NEW JOB TITLE: San Francisco-based president of New York-based Integro USA.

PREVIOUS POSITION: San Francisco-based head of San Francisco operations and head of West Coast operations for Integro USA.

LOOKING FORWARD TO: We have a terrific set of employees and clients, and I am looking forward to getting to know them. We have an opportunity to create a single platform to work with those clients in the US.

GOALS FOR NEW POSITION: Our goal is to be the best broker; it's not to be the biggest or the master of everything. We want to be the best in property and casualty. What we are trying to do is find terrific people who can provide top servicing and creativity and product for our clients. We've had some wonderful revenue growth and expansion. We finished 2011 with our revenue up 21%.

CHALLENGES FACING INDUSTRY: The biggest challenge is both clients and broker are being asked to do more with less. The most important thing we can do is continue to attract and retain talent in the industry. Make sure you have the top professionals in the industry.

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK: There are a lot of challenges right now with profitability with insurers and economic pressure on clients. Mixed in with that is the uncertainly of the macroeconomic growth in developed countries. That creates a huge challenge. I don't see that there will be a tremendous opportunity to change those dynamics in the future.

BEST THING ABOUT A BAD ECONOMY: Two things jump out at me. There is terrific opportunity to attract young talent in the industry. There are a lot of people graduating from schools, looking for jobs. The other thing is…good ideas for cost saving will come to fruition when you have a company that is distressed financially.

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FIRST EXPERIENCE IN JOB MARKET: I worked for a large insurance brokerage, sat in a hole and typed insurance certificates. I converted them from carbon typing to the big-green-screen accounting system. It was mind-numbing at best.

ADVICE: The key pieces of advice are, number one, patience…it’s easy to get frustrated. And the second piece of advice is to make sure you are continuing to invest in your personal and professional development. If you are not doing that, you are moving backward.

OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY, A DREAM JOB: Restaurant critic. I love to eat and am very picky about my food. I think it would be a terrific job.

HOBBIES: I have three young daughters, so I don’t have much time for hobbies outside of watching their soccer, lacrosse and swimming. In the free time that I do have, I play basketball in the morning two times a week. I also road-bike on the weekend with a group of other dads.

FAVORITE MEAL: I love going to a neighborhood French restaurant called Chapeau! (in San Francisco). It has terrific service, terrific food and terrific wine.

ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON: I am probably going to watch my daughter’s soccer game or my other daughter’s lacrosse game.

MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT: My family. Spending time with them, making sure they have a terrific education. Making sure they are interesting, well-balanced members of their community who give back.

EMAIL OR PHONE, AND WHY: Absolutely phone. I think there is a lot of nuance in relationships and communication. Although email is efficient, a lot of that nuance is lost.