Former editor, publisher of Business Insurance Kathryn McIntyre dies

Kathryn J. McIntyre, a former reporter, editor and publisher of Business Insurance, died Aug. 28 at her home on the Tutukaka Coast in New Zealand.

Spending 25 years at the publication, Ms. McIntyre, 71, joined Business Insurance when it was a fortnightly publication and helped lead it through its transformation to a weekly news magazine and later a digital and print publishing platform.

As a reporter and editor, she left an indelible mark on the publication, pushing for it to be on top of all developments affecting the risk management and insurance sector. Driven but always supportive of her staff, Ms. McIntyre led and shaped BI’s coverage of numerous beats, established its international footprint and greatly expanded its analysis of industry companies into what have become industry-standard rankings.

Becoming one of the most well-known women in the sector, she also promoted other women in the business. Named as the Association of Professional Insurance Women’s “Woman of the Year” in 1989, Ms. McIntyre became a leader of the organization. In 2000, she developed a project highlighting 100 Women in Insurance, which was the precursor to BI’s ongoing Women to Watch recognition program.

Ms. McIntyre grew up in upstate New York and was a 1974 graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Starting her career as a reporter at The Lake Placid News, she later moved to Chicago and became a stringer for several publications. She joined BI in 1977 as “a glorified secretary,” as she later put it. Quickly making her mark she moved up the editorial ranks to become editor in 1980.

In 1992, she was named publisher and editorial director, stepping back from day-to-day editorial duties and taking on a wider role heading all of the magazine’s operations during one of its most successful periods. She continued to be a regular attendee and speaker at numerous industry events and wrote a popular column in which she covered topics ranging from the seemingly never-ending consolidation in the insurance industry to Bermuda politics and her growing enthusiasm for golf.

In addition to her roles at BI, Ms. McIntyre served on the boards of several industry nonprofits, including the Angus Robinson Jr. Memorial Foundation, the Spencer Educational Foundation, the Insurance Industry Council for the City of Hope and the College of Insurance, which became St. John’s University’s School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science.

She retired from Business Insurance in 2001 as publishing director. A keen sailor and gardener, she began her retirement at a home she and her late husband, Ronald Jacks, built in New Zealand and on the U.S. East Coast. After Mr. Jacks died in 2007, she married Bill Thiele, a retired insurance industry executive, who survives her.