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Established in 2004, Leader’s Edge is the award-winning content platform for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, covering legal and legislative issues, international business and regulation, management trends and best practices, technology, and more. Leader’s Edge is written and recorded for large and mid-sized commercial insurance and employee benefit executives around the globe.
So I find myself in the Magic Johnson Enterprises office conducting a due diligence session for the acquisition of this potential company. And halfway through this meeting, I hear a knock on the door, and it's urban. And so Magic walks in, says hello, and just sits down. And he's like, continue doing what you're doing. People don't wanna think about life insurance typically because it requires thinking about sort of your mortality.
Ryan Smith:If I can use a product to help you live your best possible life, I think that's a win win for everybody.
Zach Ewell:Welcome to the LeadersEdge podcast. I'm Zach Yule, content producer here at LeadersEdge. In this episode, associate editor Chris Hand interviews Ryan Smith, executive vice president of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. During this vibrant conversation, Smith shares how his entrepreneurial mindset as a child led him to business school, then working with NBA legend Magic Johnson, and how he ended up in the insurance industry. Give it a listen.
Chris Hann:We were just talking about your experience working with Magic Johnson, and the Magic Johnson enterprise in Los Angeles. I'm I'm quite sure you're the first insurance executive I've interviewed for personal lines who can say that.
Ryan Smith:That sounds likely. So,
Chris Hann:tell me about that experience. You took me through it a little bit before we started recording, but, but tell me about how you got there and just what it was like to to work with Magic Johnson on a daily basis.
Ryan Smith:No, Chris. Absolutely. And so I guess the the genesis of the story starts with with sort of my career prior to that. And so it was all through the lens of finance and investing. So stops at Morgan Stanley and investment banking, stops in private equity with a shop called INB Partners, and then to San Francisco to do venture capital with a firm called Bronze Investments.
Ryan Smith:Specific to INB Partners as well as Bronze Investments were the threat there, with double bottom line impact. And so either acquiring or investing in companies, that not only generate a profit, but also materially improve people slash for the better. Mhmm. And so was doing both venture capital and pursuing my MBA at Stanford, back in sort of the 2012 to 2014 range. And so I thought about putting those experiences together, and sort of this life mission I have of using business, using capital investments to materially improve people's lives, and how to do that on a large platform, and in sort of the optimal way.
Ryan Smith:And had been monitoring Magic Johnson Enterprises for probably the past 2 decades prior and had saw how he carved out and proved the hypothesis about the opportunities to do business in inner city communities. Mhmm. And sort of the thesis was rooted in this idea of despite those communities often having sort of lower per capita income, they also have greater density and they're ignored. And so there's significant demand without the supply. And if you cater to those communities, you will do well as a business, but also the community will benefit and they will appreciate you.
Ryan Smith:Mhmm. And so figure out we'll try to determine how to get in contact. So it's one thing to have an idea. Right? It's like, hey.
Ryan Smith:Get in contact with Magic Johnson. Who in my network knows Magic Johnson? No one. Alright. Back to the drawing board.
Ryan Smith:Fortunately, LinkedIn had come around at this point. And so alright. Let's see. Who would Magic Johnson Enterprises is on LinkedIn? Alright.
Ryan Smith:Start looking at people. Nope. Don't know anyone here. That's not great. And then sort of thinking about my previous stops at bronze and at INB, it's like, hey.
Ryan Smith:Once upon a time, we were trying to do a transaction with MJE. Let's see if perhaps I've been on a email of someone at MJE before. And so started typing Magic Johnson Enterprises, and different names into my various inboxes. And lo and behold, something actually came up. And so it was the name of a gentleman named Eric Holloman.
Ryan Smith:He was president of MGA at the time. Okay. And it wasn't in a business context. Funny enough, I had a fellowship when I was in business school, and he sat on the board of the fellowship. And so
Chris Hann:Wow. Wow.
Ryan Smith:I I emailed the director of the fellowship and said, hey. Do you mind making an introduction to the gentleman, Eric Holloman? And they're like, sure. Why not? And I'm like, you know, essentially, the argument is for sort of the the value prop is, there's a gentleman who believes in your investment thesis, has already invested in the areas you invest and more, and it's a Stanford MBA currently, and we'll do the 1st deal for free.
