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Our Leadership

The foundation of The Jacobson Group’s success is our focus and dedication to the insurance industry. Our Senior Leadership Team mirrors this, collectively bringing more than a century of hands-on industry experience to our organization and our clients. In addition to industry knowledge, each executive contributes a unique blend of leadership, vision and creativity. Together, they are committed to the success of our firm, our clients and our industry.

 

Gregory P. Jacobson, co-Chief Executive Officer

Greg Jacobson

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Gregory P. Jacobson is co-Chief Executive Officer of The Jacobson Group, the leading U.S. executive search and staffing firm to the insurance industry. He is also known industry-wide as an investor, board member and influencer.

Greg has assisted countless insurance companies, large and small, early stage and traditional, in achieving their goals by acquiring talented executives to drive their organizations forward. He has successfully led searches for critical senior-level disciplines including CEOs, COOs, CIOs, CFOs, and Independent Directors.

Greg contributes to many regional and national insurance events, including those of AM Best, American Property and Casualty Insurers Association, Medical Professional Liability Association, and National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, among others. He is considered an expert on the industry's labor market and has often been called upon to share his perspectives on the industry’s talent outlook, human capital strategic planning and talent acquisition. He has been a featured columnist in Best’s Review and also regularly contributes his insights with periodicals such as Carrier Management, Financial Time, Insurance Business America, Insurance Journal, and LOMA’s Resource.

Greg is currently on the board for the 1970 Group, a specialty financing company supporting the insurance industry. He has served as a board member of the National Insurance Industry Council for the City of Hope and the Chicago Sinfonietta, the nation’s most diverse orchestra. Additionally, he was a driving force behind the creation of the Insurance Careers Movement and continues to be an active supporter of the grassroots movement inspiring young people to pursue insurance careers. Greg is also a member of YPO, an exclusive global leadership community of chief executives. He graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in violin performance. 

 

Richard L. Jacobson, co-Chief Executive Officer

Richard Jacobson

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Richard L. Jacobson is co-Chief Executive Officer of The Jacobson Group. He maintains shared leadership and management of the firm’s day-to-day operations and strategic direction and plays a significant role in its continued growth and success.

Since joining the company in 1997, Rick has contributed to the substantial development and recognition of its flexible talent service offering. Previously, Rick served as Vice President of Operations and President of Jacobson’s temporary talent business unit, leading its growth to become the largest and most recognized provider of temporary talent to the insurance industry.

Rick is actively involved in the insurance industry, the staffing industry and especially the intersection between the two. He currently serves on the Policy Council for the American Staffing Association (ASA).

Rick also serves as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for The Nora Project, a non-profit organization whose mission is to teach empathy by sparking friendships between students and their peers with disabilities. The award-winning school program allows students to explore disability, adaptation and friendship in exciting and innovative ways. 

Prior to his tenure with the firm, Jacobson worked as an IT integration consultant for Andersen Consulting in Chicago. He received his master’s of business administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business in Evanston, Illinois, with concentrations in management and strategy, as well as marketing. Jacobson earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

 

Judy Busby, Senior Vice President of Executive Search and Corporate Strategy

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Judy BusbyJudy Busby is the Senior Vice President of Executive Search and Corporate Strategy for The Jacobson Group. In this role, Judy offers leadership and strategic direction to the firm’s executive search practice, which provides executive search and selection consulting for insurance leadership positions across all disciplines. Judy is also a key member of Jacobson’s Senior Leadership Team and is accountable for directing corporate-wide initiatives that ignite the continued development and growth of the entire organization. In addition, she manages select executive-level search engagements for clients from all sectors of the insurance industry.

Judy brings an impressive track record of organizational development and high-performance leadership to her role at Jacobson. She has assisted countless executives, leaders and other valued team members in realizing their organizations’ strategic objectives. In fact, through her strategic and consultative approach to executive search, she has even inspired a few of our clients to shift their organizational structures to better align with their missions, visions and strategic objectives. Her expertise in human behavior science also uniquely positions her to offer guidance on attraction and retention strategies for high-impact executives.

A successful entrepreneur, prior to joining Jacobson, Judy owned a well-established management consulting firm specializing in high-performance leadership and executive coaching. Her impressive career record includes tenures with large publicly traded corporations, where she was responsible for leading several hundred technical and professional employees and contractors through strategic business initiatives. She also directed projects nationwide for new product development, process improvement and leadership development. Judy has held Executive Director positions in publishing, biotechnology, transportation and process management consulting, leading functions such as customer service, engineering, facilities, human resources, maintenance, operations and quality.

Judy received her Master of Science in Management and Organizational Behavior (MSMOB) with a major in organization development from Benedictine University, her MBA in operations management from St. Joseph’s University, and a bachelor’s degree in business logistics from Penn State University. She is a certified Project Management Professional® and has earned the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.

 

Catherine Prete, Senior Vice President of Operations

Catherine Prete

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Catherine Prete is Senior Vice President of Operations at The Jacobson Group, the leading global provider of talent to the insurance industry. In this role, she oversees strategic direction of corporate operations, legal and risk management, as well as technology for the organization. With more than 20 years of staffing experience, it is her mission to help the organization learn, evolve and continue to be a leader of staffing best practices. Catherine also serves on the Senior Leadership Team and plays an integral role in the growth and development of the firm.

Catherine joined Jacobson in 1997 as an accounting assistant. Her dedicated work ethic and extensive training, executive support and project management expertise enabled her to move up the ranks to the leadership role she is in today. Prior to joining Jacobson, Catherine served as Employment Information Systems Supervisor at Reid Systems.

