After starting her career as an environmental underwriter in 2010, Marife Molina has risen through the ranks at Chubb by diving headfirst into a series of what she refers to as “stretch roles.”
From business development manager, to heading up Chubb’s Private Equity practice, to her current position as manager of the company’s Orange County and San Diego branches, she’s always risen to the occasion. In meeting the challenges of these changing roles, she’s valued the help of her female mentors at Chubb.
“My mentors have always told me, ‘You’ve got this,’” says Molina. “They’ve been so supportive and really helped me with these pretty big career jumps.”
Now, as co-chair of Chubb IMPACT, the employee-lead Business Roundtable (BRT) dedicated to developing and advancing woman within the insurance industry, she is committed to expanding that support to more women within the organization.
One way is through coaching circles, where a senior female leader mentors five other women from different offices or business areas, they meet regularly to discuss topics from professional development to work-life balance, providing a forum for building their network through thoughtful conversation.
Molina, who was born in Hawaii and moved to California to study chemical engineering at UCLA, met her first mentor at Chubb through a similar coaching group. She recalls how important it was for her to learn from the success of other women executives in the industry.
“Starting off as a young female minority, I didn’t see a lot of people who looked like me,” she says. “Meeting other women and finding out more about their leadership styles and seeing them break down doors was so inspiring.”
While Molina is encouraged by the diverse array of talent coming through Chubb today, one of her goals for IMPACT is to broaden its influence. To that end, she’s looking to partner with a charitable organization so Chubb women can serve as mentors in underserved communities and help build their confidence at an early age.
“I want my story to be everyone’s story,” she says. “There are opportunities out there – and there are mentors who can help. Sometimes we think we are limited in our potential. But we’re all infinitely more powerful than we realize.”