51.5 F
Laguna Hills
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

Seizing Opportunities

Being ready to seize opportunities is as important as the opportunities themselves, says Kristen Allison, president and chief executive of Irvine-based employee benefits specialist Burnham Benefits Insurance Services Inc.

Allison found herself ready to buy out the benefits business she was working for when the opportunity arose in 1995. She made the move, and the more than 30-year insurance industry veteran has stayed ready in the years since her entrepreneurial move, seizing opportunities to make hires and expand operations at opportune times.

Burnham Benefits, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, has 78 employees in California, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona and Washington, D.C., managing about $1.5 billion in premiums. More than half of the employees work from the Irvine headquarters, which the company recently expanded by about 8,500 square feet for a total of 22,000 square feet to accommodate future growth.

Allison didn’t give revenue figures but said it’s grown steadily, with an average year-over-year growth rate of 25% over the past decade.

The company is a regular on the Business Journal’s annual Best Places to Work list, ranking No. 1 in the small-company category in 2012 and in 2013.

“The Best Places to Work is really one of my favorite awards for the company; I really put that on high priority,” said Allison, who was honored at the Business Journal’s Women in Business Awards luncheon on June 23 (see related stories, pages 1, 4, 6, and 12).

Life

The Ohio native moved to California at age 19 for education and career opportunities. She was supporting herself and worked at Equitable Life & Casualty Insurance Co. on the carrier side while taking evening classes.

She continued to advance in her career as male and female bosses supported and promoted her, “sometimes even before I thought I was ready,” she said.

In 1983, she joined Willis Corroon, now Willis Group, in Pasadena and for eight years was vice president in the employee benefits division.

Then she moved to Orange County to work for John Burnham & Co.

“I could do my own thing, and I was happy to manage my book of business,” she said. “I felt that I was an expert and considered one of the top professionals in the employee benefits side.”

The company was pushed into a different trajectory about a year after Allison took the job when the president died in a car accident.

“The insurance division was going to sell to a large brokerage firm,” recalled Allison, who preferred “being more regional, nimble, more entrepreneurial.”

“And then Pat Lowry (who was executive vice president at the time) came to me, and said, ‘Kris, let’s buy it,’” Allison said.

The 1995 buyout gave Allison and Lowry 80% of the business, with John Burnham & Co. holding onto the remaining 20%.

100%

Allison bought Lowry’s shares when he left the firm a few years later. John Burnham sold its stake to Union Bank, a slice which Allison later also acquired. Allison was 100% owner from 2001 to 2010.

“I am always appreciative of Pat for saying, ‘Let’s buy Burnham,’” Allison said. “I would not have come up with that idea. But acting on it and understanding how ownership works, it’s brought me into so many aspects, including accounting, human resources, mentoring, construction, and many other subject matters. We’ve been building out in so many areas. It’s kept me full.”

Allison said she’s constantly telling other businesswomen that “they can have opportunities, but they have to be prepared for them. It’s important for women to think about ownership and saving for that down payment.”

In 2010, Burnham Benefits partnered with Darin Gibson, who was running a financial services firm, forming Burnham Gibson Financial Group.

“We generated the structure to bring in future partners,” Allison said. “I wanted to create a firm that was not building itself up for acquisitions but was building itself for long-term careers, stability, forward thinking, and not only just for the employers and clients, but for the employees.”

Want more from the best local business newspaper in the country?

Sign-up for our FREE Daily eNews update to get the latest Orange County news delivered right to your inbox!

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-