Alexander & Schmidt Names John Natale Its New Chief Executive Officer
Alexander & Schmidt of Yarmouth, Maine, has promoted John M. Natale, MS, CPCU, ARM, ALCM, to become the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. Co-founder and current CEO, Jim Schmidt, will serve as Chairman, and will continue to play an active role in the business.
For 36 years, Alexander & Schmidt has provided commercial lines risk assessment and risk control services for many of the largest national and regional Property & Casualty Insurance Carriers. Currently performing more than 38,000 risk assessments annually, the firm has built a network of more than 500 risk assessment professionals, serving all 50 states.
Natale joined Alexander & Schmidt as Executive Vice President of Business Development in May of 2018. Prior to joining A&S, he served as Vice President–Marketing for Concord Group Insurance Companies, an affiliate of Auto-Owners Insurance Company. Previously, with Royal & SunAlliance, Natale was Branch Vice President–Northern New England (Bedford, NH) and Loss Control Manager in Syracuse, New York. He earned a Master of Science in Insurance Management from Boston University.
“We were extremely fortunate four years ago when John joined our leadership team as Executive Vice President for Business Development,” said Jim Schmidt. “He’s done a tremendous job in that area. But what we found in John is a uniquely talented leader and manager, across all the key disciplines of a fast-paced, growing company, making him a perfect fit to become our next CEO.”
Since joining the company, Natale has been involved with significant business growth, as well as the development of new approaches to performing Loss Control services. In 2019, A&S acquired Safety Evaluations of America, LLC (SEA), of Lawrenceville, GA. The acquisition increased the combined companies’ fieldwork reach and added special expertise in the areas of Builder’s Risk and Ocean Cargo coverages, among others.
On the technology front, Natale has led innovations in the company’s use of streaming video for performing risk assessments, as well as integrating new applications for third-party data. These, and other advances, have reduced response times and increased the depth of detail and documentation, all designed to help Carriers make the best underwriting decisions.
Growth of the streaming video risk assessment segment has been remarkable at Alexander & Schmidt, according to Natale, with over 50 Loss Control professionals dedicated to this segment. The company has integrated its streaming video approach into its risk assessment software platform and now is able to review recorded comments and input as part of its report-writing process.
As an independent business with two generations of the Schmidt family working in the company, it is a big step to name a non-family-member as CEO. Marella Schmidt-Baker is the firm’s Executive Vice President, Lea Schmidt is a Business Development Manager, and Lindsey Schmidt is the Operations Support Manager. While the younger Schmidt family members assume greater leadership responsibilities, Natale has been focusing on building the company’s overall management strength.
Reflecting on the evolution of the company’s leadership structure, Schmidt-Baker commented, “My dad, Jim, brought hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit which has been integral in getting Alexander & Schmidt to where it is today as a highly respected, nationwide Loss Control provider. My sisters and I are excited to continue to collaborate with John, and to develop and grow Alexander & Schmidt, on into its next generation.”
Natale recognizes the challenges in assuming the CEO role from the founder and highly successful, longtime leader. “I appreciate what Jim has created at Alexander & Schmidt and I look forward to our continuing work together. The team here has a tremendous passion for, and dedication to high-quality Loss Control,” he said. “As a manager and leader, one looks forward to an opportunity like this—to contribute to developing, strengthening and sustaining a business on into the future. It’s a unique opportunity in a career.”
Source: Alexander & Schmidt
