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Insurance 2024: THOMAS S. GAYNER
CEO, MARKEL GROUP, GLEN ALLEN
Virginia Business //August 29, 2024//
Gayner has led the Fortune 500 insurance company as sole CEO since early 2023, after serving more than six years as co-CEO with Richard Whitt III, who retired last year. Before joining Markel in 1990, Gayner was vice president of Davenport & Co.
Markel reported operating revenues of $15.8 billion in 2023, an increase from $11.7 billion in 2022.
Gayner oversees about 21,600 employees and three divisions: insurance, investments and Markel Ventures, which owns controlling interests in a portfolio of about 20 businesses. He made $8.1 million in total compensation in 2023.
In June, the company purchased a majority stake in Valor Environmental, a Florida erosion control and stormwater management firm, for an undisclosed amount.
In 2022, Gayner’s wife, Susan, retired as CEO of ParkLand Ventures, a Markel subsidiary that buys and operates manufactured housing communities. In 2023, the couple launched the University of Virginia’s Gayner Family Sustainable Investment Fund and Scholarship Program, where revenue from student-directed investments is used to fund scholarships.
