Merchants President & CEO Charles Makey Honored with “C-Level Executives Award” by Buffalo Business First
Merchants Insurance Group is proud to announce that President & Chief Executive Officer, Charles Makey, has been named a recipient of Buffalo Business First‘s 2025 C-Level Executives Award, which recognizes 24 of Western New York’s most effective leaders, according to the publication.
“I’m truly honored to receive the 2025 C-Level Executives Award from Buffalo Business First,” said Charles Makey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Merchants Insurance Group. “This recognition reflects the collective efforts of our incredible team at Merchants, whose commitment to excellence, innovation, and service drives our success every day. I’m so proud to be part of a team who supports its communities every day, and continues to grow right here in Western New York and across all the regions and states we do business in.”
Mr. Makey is a longstanding pillar of both the local business community and local charitable community and has been an integral contributor to Merchants Insurance Group’s success for almost three decades. Additionally, he actively emphasizes the importance of company culture and ensures that, despite having over 300 employees at Merchants, he fosters relationships with each and every colleague on an individual basis. He also consistently seeks to share his career experiences and industry knowledge as a keynote speaker and panelist to inspire students to pursue careers within the insurance industry.
Makey has been an innovative, trailblazing leader at Merchants from the very beginning when he began with the company in 1996 as Director of Sales. He was promoted in 1998 to Assistant Vice President/Regional Manager of the company’s New England Regional Office in New Hampshire. In 2004, he assumed the role of Vice President and Regional Manager of the company’s Central States Strategic Business Center in Ohio. In 2009, Makey was promoted to Senior Vice President of Insurance Operations at the Company’s Corporate Headquarters in Buffalo, New York. Finally, Makey was named President of Merchants in 2021 and further promoted to President and CEO in 2024.
Makey’s many accomplishments are reflected in his long list of promotions within Merchants over the years, and he has only continued to build upon them since stepping into his top executive role.
Mr. Makey serves as a Chair, board member, trustee, or council member for a number of organizations, including:
- New York Insurance Scholarship Foundation
- New York Insurance Association
- National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies PCC Board
- Long Island Insurance Education Foundation
- Invest Buffalo Niagara
- Aon Client Advisory Council
Charles Makey earned his Master of Business Administration from Daniel Webster College in 2007. He received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing and management from St. Bonaventure University and a degree in Business Acumen from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Mr. Makey also holds several designations from the Insurance Institute of America: Associate in Insurance Services (AIS), Associate in Management (AIM), and General Insurance (INS). Before joining Merchants Insurance Group, Mr. Makey worked for The Hartford.
Mr. Makey is a native of Western New York and currently resides in a suburb of Buffalo with his family.
Click Here to View Buffalo Business First’s Complete List of 2025 C-Level Executives Award Winners