Ryan Smith:And so the objective there was to make it impossible to say no. And so that's what I was attempting to do. That was serendipitous. So they made the introduction. This gentleman, Eric, at that moment, sort of felt this strain of sort of limitless opportunity.
Ryan Smith:Right? And so as as a one person team, there are just limitations by sheer hours of the day. And there are compelling things that you should probably look at that you don't have time. And so that was one of these moments, and he's like, actually, I have something that I'd like you to look at. And sent me the materials, and we talked in days, and I gave him my opinion.
Ryan Smith:He said, alright. Can you be in LA next week? And I said, sure. Why not? And so I find myself in the Magic Johnson Enterprises office conducting a due diligence session for the acquisition of this potential company.
Ryan Smith:And halfway through this meeting, I hear a knock on the door, and it's Irvin. And so Magic walks in, says hello, and just sits down at the table with me, the entrepreneur, Eric. And he's like, continue doing what you're doing. I'm like, alright. And so continue the meeting.
Ryan Smith:Fast forward
Chris Hann:That had to be a little unnerving.
Zach Ewell:It it was it was interesting.
Ryan Smith:But, fortunately, I had sort of put into reps, and I'm pretty good at, like, handling pressure. Uh-huh. And so it went well. I made my recommendation, which was actually to go in a different direction and not pursue the acquisition that built rapport, that built trust. Shortly thereafter, there became an opportunity to acquire a WNBA team, the Los Angeles Sparks.
Ryan Smith:So I flew back to, Los Angeles, knocked out that transaction with Eric in 9 hour I mean, I'm sorry, 9 days. And then that further sort of started to cement things. And at that point, it's like, hey. I want you to come do this full time. And so that began that began a journey.
Ryan Smith:And then shortly thereafter, that ended up being my foray into life insurance because the 3rd transaction or third opportunity that came up was the opportunity to acquire a life insurance company in Chicago called Atlas Trust.
Chris Hann:And your allegiance to the Chicago Bulls didn't didn't, hinder this relationship?
Ryan Smith:I I just tried to limit it. Right? And so, fortunately, he's a good sport, and understands that, to me, MJ growing up met Michael Jordan.
Chris Hann:Oh, I didn't think about that.
Ryan Smith:Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, we just we we just try and sort of walk around the edges of that conversation. But, obviously, he has tremendous respect for Michael and Michael vice versa. And so there are some moments in jest, but he, he gets it.
Ryan Smith:And I've now attended many Lakers game with him. So
Chris Hann:Okay. Alright.
Ryan Smith:No hard time to tell. Day, I've not met Michael Jordan, but I've spent many hours with, with Irvin. So Alright. So we could posit that that sort of inverted and now MJ to me is Patrick.
Chris Hann:That's right. Alright. You grew up. You have you have worked in Chicago and LA and San Francisco and now Atlanta, but you grew up in Chicago. And you told me your experience growing up there in the south side southeast side of Chicago.
Chris Hann:And I'm I'm I'm not gonna remember exactly what you said, but basically shaped your worldview. Mhmm. Tell me how growing up in that neighborhood did that.
Ryan Smith:Yeah. So if I think about it in a number of ways. Right? So specific to my household, 2 loving parents and 4 siblings, and we all love and take care of each other. But we sort of think about it outside of the household, and it was a neighborhood that had gone through many periods of transition.
Ryan Smith:Right? And so if we think about sort of the late eighties, early nineties that ends up being sort of a drug pandemic. And then sort of things got cleaned up a bit and so the the neighborhood started to improve. But within all of that, saw a number of people whose lives didn't turn out as they wanted and desired, and that could be by way of sort of their education not being completed. That could be incarceration.
Ryan Smith:That could be sort of being the victim of violence. And, also, sort of seeing my trajectory as sort of a benefactor of limited opportunity. And, like, one thing I've, like, noticed throughout my life is that a number of places I've gone, like, people are there with their friends and sorta have carried each other through the journey. And that just wasn't sort of the reality of many within my neighborhood. And kids that I grew up with spent every day with playing outside, didn't have that same fortune, didn't have that same luck.
