Noelia Salgado- Brenes
Noelia Salgado-Brenes is a senior multinational underwriter at The Hartford, where she manages middle-market to large international accounts across 17 states in the central region. Based in Chicago, she specializes in navigating complex multinational risks and developing strategic coverage solutions for clients with global operations. Known for her expertise in the international insurance space, Noelia has quickly established herself as one of the most senior and trusted professionals on her team.
Noelia’s career in commercial insurance began in 2016 when she joined the first cohort of Zurich North America’s apprenticeship program, an innovative initiative backed by the White House. After successfully completing the program, she advanced through several roles at Zurich, including insurance apprentice, underwriting services specialist, and international service specialist. These experiences gave her a strong technical foundation in underwriting and international insurance operations. She later joined Marsh as an Assistant Vice President and QSG International Placement Broker, where she gained valuable experience placing business with multiple carriers and serving as a liaison between Marsh and The Hartford.
In 2024, Noelia joined The Hartford as a senior multinational underwriter, a move that allowed her to deepen her technical underwriting expertise and broaden her impact within the industry. Her ambition, leadership, and commitment to professional growth have been evident throughout her career, earning her recognition as a 2021 Emerging Leader by the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. Fluent in Spanish and passionate about making a difference in corporate America, Noelia is driven by a long-term goal of reaching the C-suite and creating meaningful internal change within the organizations she serves.
• The New Age of Risk Management Strategy for Business
• Loyola University Chicago- B.A.
• 2021 Emerging Leaders
• 2021 Emerging Leaders Issued by The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) · Dec 2020
• Apprentice Advisor at Zurich
• Helped grow Zurich's apprenticeship program from Chicago to New York to Atlanta
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to wanting to make a difference in corporate America. When I was young, I remember going with my mom and brothers to the Daley Center in Chicago as they went through the citizenship process and faced many injustices. I would see these people who looked important and successful, and I thought, I want to be in corporate America because that's what it looked like to me. But I wanted to be there and make a difference. That's always been my goal, and that's what keeps me in this role and makes me want to be successful. Also, my family doesn't have many people who are successful, so I want to be a role model. That's the whole thing about the apprenticeship program - when we launched it in New York, it was kids coming out of high school who had no idea what they wanted to do, and showing them that they have another route in life. As long as they have opportunity and a chance, that makes a really big difference. A lot of people don't have that. And I didn't have somebody who gets promoted because they know their parent or an uncle or an aunt - I really just did it on my own.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values to me are recognizing where my expertise is and where I fall short, and then looking for mentors and courses to fill those gaps. It's about acknowledging what I don't know at the very beginning instead of later, because then it gets harder. I've learned this from watching other people in different roles. Having support from senior leadership and really diving into that is crucial, and then also trusting in myself because I know my foundation of international insurance came from Zurich back in 2016. When it comes to being a parent, it's about showing up and wanting to be not only a parent but a role model. A parent can look like whatever, but a role model looks like something, and to me, the role model part is what keeps me going.