Hot 100

While their industry experience may vary, all of this year’s Hot 100 honorees have at least three things in common: a can-do attitude in the face of adversity, a solid understanding of themselves and the industry, and a willingness to extend a helping hand to the next generation of insurance professionals.

Rising to the challenge
For Hot 100 winner Tony McIntosh, a managing partner at The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers and president of Liberty's MGA facility, Aura Risk Management & Insurance Services, resilience has been key to building his career. Ten years ago, he made the leap from a family-owned MGA into a marketing role on the retail side of the industry with Barney & Barney (now Marsh McLennan Agency). McIntosh says he initially struggled in his new role, where he was responsible for helping producers and service teams negotiate coverage and position clients with carrier partners. However, he trusted in his mentor and boss and realized how important it was to learn new things each day.

“I leveraged this time and previous entrepreneurial, sales, and leadership experience into founding a property & casualty division at a publicly traded bank and then acquiring that business under private ownership years later,” he says. “That brief difficult period of transition provided the opportunity for me to advance my career further and gain new partnerships and opportunities in this beautiful insurance business. All of this has led me to where I am today, of which I could not be happier.”

Fellow Hot 100 honoree Eden Hancock, an area senior vice president for Risk Placement Services (RPS), faced similar challenges when deciding to change employers earlier in her career.

“I honestly did not understand the roller coaster of a journey I was about to embark on when I made the switch,” she says. “When a decision is great, it will inevitably create some controversy, and oftentimes there can be sore points. To have peace, you must stay true to yourself. Avoid the distraction others may create – rise to the occasion and challenge yourself to show your worth and value. You, as I did, will come out better, stronger and happier.”

Hancock’s book of business is now 50% larger than it was when she started at RPS three years ago. What’s more, she’s led her fleet/transportation department to 50% year-over-year growth to become the fastest-growing segment in her branch.

Hancock says she has a few attributes that set her apart from the competition. The first is her ability to “read the room”; she acknowledges that there can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach to personal interactions. She also has a knack for working diligently and not making a lot of noise, and she believes it’s important to dress up and show up to the office – a real office – each day.

For RPS’ Adam Wood, who began his career as a tennis pro before moving into insurance in 2014, success has been the result of taking accountability.

“Early in my career, we lost out to a market that we had access to,” Wood says. “This is hard news to give an agent, but I am a firm believer in holding your hand up and not making excuses. [The agent and I] had a candid conversation about what happened and cleared the air. We still work with each other today, and he passed my contact along to his colleagues. Today, those referrals are my largest clients.”

Wood says he differentiates himself from his peers through his ability to establish trust and facilitate business processes, helping agents to sell and exhibiting due diligence and quote options for the insured. In 2021, he achieved 100% growth of his book of business and was promoted to assistant vice president and Southeast casualty manager at RPS. For the past two years, he’s written more than $400,000 in new business each year and landed an exclusive trucking program with Crum & Forster.

Nurturing new talent
They’ve built their own stellar careers by persevering through difficult times – so what do the members of this year’s Hot 100 list think insurance companies can do to better cultivate talent?

“Be mindful of creating joy in your staff – success sparks joy, and joy fuels further success,” McIntosh says. “If everyone is doing something they love to do and it brings joy throughout their day, you will inevitably see better results from your team. Wellness is vital to incorporate into your business philosophy and culture.

Be completely transparent with your teams on strategy objectives, goals and opportunities.”

Hancock, meanwhile, says she’s “a true believer that people want to grow. They want to be a part of something bigger. Create a team that wants to ‘put a man on the moon while mopping floors.’ Promote from within, listen to your employees’ ideas and advocate for those employees. Be flexible and movable.”

Wood believes insurance companies can and should do more to train their producers. “Insurance hires great talent and often fails to teach them the ropes,” he says. “The sink-or-swim mentality for new hires is not what young people today are looking for, in my opinion. I personally take great pride in developing talent within RPS.”

For those just starting out in insurance, McIntosh’s advice is to “push yourself to the edge. Find out what stretches you and what you want to work on to improve in business and life. Find a good work-life balance that allows you to stay healthy. A good way to think about it throughout the year is what figurative leaves can you shed this season to allow you to clear the path towards your objectives? Try and focus on one thing at a time to accomplish more throughout your day. The insurance business moves very quickly. [Staying] on top of current events and how those may implicate carriers’ results and their eventual pivots with rates/limits/capacity adjustments, along with your clients’ buying decisions, is crucial to becoming remarkable.

“The other thing I would strongly encourage is to build a personal community of interest [COI] network that can help tell your story to others within your focused business segments. I can’t stress the power of this effort and the results that come with it. The insurance business is a long play, not a get-rich-quick career.

The more investment you put into yourself, your COI network and your clients, the greater the return will be for you and your family.”

Along those same lines, Hancock’s advice for those just starting out is to be there when no one else is. “Soak in every bit of it as it comes,” she says. “My definition of ‘it’ is everything. Take advantage of every opportunity to take notes, to listen in, to get the drinks, to share an Uber, to pick a brain, to ask the question you are afraid to ask. Put yourself out there, and people will notice. Finally, be the person your clients trust.”

Wood echoes the advice he received from an old tennis coach. “Be default aggressive,” he says. “If things don’t go your way, be aggressive with marketing efforts. If you lose a renewal, aggressively make more cold calls. When I am on the offense, it helps my mood and focuses my mind on the positives.”

