Pivoting From Pro Golf to Pro Insurance Broker with Kyle Thompson

Speaker A: Foreign.

Speaker B: Uh,

Speaker C: Welcome to the Voices of Risk Management, the premier podcast that gives listeners a 30 minute peek into the minds of risk and insurance leaders. Now kick back and explore the world of risk management with your hosts, Hunter Fosnaught and Katie Crow.

Speaker B: Welcome back to Rims 2025 podcast. Apologize in advance for my state of my voice this morning. I made the grave air of going to an event that the Brits were hosting, and you know that those nights are never early. So, um, it was a lot of fun, though, obviously. So we're here. Um, last day of the conference. Getting a little quiet, but we're still here. Um, been a couple great days, and we're ending on a high note today. So I am very excited to introduce our esteemed guest, Kyle Thompson, who is the senior Vice President in risk management at Arthur J. Gallagher.

Speaker D: Thank you.

Speaker B: Thank you for having me. Good to be here.

Speaker D: Yeah. Thanks for the invite.

Speaker B: Tell us a bit about what your role is. What are you working on?

Speaker D: So, I live in Greenville, South Carolina. Uh, I would say my overall role is I lead large teams on complex risk. And, um, it's been great. I've been with Gallagher since 2019, and, uh, yeah, really love this career. It's great.

Speaker A: So we can dive right in here. You've got a cool story, um, that I think we should explore a little bit. Um, so you had a lengthy professional golf career. Can you talk a little bit about, um, how you got into golf and then what that experience was like?

Speaker D: Yeah, you know, I got started playing golf at a really young age. I mean, I was basically crawling when my. When I first had a club in my hands, and, um, grew up playing junior golf in the state of South Carolina. And I have two younger sisters that were also really good players. And we were going all over the place throughout the summers as I was growing up. You know, my dad worked for ncr. My mom was a schoolteacher. Um, so she had the summers off. And so, um, you know, my mom said she was like a taxi driver basically. And so, you know, looking back, it was a really fun upbringing. I ended up going to the University of South Carolina on a full scholarship. My two sisters also went on full scholarships, and they played on the women's team. And so, like, when I was a senior, they were sophomore and freshmen on the women's team. And so, you know, we just had a real golf family and then. And I'm really proud. My youngest sister, Corey, she now coaches. Her name is now Corey Hinkes, but she coaches the Ole Miss women's Golf team, and they won the national championship, I think, back in 2020. So she's like the famous one of the family now, so I'm. Yeah, she's awesome. So really proud of her. She's had, like, a top 10 team every year she's been there. And, um, she's a rock star, so. But, yeah, golf has always been sort of part of my DNA. And, you know, I don't play as much anymore, but I still use it some to, you know, take prospects or clients out and entertain. And, um, yeah, it's a hell of a sport.

Speaker A: And then you and Katie were on the same golf team at this outing, right? Uh, and you won it on Friday, right?

Speaker B: Yeah, we crushed it. We didn't just win. We won by, like, what, four.

Speaker D: Four shots. Yeah, it was all Katie. I played awful. She played amazing. Yeah, she's a baller. Yeah, it was.

Speaker B: It was the sweater.

Speaker D: The sweater game was on Point M. I saw pictures.

Speaker A: Well, before she was planning for this. Planning for success.

Speaker D: She said it was gonna be her Halloween outfit as well. So.

Speaker A: Give us a little bit of insight, uh, from what I know as a professor, the professional golf system. Um, there's. I don't know, uh, you work your way up in tournaments, and it's highly competitive, and you don't really make a ton of money until you actually break through and get the PGA Tour. High pressure, small margin of error. What was that like?

