When it comes to insurance, there is opportunity in specialty

Brenda (Ballard) Austenfeld says the continued flow of business into the E&S channel shines a spotlight on the need for additional top underwriting talent. (Photo: Kerem Severoğlu Adobe Stock)

Brenda (Ballard) Austenfeld learned the importance of being a hands-on leader in the wholesale-insurance space early in her career when she worked closely with Fortune 1,000 insureds as a broker.

Over the course of her 30-year career in excess and specialty lines (E&S), this industry executive has taken on roles as both a retail and wholesale broker. She was able to “experience first-hand the exciting shift in the flow of business into the wholesale and delegated authority distribution channels,” says Austenfeld, who now serves as president of National Property and managing director at RT Specialty.