William Clement, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Atlanta Life Financial Group; Ronald Brown, President and CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group and Chairman, Jackson Securities; and Reuben McDaniel, President of Jackson Securities
Black Enterprise (BE) has named Atlanta Life Financial Group its 2008 BE100s Financial Services Company of the Year. BE executives made the announcement during the recent Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference and Expo held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
To an audience of more 2,000 African-American businesspeople and entrepreneurs, BE executives shared how leadership was paramount in the selection of this year's BE100 Financial Services Company of the year.
As the blueprint for success in corporate America has changed, so has Atlanta Life. The century-old institution has evolved from a door-to-door seller of insurance policies to a comprehensive financial services holding company for the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Atlanta Life Insurance Company has over $16 billion of group insurance in force and continues to have an outstanding leadership at its helm, helping the Company to retain its ranking as the Number 1 African-American Group Reinsurer in the country.
Atlanta Life Financial Group also controls fast-growing Atlanta Life Investment Advisors Inc. (No. 15 on the BE Asset Managers list with $1.1 billion in assets under management) and Jackson Securities (No. 8 on the BE Investment Banks list with $4.8 billion in senior-managed issues), the black-owned investment banking firm that it acquired last year.
As a result of its stellar growth, top-notch leadership, and prime example of a black-on-black business partnership, Black Enterprise has named Atlanta Life Financial Group this year's Financial Services Company of the Year. Black Enterprise Editorial Director Alan Hughes sat down with President and Chief Executive Officer Ronald D. Brown to discuss Atlanta Life Financial Group's unbeatable combination in BE's June edition.
"I use the phrase in all my staff meetings: 'None of us is as smart as all of us.' And I believe that," he had said. "This is about how well you can do something as a team. People didn't create corporations and companies because they did not have anything to do. They created them because there was stuff they couldn't do themselves and they had to have other people."
Ronald D. Brown passed away April 28, 2008 from complications after surgery. The tragic loss occurred approximately 24 hours before Black Enterprise was scheduled to go to press with the article announcing Atlanta Life Financial Group as its Financial Services Company of the Year.
On May 21, 2008, The Atlanta Life Financial Group Board of Directors named William A. Clement, previously the company's non-executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlanta Life Financial Group and Chairman, Jackson Securities. The Board also named Egbert Perry, Chairman of the Board and Roosevelt Giles, Vice Chair, Atlanta Life Financial Group. Mr. Perry is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Integral Group LLC. Mr. Giles is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Information Management System.
"Ron was a quintessential leader," said William A. Clement, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlanta Life Financial Group. "The honor that BE has bestowed upon the Company is bittersweet. We lost a colleague, a friend and a leader, who through untiring efforts helped to make Atlanta Life a force in today's financial services arena."
As former Board Chair, Mr. Clement's appointment as President & CEO provides continuity and we are confident that he possesses the leadership and the business acumen necessary to continue building upon Atlanta Life's foundation and legacy." The complete interview on Atlanta Life Financial Group can be found in the June 2008 issue of Black Enterprise on newsstands June 3.
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