Ron Brown on the Legacy of Leadership in Atlanta: “If it weren’t for Ivan Allen and his willingness to not be liked by everybody, then we wouldn’t enjoy the lifestyles we have today. He stepped out on faith and said, ‘This is bigger than me personally,’ which is rule number 1. Then he said, ‘This is something that has to be handled for a much longer period of time,’ which is rule number 2. And there were leaders who came after him who perpetuated that type of thinking. That was the underlying attitude that continued to allow them to sit down at the table together and find common ground. The recognition that the issues were bigger than them individually, and the fact that they admitted it, became their guiding principal more so than any parochial viewpoints they held.” “While I was in college, I became politically active supporting Maynard Jackson. Maynard was a Morehouse grad. He came to the school and encouraged us to engage in his run for mayor – and we did. To be able to listen to Maynard Jackson talk in a private setting was an incredible learning experience for me. It was overwhelming when I was 18 years old and incredible right up until his death. He could articulate what needed to happen better than most people could. When Maynard got through with you, you could see it for yourself. I think that was one of his gifts.”

The Deeper the Foundation – Ronald D. Brown
President and CEO, Atlanta Life Financial Group

by Susan Gemmill

New construction always generates curiosity in the neighborhood, especially for an observant 10-year-old boy. Growing up in Manhattan, Ron Brown found construction sites around every corner. He and his buddies made a game of betting on whether a particular location would produce a skyscraper or whether it would become something smaller. Young Brown consistently won each wager. His friends were mystified until he finally explained to them his simple trick: “Just look at how deeply they dig into the ground for the foundation.” Brown learned early on that the deeper the foundation, the taller –and stronger – the building.

“That’s a large part of what I can do here,” says Ronald D. Brown, president and CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group – the only stock-owned, African-American insurance company in the country. “I can help make sure that the foundation is deep enough and sound enough to support whatever we build on top of it.”

Brown is a graduate of Morehouse College with a degree in political science and economics. He is also a graduate of the Financial Management program at Columbia University School of Business. He serves as a business mentor at the Morehouse College business program for undergraduates. In 1986 he received the “Business Advisor of the Year” award from the In Roads program. Brown has been or is currently a member of the Emory University Board of Visitors; Technology Executives Roundtable; Guest Professor at Emory University Goizueta Business School; the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Foundation and the executive advisor of the YWCA of Greater Atlanta.

On Racism: “There are two types of racism: racism based on hatred and dislike and cultural racism. Cultural racism is really based on ignorance more so than hatred. Cultural racism has affected people all over this country and the effects of it are still being felt today.”

Brown’s exposure to the entrepreneurial spirit began early in life, with influences from both sides of his family. He cites the integrity of his grandfather, a small business owner who was customer-focused long before that became a commonly used term. “From my grandparents, to my mother, to my father, to my uncles, I watched people never give up,” he recalls. “I got a chance to see people work hard and not give in to impediments that certainly were there in front of and all around them. I believe that I am the product of everyone I have met. I can learn something from anybody, even people whose views are polar opposites of mine. What you have to do is pick the parts that make sense to you and try to incorporate those traits into a bigger whole that is actually you.”

Without hesitation, Brown says his most influential relationship is his mother. “There have been numerous people who have had major impacts on who I am but none greater than my mother. Although the odds were stacked against her, she was determined to become an accredited teacher in the New York school system – the largest in the country. She came from small-town Alabama and took one of the most notoriously difficult tests for teachers. It’s common for people to take that test 3-4 times before they are successful. She was the only person of color in the room taking the test at the time. And she passed it.”

For 30 years, Brown has also been greatly influenced by another important woman in his life: his wife, Deborah. “She has had a huge hand in shaping who I am today,” he says. “I was real rough around the edges when we first married and I give her credit for most of the positive sides you see in me now.” Brown is also proud to talk about the couple’s two sons, Jarrod and Jordan. The fact that both boys excel in multiple sports is not lost on Brown, who was an athlete himself and a youth basketball and baseball coach for the Sandtown recreation leagues.

Returning to the his early lessons in construction, Brown points out that Atlanta Life does indeed have a foundation deep enough to stand the test of time, a foundation strong enough to build upon. He would know, having served on Atlanta Life’s board and after working for more than a decade at the CEO level with the Variant Group, LLC; SYNAVENT; and IMS Health Strategic Technologies. He has managed international businesses with offices in 32 countries and worked with Dunn & Bradstreet and its successor companies – building strong executive teams and corporate infrastructure, increasing profitability and managing the process of taking companies public. But none of those experiences match his deep-seated and emotional regard for his current role at Atlanta Life.

”I may have worked all over the globe, in some of the largest organizations in the world and with all types of people,” says Brown. “But this position means something to my heart,” he says, tapping his chest. “To be able to bring to bear all that I have learned for something that’s about more than money is humbling and gives me a renewed sense of purpose. Atlanta Life has a history of making a commitment to a variety of things other than just making money.”

It is this relevance at a societal level that Brown finds appealing. It’s a relevance that began with the company’s founder. Purchased for $145 in 1905 by former slave Alonzo Franklin Herndon, the Atlanta Benevolent and Protective Association (now Atlanta Life Financial Group) was, according to the company’s Annual Report, “woven into the fabric of the communities it served through its strong civic involvement and through its pivotal role in the underpinnings of the Civil Rights movement.”

“During the 1960’s, when J. Edgar Hoover had Rev. King’s offices and home phones bugged,” recalls Brown, “Atlanta Life opened up the switchboard downstairs so that members of the Southern Conference League could communicate with each other. When an affluent African-American doctor wanted to purchase a home and no bank would give him a mortgage, Atlanta Life did. After African Americans were given the right to vote, it became evident that they needed support. Employees at Atlanta Life were given time off from work with pay to get out the vote and to help people register to vote.

