Smart Business Magazine, July 2015

s24 Smart Business July 2015 R ichard Gordy Bunch founder president and CEO of The Woodlands Financial Group started the company in 2001 with 10000 of his own capital and no promise of success Originally envisioned as a boutique financial planning firm Woodlands quickly grew into a personal lines insurance agency due to market conditions Bunch entered an industry that was known to be conservative and slow to embrace changes His unique concept of using an exclusive contract on an independent chassis allows experienced insurance agents to join his agency and gain the economies of scale historically only provided to much larger organizations The new model that Bunch created positioned The Woodlands so customers could have choices and better rates while allowing agents to focus on the client instead of the product The agencys trusted adviser customer oriented approach is achieved by not focusing on a single agency but rather being a third party retailer of multiple agency policies allowing agents to advise clients on the policies that truly meet their needs without pressure to push certain policies The Woodlands passes most of the commission through to the agents and provides backroom accounting support technology resources and the agency management oversight needed to support a sophisticated model Additionally agents are given access to a technology package cooperative funds annual business meetings and ongoing training and education to help them grow The agency flourished under this model as evidenced by its consistent double digit growth and is now the largest personal lines agency in Texas and the eighth largest privately held personal lines agency in the country The Woodlands has more than 330 retail branches in 22 states 3500 independent agents in 38 states and 250000 customers A s president and CEO J H Jay Campbell Jr has been central to the success of Associated Grocers Inc a private retailer owned wholesale distributor cooperative Campbell started working for the grocer as a part time bookkeeper when he was in college After graduating from law school he became in house legal counsel for the company and assumed the role of internal auditor where he learned about nearly every department and function of the company At the age of 25 he was sitting in on board of directors meetings and traveling the U S to learn about the retail grocery and distributor industry Campbell has helped navigate Associated Grocers and its independent retail partners through heavy periods of price and resource competition from the large national grocer chain companies Between 1977 and 1987 Campbell called for heavy investment in information technology and the automation of many of the companys manual processes across all departments As a result the company boasts sophisticated processes and systems geared toward efficient delivery to its retailers at prices that are close to that of the national chains The aggressive push by national retailers to be low cost leaders forced Associated Grocers and its retail partners to differentiate Quality became the answer As early as 1992 Campbell began encouraging retail partners to promote fresh nutritious and natural products to their customers long before todays organic craze As part of its plan to diversify Associated Grocers has been expanding its refrigeration business but it has also been looking to penetrate the prepared foods market by creating a food service company that would prepare and sell prepackaged products to its retail partners As Campbell nears retirement he reflects on a legacy of commitment to service and quality which will continue to drive Associated Grocers for years to come A t 26 Kyle McDonald was recruited to head Ruston State Banks trust department Five years later he persuaded the banks board to spin the department into a subsidiary A few months later McDonald and a handful of investors acquired the newly formed entity The Trust Company of Louisiana He slowly attracted talented people carefully making sure each one shared his values and agreed with his vision To serve clients beyond Louisianas borders the company applied for and was granted a national trust charter rebranding itself as Argent Financial Group In the early 2000s McDonald CEO discovered that the source of Argents clients wealth came via land ownership whether from timber production or from oil and gas interests In 2005 he formed an Argent subsidiary to provide property management services The timing corresponded with the U S shale boom and Argent was able to capture revenue from managing clients oil and gas interests Parlaying a strategic expansion of the stockholder base and grounded in continued local success McDonald embarked on an aggressive strategic plan in 2009 to grow the company McDonald continues to expand Argents footprint through the acquisition of like minded firms in communities where Argent can make an impact Throughout the growth process shareholder value has been consistently enhanced Today Argent is serving clients from 21 offices in 12 southern states Through McDonalds leadership Argent is now one of the largest independent trust based wealth management firms in the nation Argents success is a direct result of McDonald s vision and willingness to take calculated risks His entrepreneurial attitude has made the difference in growing an organization that has a meaningful impact on the clients it serves 2015 G ULF CO AST AREA Kyle McDonald CEO Argent Financial Group www argentfinancial com Finalist J H Jay Campbell Jr president and CEO Associated Grocers Inc www agbr com Finalist Richard Gordy Bunch founder president and CEO The Woodlands Financial Group www twfg com Award Recipient Products Services