Ryan Smith:And so thinking about sort of an old sort of African proverb, which is if you wanna go far, go alone. If you wanna go far I mean, if you wanna go fast, go alone. If you wanna go far, go together. And sort of thinking about, alright, sort of how do I turn that into sort of a life philosophy and create opportunities whereby that's true? And so thought about ways to start to address the socioeconomic issues within communities like my on the south side of Chicago or in New Jersey where my mother's from, Plainfield to Major City.
Ryan Smith:Right? And thought about it through a nonprofit lens, even sort of created a nonprofit, focused on one sort of young man who made it out of these communities going back and pouring into the young men of those communities. And, like, that felt great, but that wasn't what I would consider a scalable solution. But you feel good. You change the impact or sort of light trajectory of a few kids.
Ryan Smith:But, like, how do we do this holistically and also take care of parents and families? And so, like, the the the way I sort of hypothesized that would be true is business. But businesses that have a social orientation and a double bottom line and actually create opportunities, create employment, engage with their communities within these communities. And so alright. It's like, alright.
Ryan Smith:That's that's nice. But how do you then go execute on that? And so first, had to learn how business actually works. And so went to college, studied business, specifically finance. Then I went to New York, joined Morgan Stanley, and that allowed me to work on, sort of finance, capital, and business and strategy at the highest level.
Ryan Smith:And so I get to see how things work at the highest levels. And then it became time to sort of bring the the idea hypothesis together. And so I started telling people about this vision. They told me to go and meet a gentleman named Turos Richardson. We met, and he had been building something similar for for countless years prior to when he's about to start building his new thing.
Ryan Smith:And he said, why don't you join me on this journey, and I'll show you the ropes and, you know, send you on your way. And that was great because that actually started to give me the structure and chassis for going about this vision and sort of focusing on building businesses that cater to the underserved and underrepresented. And then started thinking about, alright, sort of where is innovation happening, and sort of where the best idea is coming from. And at that time, Silicon Valley had turned the corner at the dotcomboom or bust. Yes.
Ryan Smith:And there were a lot of interesting things that were starting to occur and the way that technology companies are financed is venture capital. And so I wanted to learn more about that. And so initially, I was gonna use business school to transition, but ended up actually getting an opportunity right before, I was supposed to start business school and venture capital. And it was a similar story with a gentleman named Steven DeBary, who had built a career investing in early stage companies that materially improve the lives of individuals. And so that's a lot of edtech, fintech, and health care.
Ryan Smith:But I also went to to business school simultaneously, and so got my MBA from from Stanford. And then, like I told you before, that journey coalesced and that turned into the opportunities at MagicDance Enterprises, which turned into the opportunity at Equitrust Life Insurance, which ultimately turned into the opportunity at Atlanta Life Insurance Company.
Chris Hann:You have you know, you you mentioned serendipity before, but it also sounds like, it it's it also kinda sounds like a situation where you created your own luck because you had you had a a very clear idea of what you wanted to do. Mhmm. And and then you found, it sounds like, some mentors who helped you do what you wanted to do. Is that fair?
Ryan Smith:Yeah. That's a 100% fair. And, like, it sounds like a smooth sort of straightforward journey now, but it was not without its bumps to, like, moments of doubt. Yeah. But when I got to Morgan Stanley, he had an incredible mentor named Carla Harrison.
Ryan Smith:The funny thing is that I didn't understand sort of who Carla Harris was at the time, but my brother had a good friend who's, like, mentee had just started working at Morgan Stanley. And so it's like, hey. If you go to this building, say hi to him. And so I'm standing in the elevator bank, and we're talking, and this woman gets off the elevator. And he's like, hey.
Ryan Smith:I want you to meet someone. This is Carla Harris. Carla, Ryan, Ryan, Carla. And then he's like, hey. This is the guy I was telling you about.
Ryan Smith:She says, breakfast tomorrow, 8:30, and walks away. And and he then says, do you know who that is? And I said, nope. Beside her name being Carla. And that became the first time someone told me to Google someone, like, Google Bingo Burp.
