Victor CEO Charles Williamson on his plans for the enterprise

Charles Williamson, Victor Insurance coverage Managers CEO, sat down with Insurance coverage Enterprise to discuss how his diversified profession trajectory set him up for his function with the MGA and the way he intends to steer the enterprise into new alternatives.

Now Victor Insurance coverage Managers (Victor) CEO, Charles Williamson (pictured) began within the insurance coverage trade in 1988 and has held quite a lot of senior management positions, together with at massive identify insurers and what was on the time a brand-new enterprise.

The CEO has credited having the ability to put on numerous hats at completely different organizations — together with AIG and Crystal & Firm — for diversifying his skillset and shaping him into the chief he’s immediately.

“Throughout my 25-year profession at AIG, I had quite a lot of assignments, beginning out in massive account casualty, then migrating into gross sales and advertising earlier than in the end shifting to private traces and client traces,” Williamson stated.

His final job at AIG was operating the buyer enterprise for the Americas, which included prolonged guarantee accident held private traces, amounting to an eclectic mixture of underwriting experiences.

Williamson then departed AIG to change into a retail dealer, spending nearly 4 years with Crystal & Firm to know the distribution facet of the enterprise far more carefully. Following this precious expertise, his subsequent transfer was to create one thing completely new.

“I additionally co-founded an organization known as Vault, which was a private traces insurance coverage specialist, catering to high-net-worth prospects — I used to be founder and CEO there for six years,” he stated.

When the chance to imagine the function of CEO at Victor Insurance coverage Managers emerged, Williamson noticed an opportunity to meld collectively his learnings to construct on a thriving enterprise.

“I’ve constructed a background round distribution on the one hand and underwriting on the opposite. The chance and Victor melded these disciplines collectively, and that simply felt proper for me,” he stated.

Victor’s independence, with backing from dad or mum Marsh McLennan, was additionally a draw.

“The autonomy to do my very own factor and construct a enterprise, based mostly on the technique that I laid out was thrilling,” he stated.

“It was a very good mixture of an impartial firm inside an enormous group.”

Having assumed the function of CEO on July 31, Williamson drew inspiration from former Apple CEO Steve Jobs when he began within the function.

“I thought of a quote that Steve Jobs as soon as stated, the place efficient leaders don’t rent nice individuals and inform them what to do, however as a substitute, they rent nice individuals, they usually inform us what to do,” he stated.

“I choose to be an enabler of actually good individuals, versus facilitating each single determination or thought. It’s about enabling individuals to do and be their greatest.”

Refining the main focus

One of many primary priorities of Williamson’s management is to give attention to the areas which might be performing properly and present nice potential.

“We’re taking a look at adjacencies and the way we may spin up a further enterprise pretty simply with the experience, methods, capabilities and capital companions that we’ve got.”

Expertise is a key space of focus for Victor too, and Williamson stated he’s a proponent of taking a thought-about strategy to funding.

“It takes administration time and a spotlight to construct the specs to check customized tech and validate it, which implies they will’t focus our consideration on different issues,” he stated. “I’m difficult us to ensure all the pieces we spend our money and time on is totally probably the most impactful and that saying ‘no’ to one thing is OK.”

“There’s a number of whitespace”

As one of many oldest MGAs in America and the biggest on this planet, Victor has developed key choices together with its flagship specialty applications enterprise, the nation’s largest stand-alone flood MGA, ICAT which focuses on property disaster, in addition to its digital MGA, Victor Small Enterprise.

Altogether, the corporate handles round $4 billion in premium yearly.

Williamson is happy to develop past Victor’s present choices and create new alternatives for shoppers, he instructed Insurance coverage Enterprise.

“Whilst massive as Victor is and as complete as our choices are, there’s a number of whitespace, which is de facto thrilling for us,” he stated “We’re not likely in healthcare, we’re additionally not in development or actual property in an enormous means.

“[There’s also] hospitality, transportation, power, the issues which might be form of basic MGA lessons of enterprise.”

The corporate will give attention to rising its skilled roster, with attracting the precise expertise set to be essential for ahead momentum.

“We’re actively taking a look at quite a lot of acquisition alternatives”

Alongside extra natural areas of growth, Victor can also be banking on its acquisitive urge for food.

“We’re actively taking a look at quite a lot of acquisition alternatives,” Williamson stated.

Whereas there are none which have met their standards but, the CEO careworn that behind the scenes, the search continues they usually hope to discover a good match.

“We’re again in that sport, on the lookout for these acquisition alternatives that make us a greater purchase when it comes to product underwriting experience, methods, platform distribution,” he stated.