A 21ST CENTURY CAREER

Rough Notes, May 2006 by Tolen, Elaine

THE CHANGING FACE OF THE INDEPENDENT AGENT

Publicly owned broker acquisitions shape the career of young Acordia sales manager

Jeff Lang, the 34-year-old senior vice president and sales manager of Acordia Insurance Brokers' Southern California region, has demonstrated confidence, tenacity, knowledge and relationship skills in his 12 years in the business. He's also learned to stay flexible because he's seen the corporate entities that he's worked for-some of the biggest players in the commercial insurance market-make dramatic changes overnight.

Jeff's father worked for Great American Insurance Company as an area president and then as a producer at an agency in Beverly Hills, California. Whenever Jeff, in the early stages of his career, talked about going to work with his father, the senior Lang always stressed the need to gain experience elsewhere first. And Jeffs early experience came from a variety of sources.

While a student at the University of Southern California, Jeff served as his fraternity's risk manager.

He was responsible for making sure that the fraternity complied with its national and international guidelines as well as with the rules and regulations set forth by the university. Also, while still in college Jeff obtained a paid internship position with Alexander & Alexander (A&A). He rotated through various departments, ending up in the bonds division. After graduation, he returned to A&A's bond department as an account manager.

In 1997, sensing he needed a change to continue his career advancement, Jeff joined Johnson & Higgins (J&H). "My experience up to that point was in jumbo-sized accounts, like large aviation companies, large auto fleets and huge property portfolios," he explains. "J&H took accounts from several middle market units-the accounts nobody else wanted-and gave them to me. It was sink or swim."

Roger Kozberg, senior vice president with J&H, became Jeffs mentor. He helped Jeff tackle these challenging accounts, giving him advice on developing business plans and implementing sound risk management programs. "I had experience in jumbo accounts and on individual policies, but I really didn't see how all the pieces fit together until I got to J&H," Jeff says. "J&H also taught me respect for my carriers and service staff. You can't do it without them."

In 1998, J&H was purchased by what was then called Marsh & McLennan, and the company went from being privately to publicly held. The culture of the company changed overnight, according to Jeff. Even though Jeff was promoted to assistant vice president and earned his CPCU designation (he'd already earned the ARM designation), he felt like his career "wasn't moving."

Making the leap

In 1999 a long-time friend put Jeff in touch with her father, Bob Bryar, who owned Speare & Company, a large regional brokerage in Sherman Oaks, California. Jeff joined Speare as a producer.

"My only competition up to that point had been with other alphabet houses," Jeff explains. "Working at Speare opened my eyes to a whole new world within the insurance industry. I was now competing against other local and regional agencies and brokers whom I'd never heard of. And these people were good! It forced me to hone my skills as a producer. I also started having more fun in the business. I was able to work on my craft, not worrying about getting caught up in corporate politics and minutiae. I struggled with the lack of name recognition, and the limited resources frustrated me a bit. Everyone knew Marsh & McLennan and Johnson & Higgins. Speare was relatively unknown in the corporate world. Of course, that just made me want to go after the big houses and make them sit up and take notice of 'us little guys.' Like I said, I was really having fun!"

Jeff started at Speare as a producer, going from making a salary to working on commission. He brought 60% of his accounts from Marsh, "undesirable accounts, for the most part," he adds. "This taught me how to round out my accounts, manage my accounts receivable, and really work on my relationships with my clients and my referral network. I was also able to see how my success directly benefited the agency and the people employed there."

Jeff also managed to advance his education, earning an MBA from USC, and soon after that he obtained his RPLU designation. He was promoted to sales manager and was in line to become an agency principal. In 2004, Speare was bought by Acordia, the fifth largest brokerage firm in the world and the largest one affiliated with a bank (Wells Fargo) in the United States.

"Acordia is a company of entrepreneurs," Jeff says, "and Bob [Bryar, now agency managing director] is pretty independent in continuing to run the operation in Southern California."

Jeff is now senior vice president and sales manager for Acordia's Southern California region, which includes four offices and 36 producers and client executives. In the position, his job is twofold: manage and drive sales, and manage the agency's relationship with Wells Fargo, which owns Acordia. "After I got over the fact that I wouldn't be an owner and I realized Acordia's potential-especially in Southern California-my whole focus became making Acordia 'Number One' in Los Angeles," Jeff says. "I have the freedom to run my department and the opportunity to guide the company to success. That's what any principal would do. I realized that ownership is just as much about attitude as it is having actual stock in the company."