Speaker D: Yeah. Oh, man, you're gonna give me some PTSD here, so. Yeah. Yeah. You know, in golf, there's different levels, right? And there's obviously the PGA Tour everybody knows about. There's also the Champions Tour, which is for the old guys that are 50 and older. But then beneath the PGA Tour, it's called the Korn Ferry Tour. And now the only way to get your way out on the PGA Tour is through the Korn Ferry Tour. You have to finish maybe top 20 or so on the money list. Um, they change the rules all the time, but, um, Most. So from 2003 through, really 2019, I had status on either the Korn Ferry or the PGA Tour. Um, the way you move up is, like I said, finishing top 20. And I had numerous, uh, years where I just barely missed it by, like, less than 5,000. I mentioned to you earlier, I three putted the last hole of my rookie season in 2003 to literally miss by, like, $4,000. And had I. My second putt gone in, like, it is sat on the lip. Had it gone in, I would have gotten my PGA Tour card You know, so I was on live interview with, uh, with the Golf Channel, not. And at the time, they didn't have all the technologies like we have today. And she broke it to me on live air that, hey, I don't know if you know this, Kyle. Um, that putt you just missed caused you to miss your PJ Tour. How do you feel? You know, and so, like, that was just. That was gut wrenching. Yeah, I didn't sleep that night. Like, uh, it was just bad, you know, because, you know, I spent my whole life wanting make the PGA Tour. I never imagined myself being an insurance broker. No knock on this great career, but I always wanted to play the Tour and win tournaments and play in the Masters and all these great things. But, um, I did make it out there, but I didn't quite have the success that I wished. Um, my career is kind of a really weird one. On the Korn Ferry Tour, the Step Beneath, I think I'm still second on the all time money list. Um, I believe I had five wins in 11 seconds. Like, I did really, like, I held my own out there. I was. I was doing well. But the three times that I moved up to the PGA Tour, I played like a complete idiot and I struggled, and I just got in my way. I was fighting the yips. I don't know if you know what the yips are, but, you know, Chuck Knobloch had it. Trying to throw a ball. It's like my brain just wasn't, uh, working at the level it needed to. It's a completely mental game. And so, um, you know, it is what it is. Put me where I'm supposed to be at the right time. God always has a great plan. And, um, started this career in 19 and haven't looked back. It's been. It's been great. I, um, truly love what I'm doing now. I honestly, I kind of wish I would have quit playing golf sooner and got into this career earlier. But, um, uh, it's just, ah, it's fun. It's really fun. So.

Speaker A: So we can circle back to some things in there, I think, that really connect with our industry. But can you tell us a little bit about. You talked about from a young boy. This was your dream. You got really good, you know, and then at some point you have to. You decided to shift gears. What went into that decision and why did you pick insurance?

Speaker D: Yeah. So great question. So, you know, I was always, as a junior golfer, I was like, the best in my area. You know, one of the top 10 juniors in the country and um, played represented the US a few times in Japan. Like I had this. And then it was just a natural progression to keep playing pro. Then I was an all American at South Carolina. And then I turned pro out of college and I'm, you know, I just can't wait to take on the world. And um, and that was my. And I loved it. Absolutely. I couldn't wait to get out to the golf course. Well, you know, you fast forward a few years, end up getting married in 2007. We, we have three kids. the time when I quit playing golf, they were going back, you know, six, seven years now, but they were about six, you know, fairly young. Six, four and one. Um, you know, and golf went from being something I was extremely passionate about and loving to something I became a job, you know, a true job. And that's not what I ever wanted my life to feel like. And it was just stressful. I mean, imagine the beauty of golf and the horror. I mean you only eat what you kill. So if I don't play well and I miss cuts and I missed a lot of them, you know, I don't make money. And so it's really stressful when you're standing over a, uh, three four footer on the last hole on Friday and you know that if you miss this, you've just spent four or five thousand that week to travel there and all those expenses. So, um, you know, so that whole mentality of kind of getting my teeth kicked in from golf I think really set me up well for this career. So, um, uh, when I finished my last term, it was in Greensboro, North Carolina in 2018. As soon as I was on my way back, I told my wife and I had full status to go back to the Korn Ferry tour. But I promised her I will not. If I lose my card, I am not going back. I'm going to, you know, transition. I was 39 at the time. I'm going to transition into, you know, a 25 year career, whatever it's going to be. And I had a lot of great contacts throughout the country and all kinds of different industries. And I, you know, what really boiled down to is I was looking at private, you know, wealth management. Um, I had a great job offer to sell steel for a company out of Ohio, which is now a client. Kind of cool. And then I had a, um, um, I had some other offers to do. You know, I was possibly doing real estate, that it just didn't speak to me the way insurance did. And so in insurance, I Interviewed with all the brokers, talked to all of them, ah, had job offers with a lot of them. Um, and then I'm very confident I landed in the right place and it's been a really, really good fit for me. We got a super strong team in my Greenville, South Carolina with Gallagher. And, um, I love going to work, you know, and that's. It's not work for me. It's something I enjoy doing.

