Leadership Spotlight with Rick Staten
WOM: Tell us a bit about yourself and how you ended up where you are?
JW: My wife, Kris, and I have three children Amanda (20), Allison (19) and Andrew (18). We raised our family in the Midwest until 2008 when we moved to Seattle. Prior to joining MAPFRE in March 2015 I spent 27 years with a very large and successful insurance company located in Illinois. Early on I learned the benefits of proactively managing my career which explains varied assignments in Finance, HR, Operations, Sales Management and Field Sales.
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WOM: What are your responsibilities within the organization?
JW: I serve as AVP of Business Development for the Pacific Northwest (WA, OR & ID) driving profitable growth. The three areas in which I have the greatest influence are appointing and engaging agents, attracting and retaining superior Business Development Representatives and effectively collaborating with key functional areas within MAPFRE. In my short time at MAPFRE we have made great strides in all three areas but I’m particularly excited about the talent of the Business Development Representatives.
“In my short time at MAPFRE we have made great strides in all three areas but I’m particularly excited about the talent of the Business Development Representatives.”
WOM: How does your work impact the business of MAPFRE?
JW: I start my day with a deep understanding that accelerated profitable growth in the Pacific Northwest is one of MAPFRE’s most important initiatives as we seek to broaden our footprint and diversify our risk profile. The top priority remains appointing IAs while engaging existing IAs remains a close second.
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WOM: What does a good day at MAPFRE look like to you?
JW: I would say that every day is a good day and the hardest thing to do is turn off my computer. If you would ask what is a great day I would say any day I’m not at my desk. Our success is through our agent-
customers and I value each interaction. Equally important is time spent traveling with Business Development Representatives.
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WOM: Do you have any advice for others on how to become successful at MAPFRE?
JW: Let’s start with the correlation between knowledge and empowerment. Employees should thoroughly understand MAPFRE’s strategies and the impact of their role. Furthermore, all employees should read Weekly Connections to ensure they have an understanding of what’s happening and more importantly how other employees are making an impact. To be successful, an employee must be informed and with that comes empowerment.
I chose MAPFRE knowing the benefits of a flat, transparent and responsive organization. For existing or new employees, MAPFRE is an ideal environment in which anyone can excel. To better understand the opportunity I encourage employees to talk with leaders across the organization and take ownership of their careers.
