Influential Women in Captive Insurance: Diana Hardy

Diana Hardy, Managing director of audit operations/chief operating officer, RH CPAs

Diana Hardy leads RH CPAs’ auditing and attestation practice and oversees the management of the firm’s operations. Her experience has allowed her to provide value to a broad spectrum of entities within the insurance industry ranging from small cell companies to large multi-billion dollar entities. Her clients are domiciled across the US and in many offshore jurisdictions.

She has authored courses ranging from reinsurance considerations, complex and alternative investments, complex accounting topics, and mergers and acquisitions. In addition to her auditing work, Hardy performs forensic and fraud investigative services.

Her extracurricular activities include past chair of the North Carolina Captive Insurance Association; the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) conference planning committee and co-chair of the NEXTGen Committee; and vice chair of Triad Goodwill.

Hardy was selected to be featured in the 2018 “30 Under 30” list for the Insurance Accounting and Systems Association, was recognised as a “40 under 40” by the Triad Business Journal in 2022, and as an Influential Women in Business by the Triad Business Journal in 2024.

How did you get started in the captive insurance industry?

I started my career in public accounting after college. When I moved to RH, they were already heavy in the insurance space. From there I was able to dive right in and help grow the captive insurance practice of the firm.

Who inspired you or acted as a mentor in your career?

My first manager in public accounting holds a special place in my professional journey as one of my first influential mentors. There are several aspects of her guidance and leadership that have left a lasting impact on my career.

She was a mentor through imparting technical knowledge and also embodied qualities of effective leadership, fostering a positive work environment, promoting continuous learning, and emphasising the importance of work-life balance—all of which played a pivotal role in shaping my approach to my career and how I lead our teams today.

I am grateful for the enduring impact of her mentorship and still keep in touch with her.

What do you think deters people from entering the world of captives?

I believe the biggest limiting factor in entering the world of captives is the previous stereotypes of the traditional insurance industry impacting how captives are perceived. I also think we could do a better job of educating traditional insurance brokers on the benefits of captives for middle-market America—gone are the days of captives being applicable only for the largest companies in the world

How can mentorship and sponsorship programmes be designed to better support the career development of women?

Incorporating mentorships that ensure mentors have a diverse background and matching mentors and mentees based on career goals, skills and interests will foster more effective relationships and development of women in captive insurance.

In what ways can companies in the sector create a more inclusive culture that actively promotes gender diversity at all levels?

Creating an inclusive culture starts with top-down support. Leadership within the organisation must be committed to gender diversity and advocate for diversity initiatives. RH cares about diversity—we have more women on our leadership team than men!

Implementing inclusive recruitment practices helps build an inclusive culture, which our firm constantly promotes. By implementing training for hiring managers to recognise and mitigate unconscious bias, organisations can start to build a more inclusive recruitment practice that will lead to building an inclusive culture.

Employee resource groups are good for promoting a more inclusive culture. Organisations can establish and support such groups for women and allies to provide networking, support, and advocacy. 

What challenges are gender-specific to women in the captives industry?

Similar to the stereotypes mentioned above which limit recruitment to the captive insurance industry, I believe this stereotype leads women to be less inclined to enter the industry due to the perception that the insurance industry has typically been dominated by men.

What solutions would you like to see?

Facilitate networking opportunities and forums that are inclusive and encourage the participation of women. CICA’s Amplify Women initiative has done a great job at promoting and supporting women. If every domicile and professional association incorporated similar initiatives we would see great strides in breaking through these challenges and continue to shatter any barriers in the path to the C-suite.

“We could do a better job of educating traditional insurance brokers on the benefits of captives for middle-market America.”

What are your ambitions?

My next big professional goal revolves around leading strategic initiatives, mentoring emerging leaders, expanding the firm’s external footprint, and promoting a culture that thrives on being different.

Through these efforts, I hope to contribute significantly to the firm’s sustained success, continue to grow leaders and make a lasting impact on the captive insurance industry.

Click here to read Captive International’s first Influential Women in Captive Insurance publication, celebrating the women transforming the captive sector through their sustained excellence and leadership.

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