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Fort Worth-based Higginbotham has promoted Chris Rooker to the position of president of Business Insurance, and appointed industry veteran John Schramm to the position of COO/Business Insurance.
Chris Rooker
Rooker and Schramm will work together to support producers in offices across the Higginbotham footprint, ensuring the smooth integration of new partners as they find markets, create programs, secure accounts, and satisfy clients.
“As Higginbotham grows in every dimension across our platform, we knew we had to grow our leadership base as well,” Higginbotham Chairman and CEO Rusty Reid said in a press release. “We’ve been fortunate to have Chris Rooker on our team for over 25 years, and we got to know and work with John Schramm during his time at CNA. These two guys are icons in North Texas. Putting them together to lead the division makes so much sense.”
Before joining Higginbotham, Schramm served as senior vice president/head of US Field Operations at CNA, one of the largest commercial insurers in the US.
“I was honored to be part of the decision to bring John on board,” Rooker said. “He has the background and the technical expertise, but he’s also a seamless fit with our culture. He's smart, moral, ethical — everything you want in a leadership role, and a terrific resource for our producers.”
Schramm received a BBA in marketing from John Carroll University in Ohio. He holds a Charter Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) certification from the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters.
John Schramm
“I got to know the Higginbotham people and see the culture up close while I was leading an underwriting group at CNA, and I can truly say there is no company I’m prouder to serve,” Schramm said. “I watched them grow from just Texas to 17 states and 120 locations, and they’re still growing. Now that I’m here, I plan to do everything I can to integrate those producers, ensuring that they have the support they need to best serve their customers.”
Rooker was previously managing director and COO of Higginbotham’s Property & Casualty Division. In that role, he oversaw the firm’s commercial insurance and risk management operations in addition to forging and maintaining carrier relationships. He is also a commercial insurance broker and was appointed to Higginbotham’s board of directors in 2009.
He started his career at Crum & Forster after graduating from college in 1988. He transitioned to SAFECO in 1989, where he gained experience as an underwriter of property/casualty business. When he transitioned into a marketing/sales capacity for SAFECO, he was ranked among the top five in sales. He later became SAFECO’s Workers Comp Division manager before joining Higginbotham in 1998.
Rooker received a BBA from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. He is licensed in property/casualty, surplus lines and risk management with a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation.
“I am proud of what we've accomplished and I'm happy with where we are today,” Rooker said. “But more than anything, I'm excited about our future. We’ve got energy and passion from new folks and knowledge and wisdom from us old-timers, and that’s a powerful mix. The future at Higginbotham is going to be bright.”