2015 40 Under 40 Broker Awards: Jim Farrell

Jim Farrell

Vice president

Integro USA Inc.

Age: 31

As vice president of Integro USA Inc.'s trade and logistics practice, Jim Farrell works in cities with lots of port traffic.

“The cool part about this job is all the clients are in the port business, so when you travel or relocate for the business, you are going to be in a very active city,” he said.

At Integro, Mr. Farrell works with U.S. customs, which is constantly making changes, but he says this makes his job interesting and fun: “There are always new products with new regulations associated with them so that keeps us on our toes.”

Mr. Farrell has nine years of experience as a broker, working in New York, then Chicago. Currently, his base is Newport Beach, California.

While studying finance at Michigan State University, he helped offset some of the cost of tuition with a job refinancing home mortgages, which helped prepare him for his current role.

“Refinancing home mortgages is a highly regulated product offering,” he said. “I recognized then that in a production role, if you can shift the focus from sales to becoming a trusted adviser with a specialization in service and product knowledge, the sale takes care of itself.”

“His drive and his dedication are the two things that stand out to me,” said his supervisor, New York-based Philip DiChiara, managing principal at Integro Ltd.

“Jim has caught our attention from Day 1 when he came to visit our office,” Jeeyoung Shim of K&G Customs Services Inc. in Chicago said in an email. ”He has a great easygoing personality, and we feel like we are talking with an old friend ... He listens to our needs and concerns and always somehow manages to meet or beat our expectations. His expertise in the bond business makes him our go-to guy for all questions and concerns.”

Currently, Mr. Farrell leads a team dedicated to expanding international logistics insurance presence.