Mike grew up in Texas and graduated from the University of Texas in 1986 with a major in Economics and a minor in Accounting. While at Texas, Mike served in multiple positions in the Alpha Nu chapter of Sigma Chi. With over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, Mike has had management responsibilities in underwriting, marketing, and sales with both carriers and agencies. He joined Bolton & Company in 2001 where his focus is on the growth of the firm’s recognition as one of the leading privately held insurance brokerages in Southern California, as well as overseeing the day to day operations. Mike’s involvement extends beyond his own firm where he sits on the Advisory Board for multiple National Property Casualty and Health Insurance Carriers. On the personal side, Mike lives in Spicewood, Texas with his wife, Sharon and has three children and two grandchildren.
What is your background, and how did you get in the EB business?
I was the COO for Bolton & Co in LA for over 20 years. Our firm was 85% P&C with just over $2 million in Benefits revenue. During my time as the COO, we grew our Benefits revenue to north of $35 million and 40% of our firm’s revenue with a focus on hiring and developing producers along with several acquisitions.
What are your leadership principles?
Transparency with the team. We also spend a lot of time developing communication and problem-solving skills. Before someone can supervise others, it is an expectation that they will have gone through a portion of our education. I also always start with answering a question with yes and then talk through what yes looks like.
What are you looking forward to achieving with your involvement with BAN?
We are all always learning and my past experiences with BAN and its members has made a contributed to my own success as well as our firm.
How are you advising your clients regarding ongoing inflation, higher interest rates and a shaky economy? Are you concerned about a recession?
Margins are tight for many employers and their most valuable asset and cost are their employees. What tools do they need and can we assist in their strategy to increase productivity within their workforce.
What is your outlook for your agency in 2024?
With new business, exposure and rate, we are targeting 15% growth in Benefits.
What is this industry’s largest challenge?
Talent. We as an industry continue to undersell the opportunity within the brokerage community.
What are two lessons that you learned during your career that you can pass along to future leaders in the insurance industry?
When your employees go home at night, you and the brokerage are a topic at the dinner table. What are they saying about you? Never burn a bridge. As large as this industry is, it’s a small community.
Connect with Mike on LinkedIn | Download vCard | Board of Advisors
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