vermont not only meant moving into a leadership position in the US, but just as importantly, it allowed two of my junior colleagues, one being a mentee, to be promoted into vacancies created by my departure in Bermuda. It was incredibly rewarding to help colleagues advance while embracing my own next step.

Being named a FORTY Under 40 finalist has sharpened my perspective on that decision. It’s made me appreciate that leadership isn’t only about individual progression, but also about creating opportunity for others and being willing to stretch beyond your comfort zone. What felt at the time like a personal career move now stands out to me as a pivotal moment in developing both my own trajectory and that of the people I mentor.

What key challenge did you face in your work this year? How did you overcome it and what did it teach you about leadership at this stage of your career?

One this year was leading my Vermont team while working from the New York office. Some of my greatest strengths have been networking, collaborating and simply being part of a great team in person. In a remote environment, that can quickly feel isolating for the team if you’re not intentional.

To overcome this, I began using technology much more deliberately to stay connected with all team members. I set up regular check-ins on Microsoft Teams and maintain an open dialogue about how things are going both professionally and personally.

It taught me that leadership is centred on intentional behaviours, working to ensure everyone is engaged and creating a space that feels more like the connected, collaborative environments where I was mentored earlier in my career.

Going into the New York office also allows me to experience the day-to-day energy of other teams such as our global benefits consultants and commercial risk brokers. This has helped me amplify the captives message across a broader network, connecting with other business units to educate them about captives and further extending that messaging to non-captive clients.

Leadership isn’t only about individual progression, but also about creating opportunity for others and being willing to stretch beyond your comfort zone.

In what ways have you tried to push innovation or rethink traditional approaches within your sector, and what impact has that had on your team or organisation?

While there is an increased emphasis on innovation in tools and technology in the industry, I’ve tried to rethink “innovation” as deepening human connection rather than replacing it. I prioritise meaningful conversations with clients, to truly understand their vision, values and challenges while building authentic relationships.

This outlasts an outdated approach to captive management. By focusing on relationships first, I’ve encouraged my team to see client interactions not just as touchpoints to discuss financial reporting deliverables, but as opportunities to listen, solve problems together and show up as trusted partners. This has led to stronger client relationships, more open dialogue about corporate strategy and more collaborative captive solution design. When clients start to see you as a friend and adviser, that’s the most rewarding part of the career and, in my view, one of the most enduring forms of innovation in our sector – still underpinned by robust data and analytics, of course.

How do you see your role evolving over the next three to five years and what initiatives are you most excited to pursue as you continue to grow professionally?

Over the next few years, I see my role evolving further into a strategic leadership and business development position within the US captive market. Navigating the US landscape has been my biggest challenge so far. From state regulations and legislation changes to geopolitics, the strategic consulting aspect of the business is evolving even more rapidly than the traditional roles of accountant and insurance manager.

As I continue to grow as a business development professional, I am excited to help shape how captives respond to this complexity bringing practical insights back to clients, mentoring the next generation of captive professionals and contributing more visibly to industry discussions. I look forward to driving continued innovation in how we structure, position and communicate captive solutions, while keeping relationships and client education at the centre of that work.

Many of the FORTY Under 40 winners are recognised for both business success and broader impact – how do you balance professional excellence with contributions to your community or industry landscape?

Being from Trinidad and Tobago, and as an immigrant to the US, I am very attuned to what is happening in the world beyond the workplace. That perspective naturally shapes how I define success. It is not only about business results, but also about visibility, access and support for others coming up in the industry.

I balance professional excellence with broader impact by being intentional about where I show up and how I give back. I am an active member of the National African American Insurance Association, which gives me a platform to engage with and support diverse talent in insurance. Through these groups I share my own career experiences and challenges and help others navigate opportunities in the industry.

Being a FORTY Under 40 finalist feels like the closing of a chapter as I move beyond the early stages of my career, which was defined by hard work, trusting the process and enjoying the growth journey alongside my peers. In this next chapter, I hope to impart some of that learning to help others so that their life experiences may be even more rewarding than my own.

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