Ryan Smith:And so Yeah. Went to Google her, and it's like, you know, top 50 most powerful women on Wall Street, sold out Carnegie Hall, 3 Christmas hours. And so I'm like, well, I guess I'll be at breakfast tomorrow at 8:30. And so showed up to breakfast, the next day at 8:30. And funny enough, I was new to corporate America and didn't fully understand how it worked and put this in context so to make this very specific.
Ryan Smith:I had my earrings in my ear at the time, and she's like, hey. You should take out your earrings. No one's gonna tell you, but it's not part of the culture. And then she proceeded to give me what have now turned into books, but they were Carlos pearls of wisdom. And so she would give me her counsel.
Ryan Smith:She would check-in. She would help me understand the business and how I should be proceeding through it, and that was a priceless journey. And then from there, I became Taurus, and Taurus taught me a lot about sort of what I was trying to do. And then it became Steven, then it became Irvin and Eric. And so I have been incredibly fortunate, in terms of people actually understand and care about caring about sort of my hope, my vision, my sort of purpose, and pouring into it.
Ryan Smith:And so it's it's been, a fortunate journey.
Chris Hann:Bounce all over the place here. So I'm going back to childhood. Mhmm. You told me earlier how you kind of developed an entrepreneurial spirit at a very young age. I don't wanna ask you about that.
Chris Hann:If you could if you could recall some of some of what you were telling me.
Ryan Smith:Yes. So I was a entrepreneurial and enterprising kid. And so to put this in context, I'm Where
Chris Hann:did where did I'm gonna interrupt. Where did that come from?
Ryan Smith:So I'm the youngest of 5. And so my older brother, essentially, when I'm coming of the age of sort of, like, truly becoming a human, sort of really getting into school and developing personality, he was joining the workforce. He had graduated college. And so he would then have me read things he was reading. And, like, this this love for reading actually comes from our mother.
Ryan Smith:Like, I hated reading when I was a child, but now I try and get through at least out of 40 books a year. And so he would have me read books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad, or he would have me sort of go on Yahoo Finance and create sort of stock portfolios. And so, that sort of got my mind sort of commercially oriented. And so every day, like, my parents would make me a lunch, and they didn't realize I had every day I would go to school, my parents make me lunch. And, apparently, they didn't realize that I had a sweet I didn't have a sweet tooth.
Ryan Smith:And so I would just take whatever dessert or sweet they put in, and I would barter it with other kids for, like, other things. It could be, like, a dollar or it could be, like, a a non sweet snack. And then, my mother was also a computer teacher. And so we were one of sort of the first, like, households to, like, get, like, dial up Internet. And so, at the time, you know, people always want like, people love music.
Ryan Smith:They wanna know the the words of the songs that they listen to, and you can read the songbook in your CD at the time, or you just make up words. And I had a solution for that, and that was leveraging the lyric websites that were part of sort of web one point o. And so I'd say, hey. Tell me your favorite songs. I'll bring the lyrics to you tomorrow.
Ryan Smith:Just give me a dollar. And so that was part of it. And then, like, looking at sort of bartering these sweets and saying, alright. These my fellow students really like these. Hey, Beck.
Ryan Smith:Can you take me to the, like, wholesale store? And I'll just buy a big bag of these that cost me, call it, $10, but, you know, I have 30 pieces, and I'll sell them for a dollar each. You know? And then I have a $20 profit. And so I can then go buy another bag of these.
Ryan Smith:And
Chris Hann:You you were filling a gap that was not being otherwise filled.
Ryan Smith:Exactly. And so it was, I guess, investing at a early age.
Chris Hann:That's great. I'm I'm wondering about because you've been obviously in different different industries, but
Ryan Smith:Yeah.
Chris Hann:Your your entry into insurance, what surprised you the most about the industry?
Ryan Smith:Probably that I ended up in it, 1st and foremost. It was,
Chris Hann:not not a childhood aspiration.
Ryan Smith:It it was not. It was not on my road map. You know? But upon discovering it, like, one, it reminded me of a lot of previous stops in my journey. Right?
