Related: Taking the reins

We were expecting our first child so we moved back to Birmingham and I started to research other career paths. Commercial insurance, and benefits in particular, jumped out to me. Cobbs Allen had an excellent reputation and I felt like it was somewhere I could make a difference. It was a pretty roundabout path to this career, but I stayed somewhat aligned with hospitals and medicine from my college days and ended up here.

PW: How are you and your company taking advantage of the current changes and opportunities in the industry?

We work almost exclusively in the self-insured space; we do very little fully insured medical. Part of the reason for that is because Blue Cross of Alabama doesn't pay fully insured medical commissions. We have been forced to become very innovative in the self-funded arena.

There are a lot of analytical and actuarial tools and processes we use to set ourselves apart. A lot of our focus is on lowering our clients' medical risks and working to continually improve their situations and plan designs.

PW: How do you blend the analytical side with the human element?

Yes, we have analytical tools that make us unique as a firm, but service and the human side is a big part of it. We are very hands on and service oriented. I tell my clients if they're thinking about buying a new pair of shoes, I want them to call me first. They feel very comfortable calling or texting me at any time.

We also want to make sure the HR departments we work with feel like we're helping them do their job to the best of their ability. That helps build their trust in us and also builds relationships with others in their organization.

Related: All in the family

PW: Self-funding and similar strategies are on the rise, especially among small- and medium-size companies. How do you see that trend progressing in the coming years?

The trend is actually somewhat scary to me. A lot of smaller employers will jump into self-funding because their brokers says they can save X percent. The scary things is that if you're not putting other procedures in place to help you control your own costs, you're basically no better off than the larger pools. And in reality, you're probably worse off, because the risk is spread across far fewer people.

When I'm talking to an employer, it's all about determining if they're truly ready for self-funding. I tell anyone that's looking for one-year savings, “We can certainly put that together, but if you want this to be successful long-term, if you want to gain a competitive advantage over your peers, you have to be ready to analyze claims data and figure out ways to make an immediate impact and then follow up with long-term strategies, as well.”

PW: What's your favorite thing about your job?

I enjoy the freedom of basically working for myself and creating my own book of business, but in terms of the actual job, I'm a numbers guy. A lot of brokers have the account teams put their spreadsheets together and it saves them a lot of time, but I love doing the number crunching. It helps me understand the data really well. But I also just really enjoy it.

PW: What are the top challenges currently facing the industry and those who work in it?

I think the biggest challenge is just keeping up. Our company motto is “Out Front,” and we try to live up to that. But between constant changes in laws, penalty amounts, classifications, and funding options, it's hard to keep up with it all. If it's not your passion, I feel like you'll get left behind. You need to be an expert in what you do; take time outside of work hours to make sure you're talking to people and doing research. You have to really love what you're doing to be willing to take the time to do that.

PW: What advice would you give someone who's interested in joining the profession?

Especially when you first come into the industry, you have to work really hard to become an expert at what you're doing, to build a book of business, to build credibility and to do it quickly so that people will listen to you. It's sink or swim and if you're not willing to do all that, you're probably going to sink.

PW: Who are your favorite innovators or sources of inspiration?

I have three close, personal mentors who have all done well at the things they've tried to do and they've done it while maintaining a good balance in their lives. That balance is important to me.

I also do lots of reading. There's a local guy here named Richard Simmons who runs The Center for Executive Leadership. He puts out a lot of good books for developing both your personal and your professional self. I also read Tim Keller for inspiration on the spiritual and family side.

PW: How do you spend your time when you're not working?

I enjoy getting out in the woods. I'm a hunter, although not nearly as much as I was before the kids came along. Maybe when my boy gets a little older, we can get back out there. On the weekends, I usually just spend time doing whatever my family wants to do — going to the zoo or the science center. I just got back from a one-week vacation to St. Thomas and we took our kids! Who does that? People thought I was crazy, but I want my family to be together and enjoy these things.