leadership to be nimble and open to new methods and processes .
“ It ’ s where we can take on and take off with any type of newly invented software products and it positions us nicely for the next 20 years ,” he said . “ From the very first acquisitions we were flying the plane and building it at the same time .”
The company ’ s focus on technology puts it in a strong position to continue its growth strategy through 2021 and beyond .
According to a Deloitte Insights report , a survey of insurance industry executives found that nearly 80 percent of respondents said the COVID-19 pandemic revealed shortcomings in digital capabilities .
It appears , Lydecker and his team are part of the 20 % who have prepared for those shortcomings , even during a pandemic . Lydecker said one of the other keys to the company ’ s success – and part of its overall growth strategy – is the “ wonderful group of partners and team members ” that have joined together to create Foundation Risk Partners .
“ It ’ s a like-minded group of insurance professionals that are focused on taking care of our clients ,” he said . “ And it gives us more capabilities in the marketplace for our clients .”
Lydecker said both sides of that equation – building the right team and focusing on clients – go hand-in-hand with strong growth .
“ If you are providing the best services for your clients and you ’ re a client-focused company , you can ’ t be client-focused without being team-focused ,” he said . “ That ’ s just a core philosophy .”
Lydecker said that was true with the acquisition of Reames Employee Benefits Solutions as well as one of the other important initial acquisitions , the Mitchell Noel Agency which was rebranded as Halifax Insurance Partners .
“ We were growing every year , but by smaller increments ,” said Rich Cooper , Executive Vice President of Halifax Insurance Partners , who lead the company for 10 years following his father ’ s leadership . “ I was always looking for ways to really make things grow .”
Cooper said when the opportunity to join Foundation Risk Partners came up , he jumped at
Rich Cooper the chance . “ I thought it would be a great opportunity to be part of that ,” he said . “ I really wanted to be part of it and wanted to be part of it in the beginning .”
Cooper said most of Mitchell Noel ’ s clients have stayed with the new company , as have many of its long-time employees .
“ It ’ s been a growth experience for all of us ,” he said . “ The clients are getting better service and for myself , it is an opportunity to be part of something bigger .”
Cooper said he shares Lydecker ’ s perspective on growth and put a fine point on just how important a growth strategy is , especially in the insurance industry .
“ There ’ s attrition every year ,” he said . “ You ’ re going to lose some clients . It ’ s just natural your business will shrink year-over-year if you don ’ t do something . To be relevant , you have to keep growing .” Foundation Risk Partners growth strategy through acquisition has also provided an added bonus , Cooper said .
“ I ’ m now working alongside a lot of the people I used to compete against ,” he said . “ It ’ s been a fun experience , I think , for all of us .”
Cooper said the growing company also offers clients the benefit of years of industry experience .
“ There ’ s just great institutional knowledge we get to share with each other ,” he said . “ And I haven ’ t met anybody that has come into the family that hasn ’ t had a good experience . Everybody is really excited and happy to be part of something new and growing so rapidly .”
Aaron London is a reporter and columnist who has covered business and economics for 27 years . He has worked for newspapers in Ohio and Florida and is also an adjunct professor of journalism at Daytona State College .
CREATING COMMUNITY IN A ‘ GROW OR DIE ’ WORLD
Creativity is usually the province of the artist or writer , but creating a business that lasts requires the right combination of talent , commitment and vision . For Foundation Risk Partners , putting the right people in the right places has paid off in strong growth and recognition as a good corporate citizen .
That means building a team focused on the bottom line and connected to the community .
Alan Florez , national sales director at FRP , has been part of the team from the beginning and brings a wealth of experience from within the industry and beyond .
Florez worked for Florida Gov . Jeb Bush from 2001-05 , before moving to the insurance industry , where he has worked ever since . His
Alan Florez experience ranges from sales , training and operations to growth for large commercial insurance brokers .
He said joining FRP was “ an opportunity to play a meaningful role in the building of a new top-tier insurance sales organization .”
Florez said building the right team also means finding people with the right experience and temperament to succeed .
“ Our key has been to be able to take strong existing agencies and leverage first-class expertise and resources to ensure meaningful growth ,” he said , citing some of the firm ’ s acquisitions . “ That is a great example of having the right team in place . Fortunately , we are duplicating this throughout the country and we are fortunate to be surrounded by over 1,500 outstanding team members .”
As for the idea of “ grow or die ,” Florez said it is a necessary perspective for success in today ’ s business climate . And it can serve a broader , community purpose as well .
“ It has to be a core part of a company ’ s culture , from our perspective ,” he said . “ Fortunately , we are surrounded by many co-workers and leaders who , of their own volition , contribute significantly to the community .”
That is something Chris Tolland , CEO of Halifax Insurance Partners and executive vice president of Foundation Risk Partners of Florida , brings to the table , both at work and in the community .
“ I currently serve in a director capacity on several non-profit boards within the
Chris Tolland
local community ,” he said . “ Within each of these organizations , we consistently look for new ways to raise much-needed awareness , support and funding which can have the effect of decreasing reliance on potentially unstable funding sources .”
Those organizations include the Council on Aging of Volusia , the Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia and Flagler Counties , Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida and the Conklin-Davis Center for the Visually Impaired .
That team approach also informs Tolland ’ s role with Foundation Risk Partners .
“ Our team defines our success and we truly take a team approach at Foundation Risk Partners ,” he said . “ Growth , in our business , requires the right teammates and I am so proud to work with our teams at Halifax Insurance Partners and Foundation Risk Partners .”
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