Warren Campbell Joins Cove Ownership Group

Cove is growing and maturing. Over the last few years, we have gone through much change—mostly from a cultural perspective, but the impact of those changes has been real and meaningful in many aspects of our business.

From Family Focused to Benefitting all Stakeholders

Part of that change was certifying as a B Corp in 2016. It made Christie and I, as owners, think about the future of Cove in a new way. We stopped thinking about Cove as our family bank account for our exclusive benefit or as an asset that we would sell one day solely to maximize profits; instead, we initiated an experiment in doing business differently and exploring how we could use Cove as a force for good. It meant thinking about inclusion and diversity in every aspect of our business, including how Cove is owned and managed. We had to decide between creating a business for the benefit of our family only or to work for the benefit of all stakeholders including, of course, our most important asset: our employees. We chose the latter, reframing our roles in Cove to be one of the team members, in addition to being owners.

We also knew that if we were going to succeed in transitioning Cove, over time, to a new generation of leaders, we needed to start now. The first step was to develop a sustainable model that everyone could understand and get behind. The next was to implement it.

A Revenue-Sharing Model for Cove

In December 2016, we started working on a revenue-sharing model that would allow employees to participate in the profits of the company. In March, we completed it. This allows employees to see how Cove is performing, benefiting from Cove’s successes and tempering expectations if times are tough.

Our end game is to have a company that not only shares in its financial performance, but also sets the stage for wider ownership outside of Christie and myself.

Our Newest Shareholder: Warren Campbell

In April, Warren Campbell became a shareholder in Cove. Warren has been a friend and colleague for over 20 years, shares our values, and is a highly skilled advisor. Three years ago, he joined us in an advisor capacity; today he is an owner.

Warren is much younger than me (not possible, you say?) and provides Cove with continuity over the longer term once Christie and I are gone, from an insurance advisory perspective. (On the topic of us leaving, I can confirm that we will be around for a long time to come, as there is much that needs to be accomplished.)

Warren takes on the position of Vice President, Planning and leads the ongoing development of our Right Way Path™ planning process and deliverables to clients and advisor partners outside of Cove. With his 20+ years of experience supporting insurance advisors in the advance applications of insurance for continuity planning, Warren brings a depth of knowledge that reflects Cove’s commitment to a high level of technical expertise in addition to our values-based business model. Warren is a designated Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

The next step will be to lay out a path to allow all employees of Cove to become owners, taking into account all aspects of what ownership entails and how to manage a widely held company. In the meantime, we are happy to have Warren as a co-owner and look forward to many years of shared prosperity for all our stakeholders.

Until next time,

Bernie