Judy Busby is Senior Vice President and Managing Director for The Jacobson Group’s executive search practice, managing C-level, Board Director, Vice President and other executive-level searches for clients in the life, health, and property and casualty insurance markets. In this role, Judy delivers meaningful search and selection consulting, helping her clients access the leaders they need to drive their businesses forward.
Judy offers an impressive track record of organizational development and high-performance leadership. Most recently, Judy served six years as head of Jacobson’s executive search practice, providing leadership and strategic direction to the team. Her transition to Managing Director allows her to leverage her passion for helping executives and leaders realize their organizations’ strategic objectives by working hands-on with clients and directly impacting their search engagements. 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 objectives. Her expertise in human behavior science also uniquely positions her to successfully identify high-impact leaders who will be successful in their roles.
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 is dedicated to fostering future leaders, serving as a mentor for Women Unlimited, Inc., a program that develops high-potential women in major corporations. Additionally, she presents at the Emerging Leaders Conference each year to educate and celebrate rising stars in insurance. A recognized thought leader, she regularly conducts workshops on leadership, facilitation, personal branding and talent management. Judy remains actively involved in the insurance community through speaking engagements and participation in industry events, including those of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, American Property Casualty Insurance Association, National African American Insurance Association, Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association and Society of Actuaries.
Judy received her Master of Science in Management and Organizational Behavior with a major in organization development from Benedictine University, her Master of Business Administration 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.