Developing Future Leaders in the Surety Industry

In the 1990s, the surety industry, except for the NASBP William J. Angell Surety School, wasn’t focused on recruiting and training young professionals. This concerned Steve Cory, NASBP’s President from 2006-2007, so he filled this void by implementing a brilliant addition to our Association’s efforts—the 5-15 Leadership Circle, which is now called the 5-15 Leadership Committee.

Cory described his decision in his column for the September 2006 Pipeline. “People are the key to effective leadership. They are the most valuable asset in any organization. It was with that thought in mind that the Membership Committee initiated the 5-15 Leadership Circle. The only way our industry and our Association can survive is if we continue to attract and retain quality people. The Leadership Circle is designed for those individuals with between 5 and 15 years of experience in our broker and agency ranks. The idea is to recognize these individuals as the future of our industry and our Association. It is all about getting younger members of our firms involved in NASBP. It is also to provide them the opportunity to interface and interact with leading surety professionals on the agency side as well as the underwriting side. These individuals are our future and they can bring much to the table today and even more as their careers evolve. We need to get them involved—today.”

Cory, of the NASBP Member firm Cory Tucker & Larrowe, Inc. of Metairie, LA, was proud to announce that 15 people formed the nucleus of the first group. He’s even more excited today about the size and activities of the Committee. It is now comprised of an energetic, diverse group of 48 women and men with an active annual agenda consistent with Steve’s original mission!

Chairman of the Committee, Corban Enns of Surety Solutions, a Gallagher Company in Salem, OR, is equally excited, because “not only has it grown in size, but also in value added to the Committee members as well as NASBP. One of the ways this is accomplished is by providing new members a surety industry mentor and a senior 5-15 member coach, as well as encouraging all Committee members to attend NASBP events, using discounted registration fees.”

Meaningful 5-15 initiatives for 2020 include visits to the Home Offices of two major sureties, networking events and program content designed specifically for their group at Annual and Regional Meetings, and embarking on a professional/career development project for Committee members. In addition, there’s evidence that the 5-15 program is succeeding. Seven 5-15 Committee members currently serve on the NASBP Board of Directors, and the Committee annually selects a representative to serve on NASBP’s Executive Committee as an ex-officio, a position held this year by Houston producer John Martinez of American Global of Texas, LLC.

While the accomplishments of the 5-15 Committee have been impressive, the growth in the number of firms that have joined and belong to NASBP has been impressive as well. NASBP is now more than 525 members strong, and the number of individuals working for our members who are eligible to join the 5-15 Committee has continually grown. You, others in your agency, or bond producers you know who fit the criteria for participating on the 5-15 Leadership Committee should seriously consider joining.

For those who are interested, please download and submit an application during the open enrollment period that will begin on January 1 and extend until the Annual Meeting in May. You are also welcome to learn more by visiting the Committee website at www.nasbp.org/connect/515-leadership, or taking a few minutes to contact Corban Enns. He can be reached at corban@suretysolutions.com or 866.722.9239.

This is an opportunity of a lifetime for young producers who want to Make Every Minute Count in the early stages of their careers! Every office should consider it as a holiday gift to them.

John Bustard is Senior Vice President of King & Neel, LLC in Honolulu, HI. He can be reached at john@kingneel.com and 808.539.5419.