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"Provides a great base of knowledge for analysis of this space."
D. Myer,
Senior Vice President,
Gill and Roeser, Inc.
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Note: The next Insurance Brokerage Summit is scheduled for September 2009. The material below is from the most recent (September 2008) session. To receive information on the September 2009 session as it becomes available, click here. CONFIRMED PANELISTS AND PRESENTERS FOR THE 2008 SUMMIT Ken A. Crerar - Keynote Speaker President, Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers Ken A. Crerar is president of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, an association representing the top tier of insurance brokers who collectively place more than 80 percent of the commercial property/casualty insurance premiums in the United States each year. He has held the lead job at the association since 1992. Crerar joined The Council in 1987 as chief lobbyist and director of the political action committee. Previously, he spent five years with the Footwear Industries of America, where he rose through the ranks to the job of vice president and handled the association's lobbying on international trade issues. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce in May 2006 appointed Crerar to serve on the prestigious Association Committee of 100 (C100). The C100 is comprised of the country’s leading association chief staff executives. He has also been on the Insurance-Letter's annual List of the 100 Most Powerful People in the Insurance Industry since it began in 2001. Born in upstate New York, Crerar was raised in Hamden, Conn., and attended Connecticut College in New London, receiving a B.A. degree in government in 1977. He spent a year as director of admissions for Connecticut College, then moved to Washington as special assistant to Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., a position he held for three years. John Butler Principal, Piper Jaffray & Co. John Butler is a member of the Financial Institutions Group at Piper Jaffray where he specializes in advising specialty insurance underwriters and intermediaries on the full range of investment banking transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, as well as public and private offerings of equity, debt and hybrid securities. Prior to joining Piper Jaffray, Mr. Butler was a co-founder of the Financial Institutions Group at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. Previous to Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Butler worked in the corporate fi nance department of Fox-Pitt, Kelton and in the M&A Group at Prudential Securities. He also practiced corporate and securities law for several years. Mr. Butler holds a BA cum laude in Government from Georgetown University and earned his JD from Fordham University School of Law. Kevin P. Donoghue Managing Director, Mystic Capital Advisors Group Kevin has spent over eighteen years in various merger, acquisition and financial consulting roles. Prior to co-founding Mystic Capital Kevin’s background included starting and developing BMG Capital Advisors Group, LLC (a subsidiary of The Hartford), and four years with KPMG Peat Marwick. He has a MBA from Boston College and a B.S. in Accountancy from Bentley College. Kevin has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the following: New York Society of Security Analysts, CFA Institute, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Center for Employee Ownership. Jason Hellickson Senior Vice President, Holmes Murphy Jason Hellickson became a Holmes Murphy shareholder in 1997 – only six years after joining the company. Hellickson has been an important member of Holmes Murphy’s board of directors since 1999 and joined the executive committee in 2006. His rapid rise up the corporate ladder is indicative of the drive he brings to serving his clients. In 2004, Hellickson was named the company’s National Property and Casualty Practice Leader. He developed Holmes Murphy’s patent pending sales system used to train, mentor, and lead the property casualty sales team. Hellickson specializes in serving the transportation, hospitality/lodging, and telecommunications industries. He is committed to earning clients’ business by providing them the highest-value, lowest-cost insurance programs available. Hellickson earned his bachelor’s degree at Drake University. Recognized for his leadership potential, he became a “Leadership Iowa” graduate and professional product of the Insurance Institute of America. Hellickson was recognized as one of the Corridor’s Top 20 Most Influential People. Jim W. Henderson Vice Chairman and COO, Brown & Brown, Inc. Jim is Vice Chairman and COO of Brown & Brown and has operational responsibilities for portions of the 6th largest Insurance Broker in the world. A graduate of Florida State University, BS and BA Accounting, he was an Audit Supervisor with Ernst & Whinney and then Senior Vice President and Treasurer of the Ormond Reinsurance Group, prior to joining Brown & Brown as Chief Financial Officer in 1985. He has earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designations.Jim serves as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, and the Company’s Executive and Acquisition Committees. In addition to his myriad of managerial responsibilities he continues to personally maintain several large commercial accounts. In his 22 years of service to the Company, the employee count has grown from less than 200 to over 5000 and the once private company has revenues approaching $1 billion. Jim serves as Chairman of the Board of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Board of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB), on the Board of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, and on the