Wendy Boe, CIC, FCLS, CRM
Wendy Boe, CIC, FCLS, CRM, is a seasoned insurance compliance and legal operations leader with more than 25 years of experience guiding insurers, MGAs, and insurtechs through complex regulatory environments. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Wendy currently serves as Compliance Director at Rhoads and Chief Compliance Officer at Centinel, while also operating an independent consulting practice focused on operational compliance maturity, licensing, and risk governance. Known for her collaborative, systems-minded approach, she helps organizations move from reactive compliance to scalable, audit-ready operations.
Wendy’s career spans agency operations, corporate compliance leadership, and entrepreneurship. After early work in captive agency roles and owning a café, she opened her own insurance agency before pivoting into compliance consulting around 2015. Since then, she has led and advised compliance programs for startups and established firms alike, designing SOPs, checklists, and frameworks that reduce risk and support growth through audits, M&A, and regulatory scrutiny. Her work emphasizes clarity, accountability, and practical execution—turning compliance into a business enabler rather than a bottleneck.
A lifelong learner and teacher at heart, Wendy holds a BBA in Business and Marketing, a paralegal degree, and multiple industry designations, including Certified Risk Manager (CRM), and she is currently working toward a JD. She is deeply committed to paying knowledge forward through writing, speaking, and building resources for the insurance community. Outside of her professional work, Wendy volunteers in youth and farm-to-school programs, reflecting her broader commitment to integrity, stewardship, and long-term impact.
• Paralegal Degree
• Certified Risk Manager
• Licensed Insurance Producer
• Fraud Claims Law Specialist
• Certified Insurance Counselors
• Certified Employee Performance Coach
• Lakeland University- B.B.A.
• Fox Valley Technical College- Associate's
• Northwestern California University School of Law- J.D.
• National Risk and Insurance Alliance
• Securities Insurance Licensing Association
• Habitat for Humanity
• Village of Howard
• Youth - Go
• Farm-to-School Program
What do you attribute your success to?
I really attribute my success to the lady who got me into insurance. She taught me how to pay it forward and how to continue mentoring others. Insurance is a continuous cycle of learning and teaching, and I'm always learning while also teaching at the same time. That's what keeps me here, because it never gets boring. I love being able to take younger women coming up and show them that this could be a really successful industry for them. Most people fall into insurance, they don't actually plan to go into it, but it can be really lucrative and they won't be bored. The mentorship I received and my ability to pay that forward is what drives me. It's about women supporting other women in this male-dominated industry.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received is that you don't have to prove yourself anymore. Just do what you do, and you rock. If people don't see your value, that's their problem. I used to always feel like I had to prove myself in this male-dominated industry, but I learned that I should just focus on doing great work and being confident in my abilities. It's about recognizing your own worth and not letting others' inability to see it hold you back.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering insurance is to always remember that we don't have to be docile anymore. I'm so impressed with all the women getting their licenses and becoming producers, not just doing back-end paperwork. Don't feel intimidated, and don't let the male-dominated society get you down, because it happens a lot. I experienced it myself when I was a top producer and wasn't invited to a carrier's golf event because they assumed I wouldn't want to go since I'm a woman. Carriers really need to be more proactive with including their women producers and promoting them. My message is to be confident, step up, get your license, and don't let anyone make you feel less than. It's all about teaching and learning, because things change all the time in this industry.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is navigating a heavily regulated, constantly changing environment where compliance resources are often fragmented or inaccessible. At the same time, there’s a major opportunity to modernize compliance through technology and build centralized, practical SOPs that make it easier for smaller insurance organizations to operate confidently and stay compliant.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that are most important to me are honesty and accountability. I need people to always be honest with me, no matter how hard it is. I don't like people sugarcoating things, just give it to me straight and direct. And people need to do what they say they're going to do. There are so many times people say they're going to do something and then don't follow through. If I say I'm going to do something, I make damn sure I'm doing it, because people are relying on me. I would feel awful if I couldn't do something that I said I was going to do. Accountability is so important. These values overlap in both my work and personal life, and I think they're essential for growth. You're going to mess up, and that's okay, that's where growth happens. Every successful billionaire or business owner screwed up more times than people tried, but they never gave up.