Speaker B: So, so what about Gallagher is different than some of the other brokers you interviewed with? And how has that kind of developed since you've been there for the last number of years?

Speaker D: You know what I felt with Gallagher? I had six or seven other producers in my office that I felt very confident that I could take them into any relationship that I, that I had made through my time on tour. And I didn't have that same feeling with the other ones. You know, I'm sure that every, every company has great people, but in my hometown, I just really felt awesome about the team that I had. And, you know, I don't know if it's my golf background or what, but I've somehow quickly got, you know, in. In the good graces of our entire leadership team at Gallagher. I know everybody and they obviously, a lot of them want to play with a good golfer. And so, uh, our company as a whole really embraces golf. And, um, as most brokers do, let's be honest here. But, uh, you know, when I was a kid, the people playing the most golf out there were the insurance brokers, you know, you know, ah, nothing's changed. So. But, um, uh, yeah, Gallagher's just been a great. Because they spend a lot of money in our data and analytics and the resources that they put behind us brokers. So it's just made me feel like I'm equipped to go after any risk anywhere. And that's just what thrills me because of my network that I made chasing this white ball all over the world. I met some pretty cool people and I played golf with some, you know, Fortune 100 CEOs over my career. And, um, now, and I knew right away, like, I have no problem calling anybody. Look, like I mentioned rejections in my DNA, and I have no problem reaching out to anybody. If they say no, it's fine, you know, no big deal. So, um, I'm not opposed to trying to open up doors where maybe I even shouldn't be calling, who knows? But I feel confident that I can field the team to service any risk anywhere. And that's what I love about what I do.

Speaker A: So when you made this transition, you had the relationships, you had the competitive spirit, clearly. How did you pick up the risk and insurance knowledge?

Speaker D: I dove in head first. You, uh, know, I went straight in and got my CIC, uh, accreditation. I also got the, um, uh, CLCs from the Hartford. Um, our company itself gave us a lot of training. I was a fly on the wall in my office. We have, um, some really high, high performing producers and I went to all their renewal meetings and just sat in. Listen. Everybody has their own style, how they approach different things. And I've enjoyed seeing the different styles in our own office and how, um, different brokers, uh, how they take care of their market relationships too. Um, so I just tried to be a sponge. I was a pro at golf and now I, I'm an aspiring professional insurance broker. Like I'm gonna, I'm aspiring. I feel like you never quite get there. Like there's so much to learn in this crazy career. I, um, want to know a little bit about everything. I don't necessarily feel like I'm the best person that, you know. I don't want to be an absolute expert in one line of coverage. I don't want to be that guy. I want to know enough to hold my own. But I've got a guy. You know, we have 60, 55,000 employees. We have some incredible people that have been doing just that one line of coverage for 30 years. I'm not going to tell you that I know it when I know that they know it. So that's, you know, I guess that's my biggest, uh, thing that I could bring to the table. I know what I know and I know what I don't know. So, um, and I love to love to problem solve.

Speaker A: This is fascinating and great insight. I think a couple of things. One, um, how cool that you had this successful golf career at a high level. You had options and you chose our industry. Right? So for those out there listening, risk insurance is cool. It is fun. You can have a great career. Um, do you ever, uh, do you have any regrets like that you chose this or. Zero?

Speaker D: Zero regrets. Zero. Um, I was very fortunate in my first six months of this career, landing a really large multinational account. And that account alone really taught me, you know, you can take all the courses in the world, but until you're under the hood with a very complex risk and seeing how it's really done, you know, you don't quite learn the business. So that's taught me a lot about how to handle, um, a big Team. We have a very large team that handles that account for me. And, um. Um, yeah, it's. I just enjoy it. You know, the people aspect of this, of this career is what I like the most. I'm a relationship person. Like meeting Katie and meeting, um, you know, plenty of others around this business over the last six years has just been really rewarding for me. And that's the part that I do miss from playing pro golf. It's just, it's not so much the, the travel, I hated that. The practice, I hated that. But the driving range, the, the locker room, you know, catching up with guys and what's going on in their lives and, uh, the banter. I mean, there's some funny pranks that people pulled on each other and so like, like a lot of that sort of immature, childish stuff that us guys do was, you know, that's fun stuff. So.

