Meet FCCI's new CEO

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Insurance executive Brian Makowski was stuck in a quandary in 2003 when he ran the interview process to hire a controller for FCCI Insurance Group.

Makowski, then head of the Lakewood Ranch-based firm’s audit division, narrowed the choices down to two. One candidate was a close friend who Makowski says was familiar with the company and well qualified. The other candidate was Craig Johnson, a rising industry star from Baltimore who had only first heard of FCCI when he received a call from a headhunter.

Plus, a critical concern hung over the interview process: Makowski had to find someone who possessed both the quantified financial skills and the quality people skills to make it long-term at FCCI. The later requirement was especially key because FCCI, the fourth-largest private employer in Sarasota County, prides itself on its entrepreneurial workforce that ardently follows a ‘do what you say you will do’ mantra.
Makowski chose Johnson.

The selection was a success. So much so the FCCI board promoted Johnson to president and CEO March 17 after eight years in executive roles. Johnson, 42, replaces G.W. Jacobs, who will retire May 31 after 12 years as CEO and 22 years with the firm. Jacobs will remain on the FCCI board.

“Craig had the financial experience, but he also had a knack for getting along with everyone,” says Makowski, who now works in banking in Chicago. “It’s a unique combination of both qualities you don’t see too often.”

Johnson has an uncanny ability to retain vast amounts of specific data. His total recall in important meetings, say several FCCI insiders, is akin to a pro golfer who recites the challenges of each hole in great detail.

“He borders on mathematical genius,” FCCI board chairman John Stafford says.

The new CEO, though, isn’t just a number cruncher. He also defies the stereotype of the ultra-serious, buttoned-up insurance executive.

“People warm up to him,” says Jim Contis, a Sarasota-based money manager with Fifth-Third Asset Management. “He respects everyone he runs into.”

Johnson’s an avid sports fan, especially hockey and football. He has season tickets to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Moreover, in what a golfing buddy calls Johnson’s three Fs — family, friends and FCCI — family always comes first. Johnson’s been known to leave the office at 3 p.m. to meet with a teacher for one of his three children — then work again later.

MAINTAIN DISCLIPLINE
That balance surely will be tested in Johnson’s new role at FCCI. The firm, the largest commercial insurance underwriter on the Gulf Coast based on annual revenues, has come through the recession in relatively good shape. Net income in 2010 was up 27% from 2009, to $35 million. Premium revenues declined slightly, 2% to $461 million, but year-over-year profits rose.

The recession-era success lies partially in the company’s structure, where it has no inside sales agents. Instead, it sells products to businesses through a large group of partner agents and agencies. FCCI doesn’t sell homeowners insurance policies.

Still, with a presence in 14 states, the company faces stark challenges. For one, the industry is heavily regulated. And competition, especially in the Midwest, has driven prices lower the past two years.
Johnson plans to make sure the firm maintains its discipline to not cut prices just to gain a little business. In fact, Johnson says the company recently walked away from a potential $100,000 account when a competitor offered to do the work for $60,000.

“We have to make sure the accounts we have are the ones we want,” he says.

Johnson also faces what could be his biggest personal career challenge in his new job: To replace a legendary CEO like Jacobs, who shunned the spotlight while he helped build FCCI into one of the most respected commercial property and casualty insurance firms in the Southeast.

“G.W. is leaving this company in excellent shape,” Stafford says. “There’s so much upside potential to this company. I don’t want to see us lose any of the progress we made under G.W.”

COFFEE WITH CRAIG
Johnson’s first step when he officially takes over June 3 will be to handle the transition process. After that, he plans to embark on a growth strategy for 2012.

And while he seeks to make his own mark on FCCI, Johnson already committed to keep one Jacobs staple: He will personally meet with every new employee for a one-on-one conversation, just like Jacobs did. The firm has 680 employees.

Johnson also will continue the tradition of regular meetings with department heads, supervisors and groups of employees. Under Jacobs, those sessions were sometimes jokingly referred to as Tea with Mussolini. Johnson quips that he prefers Coffee with Craig.

Johnson’s leadership style has been on display over the last eight years.

In 2008, for instance, Johnson was assigned to rework FCCI’s information services department. The unit, made up of the company’s internal IT staff, had gradually turned into a silo where productivity suffered, executives say.

Johnson first worked with the department head and identified some employees who were exacerbating the problems for a variety of reasons.

“Then we made some tough calls,” says Johnson about letting a few employees go.

FCCI Executive Vice President Debbie Douglas, like Stafford and Jacobs, is confident Johnson will bring that brand of tactful tough love to the CEO chair.

“I think he’ll be a good guardian of our special culture,” she says.

Contact Mark Gordon at [email protected].