The Ontario Broker - February 2018 - 24

So yeah, I guess in that sense they take after me.
They're not as heavily involved as I am, but that's
probably a good thing."

A LOT OF
DOORS
CAN OPEN
FOR YOU
AND FOR
THE YOUNG
TALENT
WE'RE
SEEING
ENTER THE
CHANNEL.
FEBRUARY 2018

24

Brian is a sports and music enthusiast. One of his
favourites is Stompin' Tom. "He's a true Canadian.
Very patriotic. I can remember having a couple of
his records when I was young, so there's certainly
something nostalgic there for me. I've been lucky to
see him play a number of times. A friend and I would
go to all the shows together. We met him backstage
in Lindsay once at the old Lindsay theatre. His agent
gave us a couple passes to get backstage after the
show... we partied with the band, and with Stompin'
Tom's son. We kept in touch with that agent over the
years. I even made it to Stompin' Tom's funeral."
I bring up the video we produced to open Brian's
Incoming President speech at Convention last
October. We'd asked him to pick his favourite song,
which was "definitely an Eagles song. Something like
Peaceful Easy Feeling." Brian admits slight regret. "I
maybe should have picked a Stompin' Tom song."
Brian's speech outlined what he views as the
channel's main areas of opportunity, but his
priorities as President are specific elements that fall
under each.
"My main priority is definitely technology as a
whole. What the IBAO Tech Committee is working
on - APIs and connectivity - it's really exciting.
Brokers should be able to work directly through
their BMS and offer consumers the tools and
services they're looking for. We need to embrace
everything at our disposal - esignatures, web raters,
online policy changes. Individual brokerages must
be prepared internally for technology, and for this
larger broker connectivity initiative.
"Mentorship and succession are also priorities
of mine. The ideal situation is for brokerages of
all sizes to remain in the channel. We need to give
young brokers the opportunity to purchase their
own brokerage if they so choose. Take a look at the
young brokers coming up. Look in-house. If you're
in a position where financing can span a period of
time, a lot of doors can open for you and for the
young talent we're seeing enter the channel."
Before we end the interview I ask about the obvious
bond Brian has with his father. "Yeah dad and I
have a great relationship. He leads by example. He's
never pushed me any which way - there are times
he should kick my ass, but he doesn't. I'm sure he'll
never retire. I learned to be hard working from both
my parents."
I have the impression Brian's kids will say the same
thing about him.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Ontario Broker - February 2018