Business School Board of Stetson University. He is former Co-Chairman of the Insurance Accounting Systems Association Property & Casualty Committee, and past President of the Financial Executives’ Institute Of Central Florida. Leonard P. Kline, Jr. President and CEO, Ascension Insurance, Inc. Len Kline has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently as CEO of Compass Insurance Agency Inc., Compass Indemnity Corporation and Compass Consulting and Benefits. At Compass, he spent five years consolidating and integrating middle-market agencies growing the business from $4 million to $68 million in revenue. Prior to joining Compass, he was Managing Director and Chairman of Marsh & McLennan’s Kansas City office from 1994 to 2001. Robert J. Lieblein Managing Partner, Hales & Company Prior to joining Hales, Mr. Lieblein was the founder and president of WFG Capital Advisors, a leading financial advisory firm in the insurance industry. He brings more than 20 years of experience in providing financial advisory services to the insurance and financial services industry. He has been involved in more than 100 investment banking transactions, and is known for expertise in insurance-related merger and acquisition services, including acquisition analysis, acquisition strategy, transaction valuation and structuring, due diligence, negotiations, and post-acquisition consulting. Prior to founding WFG, Mr. Lieblein, a Certified Public Accountant, spent 13 years with the international accounting and professional service firm KPMG. At KPMG, he worked with many leading insurance and financial services firms, assisting them with implementation of growth strategies such as mergers and acquisitions. In addition, Mr. Lieblein is the co-founder of Wharton Capital Partners, a private equity firm involved in starting and acquiring companies since 1997. Mr. Lieblein earned degrees in accounting, mathematics and computer science from Shippensburg University. Patrick Linnert Executive Vice President, Marsh Berry & Co. Patrick Linnert executes financial, operational and strategic consulting engagements with the nation's leading independent agencies, public brokers, banks, carriers, associations and vendors. Prior to joining Marsh Berry, Mr. Linnert was a consultant for KPMG LLP and a credit officer and analyst for National City Bank. Mr. Linnert earned a BA from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. Henry Lombardi President and COO, Allied Group Holdings Under the dynamic and entrepreneurial leadership of President and Chief Operating Officer Henry Lombardi, Allied North America has become the nation’s largest independent construction insurance brokerage with a growing network of offices from coast-to-coast. A 30-year insurance industry veteran, Henry’s keen technical abilities, seasoned creativity in designing individualized client solutions and ability to adapt to changing market conditions have helped fuel Allied’s rise. Responsible for all surety and insurance operations nationwide, during Henry’s tenure, Allied has become the quintessential niche player in the insurance industry. Henry has been with Allied for nearly two decades, assuming his current leadership role in 1995. Prior to joining the agency in 1987, he served as Managing Vice President for Alexander & Alexander, after several years as an Executive Vice President of American Coverage Corp. He began his insurance career in 1974, after earning a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Andrew H. Marks Senior Executive Vice President, Bollinger Insurance Andrew Marks has been the in the Insurance Brokerage area for over 45 years, starting out with Schiff Terhune after graduating from Yale, and advancing to becoming CEO of Reed Stenhouse, Inc. of New York, which purchased Schiff in 1982. When, in 1985, Reed Stenhouse merged into Alexander & Alexander Services, Inc., the second largest insurance brokerage firm in the world, Mr. Marks decided that clients could be better served by more personal attention and direct contact, which could only be produced by a smaller boutique operation. After spending 10 months as a consultant to the Bass group’s Bayly Martin & Fay, Inc., he set about to put together MLW Services, Inc., which combined the expertise and experience of many years of its principals through their contacts and insurance knowledge. MLW Services, Inc., started in 1986, grew to over 50 employees, ranking it among the 25 largest brokers in the New York Metropolitan area. As of January 1, 2006, MLW became part of Bollinger, Inc., the 20th largest Insurance Brokerage in the U.S. and the 5th largest privately held broker. Bollinger not only does Property and Casualty business, but is a major factor in the Employee Benefits, Life, Sports, and Program Business. It employees approximately 450 people and has an income of approximately $100,000,000. Markham R. McKnight President and COO, BancorpSouth Insurance Services With insurance brokerage operations located primarily in the southeast, BXSI has been ranked as the 9th largest bank owned insurance brokerage in the nation. Mr. McKnight received his BS and MBA degrees from Louisiana State University. J. Paul Newsome Managing Director, Sandler O'Neill & Partners J. Paul Newsome is a Managing Director and the senior insurance analyst at Sandler O'Neill & Partners. Previously he was Vice President and the senior property-casualty insurance company research analyst at A.G. Edwards and at Lehman Brothers. Mr. Newsome has worked in or covered the insurance industry for over 20 years. Prior to Lehman Brothers he worked at Dain Bosworth (now RBC Capital Markets) in Minneapolis, Oppenheimer and Company (later CIBC World Markets). Mr. Newsome has B.A. degrees in mathematics and economics from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN and a M.S. degree in economics from Iowa State College in Ames, IA. His analysis expertise includes all areas of insurance related to U.S. listed insurance companies including property-casualty insurance, health insurance reinsurance and life insurance. