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J.S. Held Acquires Clark Seif Clark, Strengthening West Coast Capabilities for Environmental Claims, Disputes, and Catastrophe Response
Read MorePublished: June 2024
Over the past 50 years, J.S. Held has evolved into a global consulting firm by hiring technical, scientific, financial, and strategic advisors focused on helping clients realize value and mitigate risk, which has been accelerated through our organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Our strong base in risk assessment and mitigation has been a catalyst for our growth beyond the insurance sector to serve law firms, corporate executives and risk managers, governments, and investors.
Our journey from foundation to future has been filled with challenges and triumphs, transformation in the industries we serve, innovation, and a steadfast commitment to remain true to our core values while constantly evolving as an organization.
Much has changed over the years – both inside our firm and around the industry. A couple big shifts more recently have had a strong influence on our business strategy and the way we continue to operate internally and externally.
One major shift over the years has been consolidation across the consulting landscape. When J.S. Held first took outside investment in 2015 as an insurance consulting business, there wasn't a lot of consolidation or diversification of services in the property insurance industry. That has since changed. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are more commonplace now among our competitors and clients alike.
Another major shift has been the large influx of capital backing companies industry wide. Whether you are looking at insurance services or more traditional consulting and advisory firms, there is now much more capital behind businesses to help them diversify their services, expand geographically, and invest back into their companies as it concerns technology, systems, and people. This has fueled the growth happening across the industry more than almost any other factor – including here at J.S. Held.
The Corporate Development Team I lead is specifically focused on company expansion, primarily through inorganic growth. In order for us to do our job well, we need a strong infrastructure.
Prior to 2017, the company was primarily composed of “seller/doers” and we did not have extensive corporate support staff. As the size of our team, physical presence, and diversity of service offerings have increased, we built our corporate departments, processes, and systems to ensure we are well-positioned for long-term, sustainable growth.
With the right foundation in place, our Strategy Team has been able to help our company adapt and grow alongside changes that we have all seen in the industry. Our entrepreneurial mindset has helped us stay ahead of emerging trends, evolve in response to client needs, and overcome challenges. Our collaborative spirit has fostered strength in partnership and informed our strategic growth and business solutions through different viewpoints and combined subject matter expertise.
There is plenty to be proud of when I look back at what we have accomplished over the past several years. Since 2015, we have completed more than 60 transactions across all our practice lines. The ability to continuously source amazing opportunities, businesses, and entrepreneurs is just one of many factors contributing to our success. The talented individuals and renowned organizations who have joined us continue to make a profound impact on our firm and the clients we serve.
One of the most important, and often unheralded, aspects of M&A is integration. Bringing a new team into the mix is about more than just “the marriage.” As we’ve built out our internal infrastructure to support our growth, we’ve established a dedicated integration team and formalized our integration process. Both of these aspects have made a tremendous difference in our ability to successfully combine different cultures, skillsets, and business operations, while streamlining efforts on both sides of an integration and enhancing enterprise value. Each integration is unique, and we are in a constant state of refining processes and systems within our acquisition models. I am proud of our team’s dedication to continuously learn and improve with each new addition.
When I think about what helps us continue to stay ahead and innovate, especially as we continue to grow our global footprint, it all starts with people. We are a “people business,” so first and foremost, the success of our business is based on the talent that we bring on board. If we bring on the right people and foster the right culture, that will create an environment for success.
Another key thing is to remember to always have a finger on the pulse of the industry, and in our case, that means paying specific attention to elements such as technology. Technology is often a catalyst in the major shifts that change the way we live and work, and we always want to be mindful of where forthcoming advances are steering us. It doesn’t merely affect the way we operate; it can move our entire industry.
As we look ahead, we see tremendous opportunity to increase market share within the insurance industry, and even further runway to grow beyond as the J.S. Held brand is still relatively new to stakeholders outside of the property insurance arena. Brand building will be a big focus as we increase our global profile across industries, continue to expand our services, and further complement our business solutions. Additional corporate infrastructure developments, technology enablement, industry adaptations, and integration enhancements will also be critical to our long-term, sustainable success.
Most importantly, we will continue to invest in the development and retention of our people – our most valuable asset – as we grow, evolve, and reimagine our work to help clients navigate complex matters and mitigate risk globally.
View more stories about our journey from foundation to future and the entrepreneurial experts who continue to shape the trajectory of J.S. Held.
Stephen Lieberman, Chief Financial Officer at J.S. Held, discusses how our Finance Department achieves the balance needed to expand and improve our business to the benefit of our clients, team, and mission....
Jim Stanilious, Senior Executive Vice President & Insurance Services Division Lead, shares more about J.S. Held's role as a trusted advisor to the insurance industry, from the company's founding in 1974 to provide independent property...
Dave Melchers, Chief Information Officer, shares more about the development of J.S. Held’s Information Technology (IT) department; evolving risks and challenges; and value creation through people, process, and technology....