Ryan L. Smith
Executive Vice President, Atlanta Life Insurance
Q
You’re the first insurance executive I’ve interviewed for Personal Lines who can say they’ve worked alongside Magic Johnson with Magic Johnson Enterprises in Los Angeles, as director of investments.
A
I had been monitoring Magic Johnson Enterprises for the past two decades and saw how he proved the hypothesis about the opportunities to do business in inner-city communities. Despite those communities often having lower percapita income, they also have greater density, and they’re ignored. And so there’s significant demand without the supply, and if you cater to those communities, you will do well as a business, but also the community will benefit, and they will appreciate you.
Favorite Vacation Spot: “If I want something relatively close, it’s probably Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. But if I want to go far and be exploratory, I really enjoy exploring the continent of Africa. I’ve been to seven countries. I’ve been on safari in Kenya. There are 54 countries total, so I have a lot more to explore.”
Favorite Movies: Gladiator, Braveheart, The Lion King
Favorite Actors: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Denzel Washington
Favorite Musicians: Whitney Houston, Miles Davis, Luther Vandross
Favorite Authors: Walter Isaacson, Isabel Wilkerson
Favorite Books: “If I think about books that are often recommended to people, they’re more lifestyle oriented. And so it’s a book called Mindset: The New Psychology of Success [by Carol S. Dweck], a professor from Stanford. And then Angela Duckworth’s book Grit, in terms of how to approach life and the things that make a difference, right? You can be incredibly intelligent, talented, but you need to put in the work.”
Q
And your allegiance to the Chicago Bulls didn’t hinder this relationship?
A
I just tried to limit it, right? And so, fortunately, he’s a good sport, and understands that to me, M.J., growing up, meant Michael Jordan.
Q
You have worked in Chicago and L.A. and San Francisco and now Atlanta, but you told me your experience growing up on the southeast side of Chicago shaped your worldview.
A
So specific to my household—two loving parents and four siblings, and we all love and take care of each other, but we sort of think about it outside of the household. I saw a number of people whose lives didn’t turn out as they wanted. That could be their education not being completed. That could be incarceration. That could be being the victim of violence. The one thing I’ve noticed throughout my life is that a number of places I’ve gone, people are there with their friends and they have carried each other through the journey. That just wasn’t the reality of many within my neighborhood. I’m thinking about an old African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” And I was thinking about: How do I turn that into a life philosophy and create opportunities whereby that’s true?
Q
What is something your co-workers would be surprised to learn about you?
A
That I enjoy boxing, but that probably wouldn’t be surprising to them.
Q
Boxing as a spectator?
A
No, no, as an activity.
Q
Tell me about that.
A
I started boxing when I lived in New York, and then it’s continued on. Boxing forces presence. If you’re going to box, you have no choice but to be present. It’s strategy, it’s technique, it’s an amazing workout. It never gets easier. And I love it for all those reasons.
Q
What three words would your co-workers use to describe your management style?
A
Thoughtful—I seek to understand perspectives. Direct— sometimes we’re just very direct on the path we’re going to go. Compassionate— it’s using business as a tool for good and leaving the world better than we inherited.
Q
If you could change one thing about the insurance industry, what would it be?
A
Breaking the inertia. It’s been an industry that’s very big and operates well enough, and sometimes that can lead to things being slower than they should be, or not being as innovative as it should be, and I want to change that. I want to move faster.
Q
What gives you your leader’s edge in this industry?
A
I’m executing on purpose and vision. My whole mission was using capital and investment in business to make the world a better place, and that just happened to land me in insurance. And so I look at everything from: how does this materially
improve the lives of the many, but also specifically the underserved and underrepresented? And that’s the lens through which I view insurance.