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Paul Vredenburg Vice President, Acquisitions, Brown & Brown, Inc. Paul rejoined Brown & Brown, Inc. in September of 2006 as Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions. The position requires Paul to collaborate with senior management on developing growth plans through acquisition as well as sourcing transactions for the firm. Prior to Brown & Brown, Inc., Paul worked for MarshBerry as a Senior Vice President of the firm. In that role, Paul led a team of eight individuals in the consulting division. As team leader, Paul was responsible for sales of new business, execution of projects for clients and professional development of team members. From 2000 to 2003, Paul held management positions with Brown & Brown, Inc., including Director of Tax/Mergers & Acquisitions. Paul was responsible for 47 acquisitions during his tenure as Director of M&A for Brown & Brown and was later promoted to Producer at the Norfolk, VA office. Prior to Brown & Brown, Paul was employed by Ernst & Young as a Tax Consultant to the financial services industry. John M. Wepler President, Marsh Berry & Co. John Wepler joined Marsh Berry in 1991 as a financial analyst, became a senior shareholder in 1997 shortly after establishing the firm’s Financial Institutions practice, and was named President in August of 2005. He is a nationally recognized leader in insurance investment banking and has personally supervised more than 100 transactions. Mr. Wepler graduated with a Bachelors degree in Finance from Ohio University and an MBA from Kent State University. He serves on the board of the American Bankers Insurance Association. Frank Wetchler Partner, Dowling & Partners Mr. Wetchler became a partner at Dowling &Partners (D&P) in 2004. He i s responsible for equity research for the insurance brokers and is a senior salesperson on the institutional equity research-sales desk. From 1980-1985 Mr. Wetchler worked in public accounting for Arthur Andersen and Touche Ross specializing in financial institutions. He obtained a CPA in 1983. In 1985, Mr. Wetchler joined Fox-Pitt, Kelton in institutional equity research-sales and equity research. His research responsibilities included specialty insurance companies and insurance brokers. He became the Director of Institutional Equity Research-Sales in 1990 and was a member of the executive committee. In 1996 he became senior managing director. Mr. Wetchler joined D&P in 2003. He received his B.S. in accounting from the University of New York at Albany. Clark Wormer Director of M&A, Hub International Clark Wormer, Director of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) for HUB International, has been the lead on more than 55 acquisitions totaling over $230 million of acquisition revenue. His primary job responsibility is the oversight of the entire M&A process from start to finish, including the negotiation of the deal terms, financial analysis and oversight of due diligence and integration. Before joining HUB in April 2005 as Manager of M&A, Clark previously served as a Senior Financial Analyst in the Asset Management Group for Equity Lifestyle Properties, a Sam Zell Corporation.Clark holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Tim Zawacki Senior Industry Editor, SNL Financial Tim Zawacki is a senior industry editor at SNL Financial. He has covered the insurance industry, including the broker and agency space, since joining the company in 1999. Mr. Zawacki writes the weekly "Insurance Insight" and "MarketWeek" columns, which appear on SNLi and in the SNL Insurance Daily, highlighting key developments and emerging trends in the industry. He has also extensively reported on the rise and fall of the subprime lending industry, mergers and acquisitions, and other key topics in the financial services sector for various SNL publications. Mr. Zawacki is a graduate of the University of Virginia. David J. Zuercher Chairman, President and CEO, Wells Fargo Insurance Services David J. Zuercher, a member of Wells Fargo’s Management Committee, is group head of Wells Fargo’s International and Insurance Services Group, a business segment that generates over $2.0 billion in annual revenue for Wells Fargo and employs more than 8,000 team members.The International segment includes Global Correspondent Banking, Foreign Exchange, International Treasury Management, the Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank, International Personal Banking, and Overseas Services. Insurance Services comprises Wells Fargo’s commercial property and casualty brokerage businesses, consumer and small business bank assurance products, and crop insurance business. David is the chairman of Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank, N.A., a joint venture between Wells Fargo and HSBC Group, which specializes in trade finance. He is also chairman, president, and CEO of Wells Fargo Insurance Services, the largest bank-affiliated insurance brokerage in the country and the nation’s fifth-largest commercial insurance broker. He is also chairman of Wells Fargo Insurance, Inc., and Rural Community Insurance Group, Inc., a Wells Fargo company and the nation's largest crop insurer. A 39-year Wells Fargo veteran, he has worked throughout the company in many management positions. His responsibilities within Wells Fargo have included asset generation, customer retention, credit management, loan workouts, sales, and marketing. David graduated from Loyola Marymount University, of which he is currently a member of its Board of Regents.
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