Speaker A: Yeah, you, you mentioned something that resonated with me that I don't think most people understand unless they get into brokerage or the production side of it is the, is the pressure. I, I started, I had a stint at Willis for about six years as a producer, and I remember hearing stories, but even seeing people, people would like, shut down because of the pressure. Like, it was just too much. Right? Um, you had more pressure, like by a magnitude of, ah, playing golf. So how has that translated into your success? Your ability to know and have big perspective that you're going to lose accounts, you're going to, you're going to lose RFPs, but you keep going.

Speaker D: If I stay active. And there's plenty of things that I can't control at all, right? But I know what I can control and I can control my output. I can control, you know, if I say I'm going to do something that I do it. Um, you know, when I was being interviewed, we had this big roundtable and our office, and they put eight to ten people around me and they were firing off questions one after another. I'm just, you know, never done an interview, honestly, like, like a job interview. So I'm just doing my best. You know, it's like my first real job. Right. You know, think about it. I'm 39 years old, my first real job interview. And so I'm firing off questions or answers to these questions. And, uh, one of the ladies, I think is Jennifer Ream. She's great. She says to me towards the end, she's like, are we making you nervous with all these questions? And I said, please don't take offense to this, but no Like, I've had putts that for, like, 50, $100,000 putts that. That made me nervous. This is just. Look, this is not. This isn't that important, to be honest, like, not to, you know, downplay what we're doing here. But it's insurance. It's not life or death, you know, but when your livelihood is on the line, whether you make this putt or not, that's pressure, that's stress. So, especially when I had three young kids and, you know, mortgages and all. I mean, not. I knew when I left the house, if I didn't make $150,000 that year, I would lose money. Like, I could be making more money at the local, you know, gas station pumping gas than I could if I made less than 150 grand with my income and my sponsorship deals and all the things and pro ams and all. So that's kind of the way I viewed it. So that's a little stressful, you know, when you leave the house in January, that you got to go out and compete and perform. But when you're. When you're under the pump, you know, that's all I ever knew. So I didn't know any different. And not until that I got outside of that I was outside the ropes doing this, that I realized how stupid and crazy that lifestyle was, and I'm so glad it's behind me. So,

Speaker A: uh, who was your most famous person that you're paired with when you're on tour?

Speaker D: Oh, wow. Uh, I mean, I never played with Tiger, never played with Phil. Um, you know, I grew up playing a lot with Dustin Johnson. I've known him for a long time. Jason Day, um, Adam Scott. Try to think. Lee Westwood, Ernie Ells play with those guys. David, uh, Duvall. Uh, well, I looked up the other day of the top, you know, number one players in the world, and I've played with seven of them. I played with Scotty Scheffler one time. I played with Brooks Koepka, uh, in the US Open. He was playing at Florida State at the time when we got paired together out in San, um, Francisco. Um, you know, I've grown up, know Zach Johnson really well and grew up with Charles, uh, Howell and. And Lucas, uh, Glover. So look, it's a really close knit community out there. Everybody's, um, everybody's really friendly off the course for the most part. On the course are pretty vicious. Everybody wants to beat each other's brains, and so, um, yeah, it's. It's a good time.

Speaker A: So you mentioned Your first, um, big win, uh, can you take us through? You're starting this new career and you got a vision and it actually works. Like, how did that come to fruition and how did it feel when you got your first big win? Wow.

Speaker D: It was amazing. The feeling was incredible. Um, I brought a large team in that just knocked it out of the park for me. The very following day, this account was just outside of New York City. The following day was the, um, PGA Championship was being played at Bethpage. So took their entire C suite out. I had tickets for everybody, you know, introduced them to a few pros. Like I think Henrik Stinson came over and said hello to all of them. Um, and we were out watching Tiger Woods. I mean, what a cool experience. And you know, I got some really quality one on one time with the whole team. And it's a few weeks later they, they gave us the order and um, that they wanted to hire us. And so, um, they've been an incredible client for me. Really good people. And um, yeah, it's just, you know, they're the first people I put on any RFP that I'm going after. It's like, it's good. So, you know, and that's kind of the rapport and the relationship I want to make with, with my clients. It's. Look, I'm not going to sell something to somebody and then go disappear on them. I'm going to be there every step of the way with my team and the people that I bring into the relationship, they're also always going to be there. We don't, as a, you know, as a broker, we're very relational that way that we're not going to um, you know, take this person and have a somebody in the back office doing actual work. So um. But yeah, winning is always fun. You know, whether it's winning for, um, you know, new business or whether it's winning for my client, I love nothing more than to give great results on a renewal or fix a problem they have. I mean those small wins. It's that dopamine hit that I love. So,

Speaker A: so pivoting real quick. See if uh, you can provide some insight. So Gallagher has been, the enterprise has been incredibly successful and grown and then now they are on the uh, M and A path on the retail side and they acquired assure, uh, partners. I don't think that's official official, but it's public. And then Woodruff Sawyer. So this is a huge footprint now, right?

Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. I mean, like I said, I started in 19 and just the. When I think when I started we had like a $70 stock, and now we're around 340 or something. And our company is just a rocket ship right now. And it's a lot of, and really, um, impressive decisions that our leadership has made. So, um, yeah, it's been really fun. And we just keep bolting on more and more talent. We're buying brains is what we're buying. We're not trying to buy accounts, we're buying brains. And so if we find an, you know, from what I see, I'm not, I'm not up there making these decisions. But we're constantly purchasing companies that have really niche, specific, like, um, capabilities. And it just adds to our portfolio of what we can do for our clients. And so that's what I love about it. You know, we've got experts for everything. That's why I can cold call on any account in the world and feel like, hey, we got this. So, um, it's, uh, it's been, it's been fun. And you know, as a company, we've been really investing heavily back into our, uh, data and analytics. I think that's really impressive. And they've done everything they can to arm me, the producer, to, to go out and do my job. Um, everybody from our CEO, Arthur, you know, Arthur J. Gallagher's grandson, Pat Gallagher. Pat was in my shoes at one point. He was a producer. You know, his, his son was a producer. So all the people that are in our company making all these big decisions have they do what's best for the client and what's best for the producers to, to service our clients. And so I like that, that outlook rather than m. Maybe some of the PE backing that others have. I mean, uh, obviously we have shareholders you have to take care of, but if you listen to our earnings calls, Pat Gallagher all the time will say that if we take good care of our clients, then our stock will take care of itself and we'll take good care of our shareholders. And I like that mentality.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's incredible. I mean, I was looking at the share price the other day. I think Gallagher is a 70ish billion dollar market cap. Now.

Speaker D: 86 is 86.

Speaker A: It's incredible.

Speaker D: Yeah, we're now the second largest market cap in the world. I think last I saw Marshall's like 110, we were around 86. I think 77ish at Aon and then like 30 for Willis. So we are, um, you know, we're definitely fighting a bit of an image. Uh, you Know, for the longest time, from what I gather, we were just the middle market guys. And we. Yeah, right. And we were. And we were feeding at the top of the middle market. But, um, we have been pushing, you know, extremely into upper, upper market, you know, the large risk management accounts. And when we, we've got, you know, the accounts coming through our suite this, this week have been just impressive. And so, um, yeah, it's just really great time to be a Gallagher employee

Speaker A: as you creep, uh, closer to 50. Any thoughts about the Senior Tour?

Speaker D: I don't know. I mean, gosh, I'm 46. I've had. I've had that question a few times. Um, I'm 46 now. Uh, I'd have to do a lot of practicing, a lot of soul searching. It might even be a pay cut to go out there and play. This career has been nice for me. I like what I'm doing. I don't foresee that happening. No. Will I go out and try to qualify for like, a Senior Open or maybe a British Open? Go over there and play or something like that? Yeah, probably would. I'd like to play one or two. I like, I love competing. It's like in my DNA. I love it. But do it week in and week out. No. One thing that I would like to do, my 8 year old the other day, he said that he wanted me to go play the Champions Tour. And I, uh, said, nah, I don't know, man. But I want him to caddy for me at some point like that. I think that would be a fun, you know, father son experience.

Speaker B: So are your kids into golf at all?

Speaker D: A little bit. My daughter, she's turning 16 next week, and she's kind of. She likes hitting balls here and there, but she's got a friend of hers, uh, that's considering playing on the women's golf team. We're trying to push her into it this fall. I think it's amazing, like, what you did the other day. You know, I emailed Katie and she's like, I'm there, you know, and she doesn't play a ton of golf. Right. But she jumped into it. And I want my daughter to be able to hold her own with all the boys, you know, all the guys. And so, uh, I hate it. This industry, not to say hate it, but this industry is obviously very male. You know, a lot of guys play a lot of golf, and I want my daughter to have all the same opportunities that I have and that you have to go out and spend time with a prospect or A client. There's no better place to get, like, to really, truly know somebody than on the golf course. And so that's, that's, um, that's my belief. I hope she does it. I hope she'll jump into it. But, yeah, she's into it a little bit. My other two boys are. They're floating around. They're. They're sort of enjoying it too. So we're. This summer, we're. My wife and I have a big push to really push them into golf and try to get them. Not push them, you know, but encourage them to. To, to get into it.