Hot 100

• 
  Heather Fong Quade
  Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
   
  
• 
  Adam Wood
  Risk Placement Services, Inc.
   
  
• 
  Chris Hampshire
  Gallagher Bassett International
   
  
• 
  Eden Hancock, CIC, TRS
  Risk Placement Services, Inc.
   
  
• 
  Grace Grant
  Gamma lota Sigma
   
  
• 
  Hannah Sullivan
  SolePro
   
  
• 
  Jeanne Fenster
  Berkley Small Business Solutions
   
  
• 
  Jennifer Wilson
  HUB International
   
  
• 
  John Rafferty
  Arch Insurance
   
  
• 
  Joya Sobolewski
  Risk Placement Services, Inc.
   
  
• 
  Keti Mehta
  Gallagher
   
  
• 
  Monika Bolkun-Robert
  SEI New York
   
  
• 
  Nealy Farshadi
  Brown & Riding
   
  
• 
  Te'Shounda Fleming
  Sompo International
   
  

• Alex Bovicelli
  Tokio Marine HCC
• Amir Farid
  Westfield
• Amy Stepnowski
  The Hartford/Hartford Investment Management Company
• Andy MacFarlane
  AXA XL
• Angela Noble
  EMC Insurance Companies
• Anthony J. (Tony) Kuczinski
  Munich Re US Holding
• Anton Rosandic
  ALKEME
• Barbara Ingraham
  Verisk
• Belen Tokarski
  Mylo
• Beth Carter-Drury
  Eagan Insurance Agency
• Billy Grossmiller
  AssuredPartners
• Bob Hitchcock
  Brightway Insurance
• Brian Schneider
  Higginbotham
• Candace Rhea
  The Hartford
• Carrie O’Neil
  CAC Specialty
• Chaya Cooperberg
  AmTrust Financial
• Chetan Kandhari
  Nationwide
• Chris Zoidis
  H.W. Kaufman Group
• Christiaan Durdaller
  INSUREtrust
• Christine Rogers
  Robertson Ryan & Associates
• Dr. Claire Muselman
  North American Risk Services
• Clinton Anderson
  HUB International
• Curtis Barton
  ALKEME
• Cyndi Doragh
  Iron Ridge Insurance Services
• Dameion Baker
  CAC Specialty
• Daniel Ginden
  Scottish American Insurance
• David Boren
  Synapse Services
• David Lewison
  Amwins
• Davis Moore
  Amwins
• Debbie Brackeen
  CSAA Insurance Group
• Denise Lloyd
  D.H. Lloyd & Associates
• Denise Perlman
  Marsh McLennan Agency
• Elizabeth Davies
  Stonemark
• G. Greg Gunn
  Gunn-Mowery
• Garrett Droege
  IMA Financial
• George (Chip) Atkins
  RH Clarkson Insurance Group
• George Rusu
  Captive Resources
• Grace Grant
  Gamma Iota Sigma
• Jeff Kroeger
  Insureon
• Jeffrey T. Benson Jr.
  Prominent Insurance Agency
• Jeffrey T. Benson Jr.
  Prominent Insurance Agency
• Jessica Kearney
  Travelers
• John Lupica
  Chubb
• Jonathan Charak
  Zurich North America
• Jose Suarez
  Assurance, a Marsh McLennan Agency company
• Justin Goodman
  AssuredPartners
• Justin Kesner
  Amity Insurance, a division of Brown & Brown of Massachusetts
• Karl Henley
  SeibertKeck Insurance Partners
• Kelly Augspurger
  Steadfast Insurance
• Kerri Roberts
  TIG Advisors
• Kevin Gazitua
  JAG Insurance Group
• Krishna Lynch
  Zurich North America
• Lael Chappell
  Attune
• Laurna Castillo
  CSAA Insurance Group
• Leslie Wright
  Brightway Insurance
• Linda Merenguelli
  HUB International Northeast
• Mark Walls
  Safety National
• Marty Sansone
  The Zebra
• Matthew Cooper
  Inner-City Underwriting Agency
• Meredith Frick
  Marsh McLennan
• Michael Sicard
  USI Insurance Services 
• Miles Wuller
  RSG Underwriting Managers
• Misty Kuckelman
  Travelers
• Montrae Williams
  The Hartford
• Nick Kohal
  American Risk Management Resources Brokerage
• Patrick G. Ryan
  Founder, Chairman and CEO Ryan Specialty Group
• Paul Gaglioti III
  Harbor.ai
• Paul Roberts
  Word & Brown General Agency
• Peter R. Taffae
  Executive Perils
• Rebekah Ratliff
  JAMS
• Robert Wiest
  MS Amlin
• Sara Kane
  CAC Specialty
• Scott Purviance
  Amwins
• Shannell Chibueze
  Woodruff Sawyer
• Sonji Grandy
  Alliant Insurance Services
• Sydney Hedberg
  Marsh McLennan
• Ted Dimitry
  Higginbotham
• Thomas Orabona
  Synapse Services
• Thomas Schaedel
  RT Specialty
• Tony McIntosh
  The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers
• Travis Pearson
  CMR Risk & Insurance Services
• Xiaolin Gong
  Coalition
• Yafit Cohn
  Travelers
• Yelena Dunaevsky
  Woodruff Sawyer
• Zak Fanberg
  Eagan Insurance Agency