An Interview with Todd Bolden, SVP

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, Berkley’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging committee was thrilled to sit down with Todd Bolden, SVP with Berkley Re America, for a discussion about his career and thoughts on diversity in the industry.

What inspired you to begin a career in the insurance industry? 

It’s an interesting story – I didn’t see it coming. 

My sister and brother-in-law owned a local insurance agency in NJ and offered me my first job as a teenager. It exposed me to the business at an early age. I continued working with them throughout high school but never thought of insurance as a career. During my freshman year at Howard University, I was looking for a summer internship. The insurance companies that came to campus to recruit interns were among the more assertive and aggressive firms that I encountered that year. It was that outreach that piqued my interest.

My first internship was with an industry association called the Insurance Information Institute. I later got an internship with a large carrier which is what led me to an actual career in insurance. Fortunately, this same company extended a full-time job opportunity to me upon graduation and I started there as a trainee in the Commercial Lines Casualty Underwriting Department. I stayed with the company for three years before I got “bit by the reinsurance bug.”

While at that large carrier, I specifically worked in standard lines where admitted forms and industry regulations are major realities. These restrictions led me to become intrigued with reinsurance which unlike standard lines, is not heavily regulated and in turn can arguably enable more underwriting creativity. Further, as a reinsurance underwriter one is underwriting an underwriter which can lead to more in depth technical discussions.

How did your undergraduate experience at Howard University influence the direction of your career? 

My experience at Howard had a lot to do with how I ended up in the insurance business. The university is a very nurturing and supportive environment that focuses on excellence. This smaller but significant school environment enabled me to form one on one relationships with professors and get the support needed to be at my best academically. 

I believe that these same virtues of Howard University’s campus environment bolstered my confidence and fostered development of my relationship and team-building skills. Further, excellence was always stressed. Students were taught to “strive for excellence" and that "excuses are tools of the incompetent.” Of course, those words were meant to be taken more symbolically than literally. However, the philosophy seared in my mind the importance of putting forth my best effort and work product. I believe that these particular values have served me well throughout my career. 

You also have a JD from Rutgers Law School in NJ how did that experience impact your career in insurance? 

Anybody that goes to law school will agree that the experience will forever change how you think. Within law you are taught that in order to refute your opponent’s argument you need to understand it as well as your own. Thus understanding both sides as opposed to just zeroing what you may consider the best answer is stressed. I feel that this skill has allowed me to be more adept at identifying with client positions and in many cases successfully selling our company’s position.

I would also say that my law school experience positively impacted my writing skills as clear, concise, and brief expression was emphasized. Finally, the experience sharpened my analytical skills which as a treaty reinsurance underwriter is of particular importance during contract wording negotiations.

Who were your mentors and how did they make a difference in your career and/or influence you?

One of the greatest mentors I had early on was a gentleman named Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Williams. He was Director of the Center for Insurance Education at Howard. He was a brilliant man who both inspired and pushed me. Many students, especially those of color, don’t see light at the end of the tunnel to a level that encourages outstanding performance. Lieutenant Williams helped me in this regard through repeated challenges and occasional rewards. At one point he pushed me especially hard to go above and beyond which led to my greatest academic performance that semester. Soon thereafter he invited me to a lunch which to my surprise was also attended by a recruiter from a large insurance carrier. A short time later the company offered me both a scholarship and summer internship. This was all put in motion by Mr. Williams but I had no idea during those late-night study sessions. This experience had a lasting impression on me. It confirmed in my mind that if you truly offer up your best, the world was such that someone will take notice and good things will happen.

Another early mentor of mine was the Global Head of HR at the insurance carrier where I began my career – Dr. Jerome Bartow. Dr. Bartow would invite me to different industry seminars, meetings, and conferences that I otherwise wouldn’t have attended at that stage of my career. These experiences really helped me to learn the business and have a better understanding of the big picture.

“remember it’s not business its personal.”

Later in my career, Tom Kellogg, a senior executive at Berkley, was another great mentor. I learned a ton about client management from him. He would always say, “remember it’s not business its personal.” What he meant by that statement was that connecting with a client on a personal level was key to maximizing the trading relationship. Tom always made sure I was invited to meetings with senior level clients and brokers. His mentorship helped me build my client management skills and has led to some of my strongest senior level relationships today.

Are you involved in any initiatives to support continuing diversity in the insurance industry? If so, please explain. 

I will be the first to admit that I can do more in that regard. I’ve done more in the past few years to expose young people to educational opportunities through my college fraternity and as a student recruiter for Howard. But I am very excited to participate in industry diversity initiatives going forward. Tremendous opportunities are available to people who choose careers at Berkley. As demographics shift, a diverse workforce should enable all companies to better understand budding client bases and win. 

As demographics shift, a diverse workforce should enable all companies to better understand budding client bases and win. 

How has Berkley helped with your development over the past 20 years and what motivates you about being a leader at Berkley? 

Berkley is the best thing that ever happened to my career. I spoke of how my experience at Howard - a smaller, supportive environment - shaped and developed me both personally and professionally. I feel the same way about Berkley. It’s great to be part of a large firm that’s a significant player in the market but also has a small company feel and supportive culture. 

It’s great to be part of a large firm that’s a significant player in the market but also has a small company feel and supportive culture. 

That culture has allowed me to gain exposure to and develop relationships with executive management on a regular basis. Further, our company’s multitude of products and services have exposed me to various technical underwriting experiences that have rounded my background in a major way. Berkley’s culture and resources provide everything necessary for its employees to blossom professionally.

What advice would you give young minority talent that may not have considered insurance as a profession?

We live in a data driven world. Further, our industry is more closely aligned with true capital management activity than ever before. If you are looking to go into a business that will expose you to amazing levels of data, allow you to play a key role in client capital management activity, and are interested in being at the forefront of solving some of society’s greatest issues (i.e. systemic risk, cyber risk, climate change, etc.) insurance is the profession to consider….And compensation has come a long way from when I first started!

In your opinion, how can a focus on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging have a positive impact on the business? 

One of the Berkley initiatives that I fully support is building upon our entrepreneurial roots to embed an Innovative mindset in our culture. Largely because I believe society is at the cusp of a paradigm shift where market dynamics are concerned. Some of the greatest opportunities going forward will lie with countries and people who have not historically been the focus of insurance industry target markets. In short, the world will look different and in turn our client base will look different. Placing an emphasis on diversity and inclusion within our hiring practices is one of the best ways to prepare ourselves for this change. In summary, focusing on diversity will enable us to better identify with clients that will be critical to our growth.

Todd Bolden is a Senior Vice President with Berkley Re America serving as the company’s senior special casualty treaty reinsurance account executive as well as its chief relationship manager with many global and national trading partners. He has been with Berkley for 20 years. He is also a married father of 3 and resides in Montclair, NJ.

Berkley Re is a Berkley Company. Operating globally with local experts in Asia, Australia, Latin America, the United Kingdom and the United States, Berkley Re provides other insurance companies and self-insured businesses with treaty and facultative reinsurance. Visit berkleyre.com for more information.