Speaker B: So it's a really good point though, too, because I feel like there are a lot of people who don't necessarily want to go play golf and, you know, like a professional setting because they're worried that they're going to embarrass themselves, like not being good at golf. Right. The number of tips that I got on Sunday, I'm like a whole new golfer now. Like, I have a new perspective on life. I'm just.

Speaker D: You'll see. I'm actually. I videoed you and I'm going to analyze it and I'm going to send you a little, uh. You'll see it. You'll see it.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: But you're right, though. I think it's like a helpful reminder too, where it's like, it's okay to do things that are not really comfortable. To, like, have that experience and learn from that, too, is really important.

Speaker D: Maybe that's my thrill from playing golf. You're constantly in an uncomfortable place. Like, constantly. You know, and I looked back at golf and golf is nothing but risk management. That's all I was doing the whole time I'm out there. It's like, hey, here's the hazard, here's the safe place. How much risk do we want to take on, you know, is it.

Speaker A: Is.

Speaker D: Is this worth the cost to try to go for this shot? Um, what's the value of this shot? And so, um, Engulf itself has become extremely data driven. Extremely data driven. So from 168 yards out of the fairway, the average score on the PGA Tour is a three. So that's saying that you're hitting it on the green and you're two putting. So if you can get it down under three from there, then you're beating the rest of the tour from that average. So if you're 190 yards and you're in the fairway, you shouldn't really try to be hitting it close and make It a birdie, you know, getting it in two. You really just want to get it on the green and two putt, and then you're gaining a small fractional percentage of a stroke on the rest of the field. So, you know, if you can kind of, you know, visualize how that works, it helps you plot your way around the golf course. And, uh, it's like playing a game of chess. You just kind of want to be one move ahead so that you're giving yourself the best chance possible to aggregate a really nice score at the end of the day.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's interesting. Everything is risk management, actually, to an extent. Right. But golf particularly then I think I really started paying attention at the Ryder cup when they made a big deal about the Europeans, like, completely changing the golf course to make it where they basically trying to take the wedge out of the Americans hands because they were statistically so much better at wedge play. And I was like, one. Is that. Is that. Is this not a rule? Like, can you. But they did, and it worked, right?

Speaker D: Yeah, Yeah. I mean, that's part of the. That's kind of part of the gamesmanship. When we play those guys, um, they know what we're good at, we know what they're good at. And, um, typically, um, you know, we've tried to make the greens faster. We feel like we putt better on fast greens. I mean, there's little things that we try to do to tilt the table a little bit in our direction, but, um, look, that's life, right? You always want to have a little bit of an edge, if you can, on anything. That's what we're all doing.

Speaker A: Katie, you got time for more questions? What do we need to get. Get out today?

Speaker B: Yeah, I would be curious, like, what was. What. What did you find most surprising about joining, like, the more traditional workforce, if you will, like, later in life? Was it something like maybe weren't expecting or thought was a little bit unique?

Speaker D: You know, um, I spent my entire life outdoors under the sun. Right. And I was worried that I. If I kept that trajectory. I. Do you remember the show? Something about Mary?

Speaker B: Yes. I'm not that.

Speaker D: Remember the old lady? Okay. The old lady had, like. I was afraid that I was gonna look like a wrinkled raisin at that pace. So I was actually really, uh, looking forward to the office. You know, as a golfer, you're sort of on an island. You're out there with your caddie, right? And then you got your parents and your wife or whoever that are supporting you, but you're on an island with your caddy. It's just the two of you. And I love the team aspect, and that's what I got at Gallagher and in this industry is that office camaraderie. And I didn't realize how much I needed that in my life. Like, I'm a real social people person. I don't know if you get that from. But I like being around people, and I thrive on that. And I think working from home even would be a challenge for me. I just like being around people. Uh, there's a lot that happens in between meetings in the office. And the beauty of this career is you learn stuff every single day. There's always something I'm learning. Um, and a lot of that you pick up from being in the office, I feel like. And so, yeah, I loved it. So I posted on LinkedIn, like, my first day in the office, and it was like a picture of me with a Gallagher sign, and it said, first day. On a real first day. First day at work, first day on a real job or something like that. And it had incredible, uh, amount of clicks and likes and all that kind of stuff. And it was all a Gallagher folks who were like, oh, this is pretty cool. I mean, most people don't start their first job at age 39, so.

