Chicago company buys Waite Park insurance agency

May 24--WAITE PARK -- An international insurance brokerage firm has added a Waite Park-based insurance agency to its portfolio.

Itasca, Illinois-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Charles Allen Agency Inc., 4-13th Ave. N effective April 8.

Charles Allen Agency, started by Mark Gresser, his wife and two others in 2010, is an agency specializing in risk management and insurance services for the construction industry.

While the business was never up for sale, Gresser said executives from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. approached him last year with a proposition to purchase the firm.

Gresser, 59, said at first he was hesitant to sell the business he had built from his kitchen table. But the acquisition by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. would provide him with something he was spending years on formulating: a plan for succession.

"As the sole owner I was looking for key employees to recruit (to eventually take over the business). And I was getting frustrated in trying to find those individuals," Gresser said.

In the six years Gresser and his team had spent developing Charles Allen Agency, the agency had doubled in profits and had a total of 40 construction companies, primarily Minnesota-based, in its portfolio. The company was honored in March as one of Insurance Business America magazine's Top Producers for 2016.

Part of what drew Gresser to continue negotiations with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. was the fact that the international brokerage would provide his company with both a succession plan and the opportunity to expand its client and insurance carrier network.

"I felt I spent a long time vetting them," Gresser said. "We have very high standards."

Just before Christmas the two parties entered into final talks. The deal was made public on April 11.

In a statement, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s chief executive J. Patrick Gallagher said the Charles Allen Agency acquisition was a great complement to existing insurance and risk management services in the Midwest.

"The CAA team is well known for their industry experience, strong market relationships and quality client service," he said.

Gresser said his team has been very excited about the new services they are able to provide.

"There is really no prospect that we wouldn't be able to pursue," Gresser said. "That adds a lot of leverage in the marketplace."

Gresser, his team of seven employees and the company's mascot Frankie, a German shorthaired pointer, will remain in the Waite Park area. (The Gallagher transaction included a seven-page contract spelling out Frankie's status.)

Gresser has become the vice president of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s Waite Park branch.

The Waite Park agency is in the process of being trained on new systems. The official name change for the agency will take place this summer.

"This is going to be a great match up," Gresser said. "And we will continue to grow and remain here in Waite Park."

Follow Vicki Ikeogu on Twitter @VickiSCTimes or on Facebook at facebook.com/sctimesvicki. Call her at 259-3662.

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