The Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 Emerging Leader Award, a distinguished recognition that will be presented at the 39th annual PLUS Conference, November 10-12 at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in San Diego, CA. The award honors the exceptional achievements of young professionals who have demonstrated remarkable excellence in their respective fields and within the professional liability insurance industry.
The three 2026 Emerging Leader Award recipients have distinguished themselves through professional excellence, innovative thinking, and a strong commitment to the industry. Their achievements reflect their dedication to advancing professional liability insurance and their potential to make a lasting impact on its future.
“PLUS is honored to recognize these outstanding emerging leaders who are helping to shape the future of our industry,” said Robbie Thompson, CEO of PLUS. “We look forward to seeing the meaningful impact their innovative thinking will continue to make as the next generation of industry leaders.”
The recipients will be formally recognized during the 2026 PLUS Conference Attendee Breakfast + Emerging Leader Awards on the morning of November 11. This conference is the premier professional liability event known for fostering knowledge exchange, professional growth, and networking opportunities within the insurance community.
Taylor Eskew-DeSanti, Assistant Vice President, Chubb
Taylor Eskew-DeSanti is a Financial Lines Manager at Chubb, where she leads a Private/Not-For-Profit (PNP) underwriting team in San Francisco. Since joining Chubb, she has grown from underwriter to leader by combining a background in sales with sharp technical acumen; earning the 2023 Circle of Excellence Award, reserved for the top 5% of North America employees, and her Chubb Level 1 Manager Certification in 2024. Taylor has developed deep expertise in complex and emerging risks reshaping the professional liability industry and is passionate about educating others in the field, including as a CE instructor. She also serves as First Party Product and National Governmental Crime Subject Matter Expert for Chubb North America Financial Lines and is Incoming Chair of the PLUS NorCal Chapter Steering Committee.
What This Award Means to Me:
I am deeply honored to receive the 2026 Emerging Leader Award. To be nominated alone felt like a tremendous accomplishment—to win is, quite frankly humbling. The professional liability industry has afforded me the opportunity to work in a field that I genuinely enjoy, and this recognition is a reflection not only of the work itself, but the colleagues, mentors, and leaders at Chubb who have championed me along the way. PLUS has been a constant source of connection and professional growth, and being recognized by this community means the world to me. Thank you for this incredible honor and congratulations to my fellow recipients—I am privileged to share this honor with you!
Gordon Gray, Senior Vice President, AmWins Insurance Brokerage
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Mr. Gray began his career in the insurance industry in 2013 as a Professional Liability Specialist at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., where he later was appointed a Cyber Liability Subject Matter Expert. He joined Amwins in 2015 as an Assistant Vice President, became a Vice President and Team Leader in 2019, and was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2022. Based in the New York City metro area, Mr. Gray is a wholesale broker who specializes in placing complex and hard-to-place business, primarily in Cyber Liability, as well as Professional Liability and Management Liability. He currently serves on the Cyber Liability Committee at Amwins and has moderated panels for NetDiligence. Outside of the office, Mr. Gray enjoys skiing on the weekends with clients, a pastime that reflects how much he values building lasting relationships. He is a graduate of the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
What This Award Means to Me
I am honored and humbled to receive the PLUS Emerging Leader Award. Wholesale brokers often work behind the scenes, so recognition like this is rare, and it means a great deal to me. I am deeply grateful to the mentors and colleagues at Amwins who invested in me, and to the team I have the privilege of leading. I also thank our retail broker partners for their trust and the underwriters I work with for their partnership. This award reflects a community far more than any one individual. I am committed to paying it forward by mentoring and training the next generation of brokers and helping our industry meet the evolving challenges ahead.
Charlie Hines, Assistant Vice President, NFP
Charlie Hines is a professional liability broker with NFP, an Aon company, specializing in Lawyers Professional Liability insurance for law firms across the United States. He attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he earned a degree in Finance from the Farmer School of Business in 2021.
He began his insurance career with Thompson Flanagan, now part of NFP, as an intern. Drawn to the unique opportunity to partner with attorneys and law firm leaders, he joined the Lawyers Professional Liability team and has advanced within the organization from Assistant Broker to Assistant Vice President through hard work, dedication, and a commitment to both client service and continuous improvement within the organization. He works closely with law firms to secure competitive pricing and favorable policy terms while advocating for his clients throughout the insurance placement process.
What This Award Means to Me:
I am incredibly honored and grateful to be selected alongside such an accomplished group of professionals for this award. I feel fortunate to have discovered PLUS early in my career, and I am thankful for the relationships, mentorship, and opportunities the organization has provided along the way. Serving the PLUS Midwest Chapter has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career. What started as simply raising my hand to volunteer has led to meaningful friendships, opportunities to contribute to the growth of the Midwest Chapter, andthe privilege of serving as Chapter Chair alongside my co-chair, Tylor Dunnican, RPLU, CPLP. This recognition would not have been possible without the support of my colleagues and mentors at NFP, and I am incredibly grateful for their guidance and investment in my success. As I look ahead to 2027 and 2028, I am excited to continue growing the Midwest Chapter, welcoming the next generation of industry professionals, and giving back to an organization that has given me so much.
About PLUS
The Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) has over 45,000 professional industry members from throughout North America and around the world. It is the only association created exclusively by and for the entire professional liability industry. PLUS is recognized as the primary source of professional liability educational programs and seminars, networking events, educational products and information regarding professional liability. Membership consists of individuals in the professional liability industry representing thousands of companies active in many industry fields. Additional information can be found at PLUSweb.org and on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. PLUS’s address is 5353 Wayzata Blvd, Suite 306, Minneapolis MN 55416.
For more information, please visit www.plusweb.org or call 800.845.0778.
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