Joel D. Cavaness
Chairman, Americas Specialty
Joel D. Cavaness joined Gallagher in 1986 as a marketing representative in Gallagher’s St. Louis office, after spending several years as a casualty underwriter for standard and excess/surplus lines carriers. He worked his way up to area vice president by 1990, then relocated to Gallagher’s home office outside Chicago in 1996 to lead International Special Risk Services, Inc. In 1997, he co-founded Risk Placement Services, Inc. (RPS) and led its growth to become one of the largest U.S. wholesale brokers, managing general agents and program managers. In 2000, he was appointed a corporate vice president of Gallagher.
Mr. Cavaness is very active in the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA), having served on the board of directors since 2010. He holds both CPCU and ARM designations.
He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Southeast Missouri State University.