She received a bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn.

 

Johanna Harris, Senior Vice President of Human Resources

JoJo Harris

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Johanna “JoJo” Harris is Senior Vice President of Human Resources at The Jacobson Group, the leading global provider of talent to the insurance industry. In this role, she is responsible for leadership and management of the firm’s human resource functions. This includes formalizing, implementing and overseeing all human resources policies and procedures with a strong focus on internal talent acquisition, retention and development. JoJo also serves on the Senior Leadership Team and plays an integral role in the growth and development of the firm.

JoJo joined Jacobson in 2015 and quickly made a positive impact on the organization’s culture. Prior to joining Jacobson, JoJo served as Human Resources Director/Business Partner for Morton Salt. JoJo has also previously held the roles of Human Resources Manager for the Chicago Tribune Company and Cost Accountant and Human Resources Coordinator for Armstrong World Industries.

A well-respected leader in the human resources community, JoJo was named to the Crain’s Chicago Business 2021 Notable Leaders in HR List, which honors HR professionals who have demonstrated their ability and power to impact change. JoJo is also active in the community and has served as an advisory board member for the United Way Women’s Leadership Council and as a mentor for WOMEN Unlimited. She is currently the greeter ministry leader for Bright Star Church Chicago and has served as its children’s church director. She received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Penn State University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations from Loyola University of Chicago.

 

Corey Pinkham, Senior Vice President of Staffing Services

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Corey Pinkham is the Senior Vice President of Staffing Services for The Jacobson Group, the leading provider of executive search and staffing services for the insurance industry. In this role, he provides strategic direction for all recruiting for Jacobson’s interim experts, temporary staffing and professional recruiting teams, partnering with business leaders across the organization to execute high-value staffing services for our clients. In addition, he leads the client expansion efforts for the professional recruiting team. He is also an integral member of Jacobson’s Senior Leadership Team and plays a significant role in the firm’s future development and growth.

A relationship-focused leader, Corey is committed to providing outstanding client service and creatively and strategically meeting their organizations’ unique needs. His impressive background spans all areas of talent acquisition, including recruitment optimization, sales and fulfillment, account management, and more. Prior to joining Jacobson, he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility at Randstad Technologies, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Recruiting. In this role, he provided executive leadership to a global team of more than 150. He also oversaw all capacity planning and recruiting strategy across 26 markets, in partnership with his recruiting leadership team and sales executives.

Corey earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in business management from Salem State University in Salem, Mass.

 

Nikki St.Martin, Vice President of Marketing and Sales Enablement

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Nicole “Nikki” St.Martin is the Vice President of Marketing and Sales Enablement for The Jacobson Group, the premiere executive search and staffing firm specializing in the insurance industry. In this role, she shapes the strategic direction of the organization's marketing and brand strategy. Leading a dynamic, cross-functional team, she is dedicated to elevating brand awareness, delighting customers and candidates, and empowering the industry with valuable talent intelligence. As a member of the firm’s Senior Leadership Team, Nikki fosters cross-functional collaboration to aid in the firm’s continued growth and development. Since joining the firm in 2002 as its inaugural marketing professional, she has seamlessly woven brand into the cultural fabric and evolved marketing into a core element of Jacobson’s overarching business strategy.

In addition to overseeing day-to-day marketing operations, Nikki has spearheaded numerous impactful industry initiatives. Notably, she played a key role in launching the Semi-Annual Insurance Industry Labor Market Study in 2009 in collaboration with Aon plc. The study has since evolved into a highly regarded and trusted gauge of the industry’s staffing landscape. Beyond this, Nikki was integral in founding the Insurance Careers Movement, a now-global grassroots initiative aimed at inspiring young individuals to pursue careers in insurance and fostering the retention of the industry’s emerging leaders. Nikki continues to serve as an active representative on the movement’s organizing committee today.

Valued for her writing and grammar expertise, Nikki is a trusted resource within her professional and personal networks, offering assistance in crafting resumes, LinkedIn profiles, blogs and business plans. She also serves as a professional development speaker on business writing and grammar. Committed to giving back, Nikki has participated as a mock interviewer for her alma mater’s graduation preparation program. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising/Public Relations and Journalism with a minor in English from Franklin College in Franklin, Ind.

 

Alicia Morris, Vice President of Temporary Staffing

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Alicia Morris is Vice President of Temporary Staffing for The Jacobson Group. In this role, she provides leadership and strategic oversight to the company’s temporary staffing team, which delivers interim support across all functional areas and at all levels exclusively to organizations in the life, health and property and casualty insurance sectors. Alicia also plays a pivotal role on the firm's Senior Leadership Team, actively fostering the organization's growth and development.
 
Leveraging her in-depth industry knowledge and client-centric approach, Alicia is able to quickly build long-term partnerships industry-wide and guide Jacobson’s team in effectively supporting their clients’ interim, project-based and consulting needs. Alicia began her successful career with Jacobson in a sales capacity nearly a decade ago and quickly advanced. She was also instrumental in the development, launch and refinement of our contingent workforce solutions service offering, created to meet the industry's need for an insurance-specific partner for their centrally-managed contingent labor programs.
 
Alicia also serves as an industry thought leader and is often called upon to share her perspectives on the insurance talent marketplace through speaking engagements at association events and articles in industry publications. A life-long learner, Alicia has earned her Association of Health Insurance Plans Professional, Academy for Health Care Management designation and is working toward her Fellow, Academy for Healthcare Management designation. Alicia attended the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, where she earned her bachelor’s degree.


 

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