“Usually we hear how African Americans were too poor to pay for services. Yet, there were people with money who couldn’t purchase a decent burial for a loved one because of the color of their skin. Atlanta Life filled that void.”

On Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Assassination:

“Man’s inhumanity to man is still one of those things that just blows me away. In the quietest moments I genuinely struggle with it because it is so counterproductive.”

While a member of the Board of Directors at Atlanta Life, Brown had the opportunity to expand his appreciation and understanding of the legacy of Alonzo Herndon, the company and its significance to the Atlanta community. Since becoming President and CEO this past spring, Brown has been crisscrossing the nation almost non-stop representing the company and developing new relationships.

“People across a variety of socio-economic spectrums really care about Atlanta Life,” he says, “and it’s a deep, embedded, emotional kind of caring.”

At an event in Cleveland, Ohio, Brown was introduced to a woman with a close connection to Atlanta Life: her first job was with the company back in the 40’s. To his delight, he learned that she had also been a calendar girl for the company at a time when the faces of employees graced monthly calendars. It is personal stories like hers that drive Brown.

“It spurs the will to make it work,” he says. “It’s about being guided by the double bottom line. The concept of bottom-line profit is understood and recognized by every person in business. It’s necessary for a company to thrive. But, there is a second, equally important factor to consider: the social bottom line. Atlanta Life has been built upon and around this social bottom line for decades. It’s one of the reasons I took the job.”

Brown aims to lead the organization to the point where it has the expertise and competency to deal with any future challenges. “You work to put things into place – create a foundation if you will – that will make it easier for the leaders who come after you to carry the legacy forward.”

Today, Atlanta Life Financial Group, Inc., is a privately owned financial services company with more than $16 billion of insurance in force. As President and CEO, Brown manages both operating units: Atlanta Life Insurance Company and Atlanta Life Investment Advisors. Aside from its Atlanta legacy, the organization is one of the oldest and most respected insurance companies in the nation.

What does it take to build a company in the new millennium? Brown understands the need to change with the times; that solid growth depends largely on gradients. “If you’re driving a specialized race car,” he explains, “you may go from 0-60 in a matter of seconds but without the right engine, the right driver and the right track you’ll burn up the engine. Regardless of how fast you might want to go, you have to make sure that the people you need are going with you.”

With the finesse of a professional racecar driver, Brown balances the urgency of reaching company goals and objectives with the need to sometimes move at a slower pace in areas that require the greatest care. Particularly, he notes, when it comes to helping people in the company to work and grow together as a team.

“Understanding what it means to be a team player is crucial. The receiver and quarterback need to be in sync to move the ball down the field. That same kind of cooperation is needed for a company to succeed. Until everyone understands that when one part of the team fails, we all fail, the net result will not be the one you are looking for.”

As deliberate as he might be, Brown has definitely hit the ground running. Recently, MetLife mandated $50 million out of their funds to be managed by Atlanta Life. The relationship with MetLife is a reflection of industry trends toward building strategic alliances. It was born out of a common desire of both companies to make a difference socially and their joint participation in The Wall Street Project, an endeavor of Rainbow Push designed to promote minority participation in corporate America.

“The Wall Street Project brought an incredible amount of diverse human beings into the same room,” says Brown. “It was in such a room where the relationship between MetLife and Atlanta Life was born. The whole group life insurance industry has taken on a life of its own. The trend has been moving toward creating strategic alliances and reinsurance: sharing the premiums with another organization, thereby sharing the risks. Both companies get value out of the partnership and, as in this case, build a level of trust.”

The joint relationship between Atlanta Life and MetLife has resulted in over 800,000 lives being insured and over $4 billion worth of insurance in force between the two companies. “Clearly, it wouldn’t have been that much if either one of us had gone after those markets alone,” Brown points out, adding that MetLife’s investment in the company is compelling confirmation of the abilities and skill sets of the asset management team at Atlanta Life. “It’s a pretty strong validation to other people who are considering having somebody manage their assets. Considering the fact that MetLife could have picked anyone, including their own entity, to manage those funds is a strong statement.”

His own personal history provides sure footing for Brown and enriches his understanding of the Herndon legacy.

“Outside of having a successful business, outside of providing a place of employment, there was an overall sense of economic dignity at Atlanta Life,” he explains. “You couldn’t cure the racism and all the problems of the day, but from an economic standpoint you needed to have a certain level of dignity so that you felt good about yourself. Then, you could deal with other issues.”

Brown defines economic dignity as having the ability to properly bury a loved one; of being granted a mortgage; to be able to invest in different savings and investment vehicles so that accumulated wealth can be passed on to future generations or to have the power to gift a community or charitable organization.

“At Atlanta Life, we’ve been working towards that in one way or another for 99 years,” he says. “At the end of the day, this has to be about something bigger than any single entity. It was always meant to be bigger than that. I want to perpetuate that concept and take it to the next level.”

One of the ways a company can insure its relevancy, Brown believes, is by providing value. “I always say that there are two seeds to the value line: created value and captured value. Creating value is one thing, but it is only after you capture value that you are able to turn around and do something different.”

As President and CEO, Brown is capturing the value of building on top of an historic icon, adding to the foundation along the way. He’s been fortunate to have seen much of the world and, as a result, has implemented a broader view. He is committed to his community and the greater human community. Whether providing financial services, or insurance plans, Atlanta Life Financial Group is poised for future growth and further success. And with his sights set on perpetuating the legacy set in motion nearly 100 years ago, Ronald D. Brown is steering a course that would make Alonzo Herndon proud.