Risks and Rewards: Be True to Yourself

Graduating from Northeastern University with the desire to join a multinational corporation — and a mountain of school debt — Danielle Larsen, a speaker at Women in Insurance Chicago, came across a job opportunity that would prove to be a crossroads in her life. Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd. was hiring for a position in Mexico City.

The catch? It was a local hire contract.

‘I was seeking an international experience, but it wasn’t a popular approach to take an entry-level opportunity at what would be essentially a very low salary,’ said Larsen, now Head P&C BM Bratislava, director, Property & Casualty Business Management at Swiss Re.

Despite her family questioning her decision and urging her to find a higher paying job in the US, Larsen said she stood her ground because she ‘felt in my gut that advice wasn’t suited for me.’