"While I wasn't looking to leave my organization, this was an opportunity that I couldn't let pass by," Ms. Ventriss told National Underwriter.

Ms. Ventriss said she planned "on bringing many of the lessons I've learned in this job to the Roundtable. There is no captive presence in the Roundtable today, but there should be. I hope I can make those introductions and bring that expertise to the membership."

Of her tenure at VCIA she said she is happiest that the association "has grown in its professionalism and its stature within the industry." The growth, she said, includes the professionalism of the staff, the "breadth and quality" of the programs offered, the "strength of its voice" on advocacy issues and the association's ability to affect change.

These accomplishments, she said, have involved teamwork. "We've always had a tremendously supportive board of directors. They have done what they do well, which is to craft the vision and the philosophy of the association, and then they let me make it happen."

Ms. Ventriss, also president of the Minneapolis-based Coalition of Alternative Risk Funding Mechanisms, said she will also relinquish that position. A new president most likely will be chosen from the organization's list of officers, she said.

Leonard Crouse, director of captive insurance for the Vermont Department of Banking and Securities, said that Ms. Ventriss is well suited to her new position and will "blow the captive horn wherever she goes. Her love and respect for what we do here has been phenomenal."

Under her watch, he said, VCIA's annual conference has grown and Vermont's reputation as a domicile has expanded.

"Financially the organization is in great shape," he said. "And she's been a great asset to me and my department. As regulators we can't get into the lobbying or the marketing, and she's carried that banner well for the state of Vermont and our industry."

A search committee has been convened to identify a successor, with the goal of having a new president in place by June, according to the release.

Established in 1985, VCIA is the largest captive insurance association in the United States, with 255 member companies.

As for this year's conference, scheduled Aug. 13-15, Ms. Ventriss said she will probably "gate-crash, and they'd better hand me a visitor's pass."