Free Enterprise Award
The Free Enterprise Award recognizes individuals for their contributions to strengthening New York’s position as a national and global center for insurance and for industry leadership.
The Insurance Federation of New York’s prestigious Free Enterprise Award—presented to some of history’s legendary entrepreneurs—continues to salute risk takers and leaders whose creativity and initiative has enabled the expansion of business throughout New York, across the country and around
the world. In the insurance industry, it is the commitment and vision of these leaders that has created and refined the risk transfer mechanism to spur economic growth and contribute to personal financial security for countless millions.
Its recipients are recognized for their entrepreneurial spirit, their impact in the world of commerce, and their societal commitments. It is our tradition to act on suggestions made by past honorees and members to approach leaders whom they feel are exemplars of the award’s purpose.
Current Free enterprise Award Winner
Dave North
Dave North is an industry icon, having served Sedgwick’s as chief executive officer— a position he has held since 1995 -and then Executive Chairman since 2020, until retiring from the company in June 2024. Dave now serves on the company’s Board ofDirectors. During the period of his leadership, Sedgwick experienced meteoric growth and expansion. When he joined Sedgwick, the company had fewer than 500 staff with$50 million in annual revenue. Under Dave’s leadership, Sedgwick grew from a boutique, regional third-party claims administrator to the premier global provider of innovative solutions in the areas of workers’ compensation, disability and absence management, property loss adjusting and other specialty services.
Past Award Winners
1962 Henry Ford, II
1963 Kenton R. Cravens
1964 George Champion
1965 Frederick Kappel
1966 George Keith Funston
1967 Arthur “Red” H. Motley
1968 Allan Shivers
1969 George A. Spater
1970 John C. Emery
1971 Nathan H. Wentworth
1972 Gilbert W. Fitzhugh
1973 James P. McAllister
1974 Blake T. Newton, Jr.
1975 Melvin A. Holmes
1976 Osborn Elliott
1977 John T. Fey
1978 Felix G. Rohatyn
1979 Maurice “Hank” R. Greenberg
1980 B.P Russell
1981 Rawleigh Warner, Jr.
1982 Ralph S. Saul
1983 Harry B. Helmsley
1984 Malcolm S. Forbes
1985 Robert M. Best
1986 Robert Clements
1987 Lewis Lehrman
1988 Donald Trump
1989 J. Peter Grace
1990 Harold E. Sells
1991 J. Carter Bacot
1992 William Wallach
1993 Saul Steinberg
1994 Salvatore Curiale
1995 William J. Flynn
1996 Sanford J. Weill
1997 Dennis Chookaszian
1998 Steven M. Gluckstern
1999 Patrick G. Ryan
2000 Thomas R. Tizzio
2001 Edmund F. Kelly
2002 Constantine “Dinos” Iordanou
2003 Gregory V. Serio
2004 Jay Fishman
2005 Frank J. Coyne
2006 Martin J. Sullivan
2007 James L. Tisch
2008 Brian Duperreault
2009 William Fishlinger
2010 Warren W. Heck
2011 Joseph J. Plumeri
2012 Robert H. Benmosche
2013 Evan G. Greenberg
2014 J. Hyatt Brown
2015 Don Kramer
2016 Steve Kandarian
2017 Gregory Case
2018 Dame Inga Beale
2019 Brandon W. Sweitzer
2021 Steven M. Menzies
2022 Rod Fox
2023 Alan D. Schnitzer
2024 Dave North