Speaker B: Right. That makes it so funny. But it actually creates some levity around it and, like, kind of that social acceptance. Right. You're, like, kind of putting yourself out there.

Speaker D: Yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: Right, yeah. Cause it's like a very unique situation. People are like, what the hell's wrong with this guy? It's just starting insurance at 39.

Speaker D: Did he lose a bet?

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. It's, uh. Look, I've said it a number of times already, but it's a really great career. I like helping people. And, uh, I like. You know, obviously, nobody wants to use insurance, but when you have to use it, it's nice that we can help families and businesses put their businesses back together together and get it up and going again. And so, um, it's a necessary evil for, um, you know, it's really the oil of our economy. And if we don't have insurance, nothing would work. And so we are an extremely important part of society. And I like being part of the, you know, part of that glue that makes us all stick together.

Speaker A: Is this a proven track the former golfer into production? Because Gallagher has, uh, a couple of people that can swing the sticks. Are you guys. Do you. How do you use your story to make other golfers potentially aware?

Speaker D: You wouldn't Believe how many people reach out to me, like, hey, let me hear a little bit more about this insurance stuff, you know, that are coming off the tour. I get the calls like at least two or three times a year from ex friends of mine. Um, there's a number of us, uh, you know, you've got. Well, we have Mike McCoy. I don't think Mike ever turned pro, but he works out in our Des Moines, Iowa office and he led the Walker cup team. You know, he was the captain of the Walker cup team. Hell of a player. He's played the Masters. Um, in my office is a guy named Charles Warren. He won everything at Clemson, won a national championship as a golfer. He was five years ahead of me in his career. And that's kind of how I really. He's like, look, I'm not going to tell you that we're the best. I don't want you to think that. I want you to talk to everybody, but then you'll know where to go. And sure enough, it was just, it was an easy decision. But, you know, Charles was five years ahead of me in his career and he had already done really well. So I thought, well, maybe Gallagher has like this washed up X Tour pro like track that they can put me on. And so. So, um, yeah, but then we've got a number of other guys that are, you know, Mike Capone down in Orlando, uh, who played many tours for a long time, went to Wake Forest. Um, we've got a guy out of Charlotte we just hired who played pro golf. And look, it doesn't have to be golf, but I think any ex athlete can make a good broker because that competitive nature of what makes them tick, you know, the ability to deal with rejection, the ability to, you know, get up early, get after it, get to work. Um, all the things that I think a lot of our younger kids these days, a lot of them don't have as much. So I highly encourage employers, um, to hire ex athletes. I think. I think it's a smart move. I think they're going to do well for you.

Speaker A: Yeah, I can't think of the gentleman's name, but when I was at Willis, there was a retired SEC football reference that went into production and crushed it. Like, he just had similar but different, like, relationships. And he knew how to handle himself on the stage and was competitive.

Speaker D: And was he out of, like, Tennessee somewhere? Yeah, yeah, I met that guy. I can't remember his name, but when I was being interviewed by them, he, um, yeah, he had some good stories. So. And then I. You know, after meeting him, all of a sudden, I see him all the time on tv. So I was like, man, this guy's making some big calls out there in the field.

Speaker A: So that is.

Speaker D: That's a stressful job right there. Yeah.

Speaker A: Well, uh, thank you for coming on and sharing your story. Uh, you know, we want it. We think this industry is really cool, and you can do a million different things in it and using your story to elevate this show. Younger folks that, uh, you were. You lived a really cool life in golf, and now you're living maybe even cooler life at risk and insurance. So thank you very much.

Speaker D: Yeah, you got it. And, uh, anybody listening to this, I'm happy to be a, uh, you know, um, a sounding board for you if you're coming, especially if you're young. Young adult, you know, getting into the industry. So happy to give some insight. So, yeah, I appreciate it.

Speaker A: Thank you very much. Yep.

Speaker D: Thank you. Thanks for having me.