Ryan Smith:And so implicit and insurance, multi trillion dollar industry are a lot of the same elements and dynamics of, like, when I was on Wall Street, when I was doing private equity, when I was doing venture, like, investment is a key component of it. But the more interesting parts to me was realizing that sort of, I would call insurance as an entity to be sort of neutral. Right? And you can utilize it to take advantage of policyholders, or you can actually utilize it to empower policyholders and make it into a social good. And that's what I liked.
Ryan Smith:And so, like, with Equitrust, the big focus is annuities. Right? And the way we think about that is longevity insurance. A lot has been sort of talked about with regard to sort of the retirement crisis, and this provides a way for people to not outlive their money, right, and not have sort of deep sort of deteriorations in their quality of life in their their twilight years. And then if you think about life insurance, like, there is natural alignment between the life insurance company and the policyholder.
Ryan Smith:Both do best when a policyholder lives as long as possible and has the highest quality of life. And so the way I think about this is this so this is a way for me to encourage financial protection, but also just overall wellness. And I mean that mental, physical, and financial. And so if I can invest in you to ensure you're living your longest and most high quality of life possible, then that's a win for everybody. And so that's how I think about it.
Ryan Smith:And, also, I think about it from a sort of wealth building tool and sort of ensuring that your family is taken care of. And so I'll put this in context. For this, when Atlanta Life was first created in 1905, our founder, mister Herndon, who's behind me in a picture, he created it because there were a number of families who didn't have the money to give their loved ones that last dignified moment, and that's a burial. Right? And so what they would do to try and raise those funds is host a Friday fish fry.
Ryan Smith:And we fast forward a 119 years later, and we still have the equivalent. And it's GoFundMe's. And why do we have the same problem a 120 years later? And it's one thing to pay for a funeral, but then their bills, or there's a family losing their primary sort of earner, and that has a deleterious effect on families and trajectory and sort of not being able to to provide the best future for the generations after you. And life insurance addresses that.
Ryan Smith:And so all of those things like, these are things that I had never thought of. Like, people don't wanna think about life insurance typically because it requires thinking about sort of your mortality and thinking about they call it the most selfless decision. Right? And it's something that is going to be bestowed upon your family at your demise and that you'll never see the benefits of. And it's sort of, 1, rewriting that conversation, sort of employing responsibility, but then there are also things that are beneficial while you're alive.
Ryan Smith:And, also, if I can use a product to help you live your best possible life, I think that's a win win for everybody.
Chris Hann:You've had, as you said, lots of really, influential and instrumental, mentors. And I'm wondering if if you see yourself now as a mentor and if you if you are conscious in in in terms of that role.
Ryan Smith:I am. And it's this idea of, like, understanding that I've been fortunate and the people who poured into me. And and with that, I have a responsibility to point to others. And while I don't necessarily say, like, I have mentees, like, I'm always happy to have a conversation, provide guidance, give feedback,
Chris Hann:and sort
Ryan Smith:of do that in a number of ways. Whether that's sort of a 1 on 1 conversation, if that's addressing a group, if that's doing something like this, like, it's sharing the message and and also through building businesses, providing opportunity. And with any business I'm involved in, there'll be a significant sort of community engagement aspect of it. Like, I believe in we are the communities we serve. And so it's pouring into that community.
Ryan Smith:And just, like, to what I just said. Right? So extending that a bit further, this idea of, like, I want you to live your longest and best quality of life. Like, the reality of that is that that requires involvement very early on. And so, like, what are the things you need?
Ryan Smith:You need to be safe. You need a proper education. You need nutrition. You need opportunity. And so and then you need to, like, learn sort of physical fitness wellness and how to take care of yourself.
Ryan Smith:Right? And so it's whether it be Atlanta Life specifically or the Herndon Foundation, which is the foundation of the founders of Atlanta Life, and we're still equity owners in the company. It's sort of pouring into those more long tail things, to sort of think about wellness, again, holistically.
Zach Ewell:That was associate editor Chris Hand interviewing Ryan Smith. I hope you enjoyed it. For more episodes of our personal lines podcast series, go to leadersedge.com or find our podcasts on SoundCloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.