An Underwriter's Journey to President

Chad Hall was a senior underwriter at a Chicago-based insurance company when he enrolled in Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Project Management (MPM) program. Hall chose the program's part-time option so he could continue working while going to school. He quickly realized there would be more than just learning what was offered in the classroom.  

“I wanted to have a deeper education on the business and management side of construction to better understand my clients and the projects that I work on,” Hall said. “The heavy workload helped me build grit, time management skills, and a deeper level of focus.”

"There was a lot of growth during the program."

Hall (MPM '08) took a job with Aon after graduation, and was there for two years before a new opportunity presented itself, whichHall remains thankful for. In 2010, Hall joined a startup called Ryan Specialty Group as a senior broker. Also known as RT Specialty, the firm is a wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services.  

As the company grew, so did Hall. Today he is president of RT Specialty's Tampa office and one of the organization's national construction practice leaders. He specializes in construction casualty insurance, leads a team of construction experts, and supports brokers at a national level.  

Hall enjoys working on complex construction projects across the country while providing unique solutions to address the risk associated with each project. As for challenges, Hall said his work is an ongoing juggling act.

"The construction market and the insurance market are constantly evolving," he said. "What affects the construction market doesn’t necessarily always affect the insurance market the same way. Sometimes it can be an inverse relationship and sometimes more parallel." 

That juggling also includes understanding and managing changes in the legal environment, technological advances, volatile material pricing, and a shortage of qualified labor.  

To manage it all, Hall relies on his experience in MPM. He credits the program with strengthening his own attention to detail, and learning how to schedule and estimate a project while being both efficient and detail oriented. His negotiation skills also improved thanks to psychology and business courses, the latter of which was offered within Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.  

Fourteen years after leaving MPM, he still relies on lessons learned in the program to help him and his team work more efficiently, and ultimately, more impactfully.  

"Having a deep understanding of how to manage a construction project helps me assess risk much better," Hall said. "That in turn helps me better explain to underwriters the type of project they are pricing the insurance for and the risk associated with it."