Vice President, South Central Zone Leader - Underwriting

Description

The Vice President, South Central Zone Leader is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, and profitable growth of the South Central Region. This executive leadership role oversees a team of underwriters while driving underwriting excellence, production, broker relationships, and portfolio profitability across the region.

The VP serves as the regional business leader, owning the execution of underwriting strategy, talent development, distribution management, and operational performance within the zone. This individual partners closely with executive leadership, product, actuarial, claims, and distribution teams to achieve growth objectives while maintaining underwriting discipline and delivering exceptional service to broker partners.

The ideal candidate is a proven underwriting executive who combines strong technical expertise with exceptional leadership, business development, and strategic execution.

• Lead all underwriting operations and business performance for the South Central Zone.
• Develop and execute regional business plans that deliver profitable premium growth while maintaining underwriting discipline.
• Own regional production, profitability, portfolio management, and service objectives.
• Monitor regional KPIs, submission flow, hit ratios, pricing adequacy, loss trends, and overall portfolio performance.
• Identify growth opportunities, market trends, and competitive dynamics to drive strategic decision making.
• Represent the South Central Region with executive leadership and provide regular updates on performance, opportunities, and risks.

• Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain a high-performing underwriting team.
• Create a culture of accountability, collaboration, urgency, and underwriting excellence.
• Conduct regular coaching sessions, file reviews, performance evaluations, and career development discussions.
• Establish clear underwriting expectations while reinforcing consistency, authority compliance, and execution.
• Partner with Human Resources and executive leadership on succession planning and organizational development.
• Lead onboarding and development of new underwriting talent.

• Provide technical guidance and referral authority on complex, high-profile, or large casualty accounts.
• Ensure underwriting quality, pricing adequacy, and adherence to company underwriting guidelines.
• Maintain underwriting discipline while balancing growth objectives and market competitiveness.
• Monitor portfolio performance and proactively address emerging trends, concentration management, and loss drivers.
• Partner with Product, Actuarial, Claims, and Reinsurance teams to continually refine underwriting strategy and appetite.
• Champion data-driven underwriting and continuous portfolio optimization.

• Develop and strengthen executive-level relationships with key wholesale brokers and strategic distribution partners throughout the South Central Region.
• Drive regional business development initiatives and identify opportunities to expand market share.
• Represent the company at broker meetings, industry conferences, and customer events.
• Collaborate with national distribution leadership to execute strategic broker plans and regional initiatives.
• Serve as the primary underwriting leader for the region and a trusted advisor to brokers and carrier partners.

• Execute company underwriting strategy and ensure consistent implementation across the region.
• Collaborate with executive leadership on forecasting, budgeting, staffing, and business planning.
• Drive operational excellence through process improvements, workflow optimization, and technology adoption.
• Ensure compliance with underwriting authority, carrier guidelines, regulatory requirements, and internal controls.
• Support new product launches, underwriting initiatives, and strategic growth opportunities.

• 5-10+ years of commercial casualty underwriting experience, preferably within E&S or specialty insurance.
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing underwriting teams and regional operations.
• Strong technical underwriting expertise with the ability to evaluate complex casualty risks.
• Proven success leading profitable growth within a wholesale distribution model.
• Strong understanding of portfolio management, pricing, and underwriting profitability.
• Excellent leadership, communication, coaching, and relationship-building skills.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to balance growth, risk selection, and operational execution.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, high-growth environment.

• Experience leading regional underwriting operations.
• Expertise in casualty, general liability, construction, habitational, hospitality, manufacturing, E&S business.
• Strong relationships within the wholesale brokerage community.
• Experience working with delegated authority programs, MGAs, or…