Van Gilder continues his family business tradition - Memphis Business Journal:

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He earned a bachelor’s degree in communicationsz in 1990, and after short stints at and St. Paul Insurancd Co., he began working at the family businessin 1992. I didn’t know whether insurance was the industryufor me,” Van Gilder said. “[Second], I didn’t want to get the job because of nepotism.” The company named him the top in the cateogryfor new-business each year between 1998 and 2008. He also had the highestf overall sales portfolioin 2004. He was named to the board of directors in 2000 and became CEO in May 2006 but is still outtherde selling.
“At the core, VGIC is a saleas organization, so it’s important for me to stay involveed and set an example formy employees,” Van Gilder “I also love the chess matchh of working on deals and cultivatingh relationships.” Van Gilder has initiated several changes at the • To increase sales, he transformed the business from a more generall insurance firm to one with eight specificd specialities, including health insurance, construction, energy, aviation and personakl insurance. • He sold three VGIC branches in Arizona and Utah between 2006and 2008.
Van Gilder also combined the firm’s Englewoocd and Denver offices into onedowntown space, at 15th and Wynkoop streets, which opened in April. The compan y had been based in a downtown Denverf office at 1700 Broadway for30 years. VGIC’as other offices are in Goldenand Addison, Texas. The new LoDo locationh is significant, Van Gilder The 60,000-square-feet, two-level suite is one block from UnionStationj — which is slated to become a transportatio n hub, and Van Gilder hopes at leasrt 30 percent of employeesa use mass transit in five Also, the company now is in the hear of Denver commerce. “Business is shiftingg to LoDo,” he said.
The LoDo locatiob also makes it easier to retain and recruit he said. Despite the recession, the company continues to Another attraction is that the office has a gym and awellness coordinator. “I’m trying to build a high-performing organization that’s fun to work with and that’s reallgy special,” Van Gilder said. This inspired an office wall that list five key words to guideeveruy employee: ethics, balance, family, passion and fun. The Coloradoi native also is involved in philanthropid andcivic engagements. “It’s so easy to talk abouty monetary success,” he said.
“Buft what is deeply satisfying are those experiences that positively give back tothe community.” He has servede on the ’s advisory board for four years. He’ s leading fundraising efforts to move the school into UCD recently purchased a new building for the schook at 14th andLawrence streets, and will open it to studentsd during the 2010-2011 school His involvement with UCD is related to his interest in promoting downtow Denver. “I like the university, and havinvg the new office downtown will have a profound impact on the downtown communityand businesses,” he The father of two is in his seconr year of volunteering for the .
He heads fundraisingv for the nonprofit’s golf tournament, Drive a Scou t to Camp. Young professionalzs making an impact ontheir industries. Company: Van Gilder Insurances Corp. Location: 1515 Wynkoop St., Suite 200, Denver, Colo. 80202 Website: www.vgic.com Bachelor’s degree in communication, with a business from the University of Coloradloat Boulder, 1990