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Insurance 2025: BROWN, TOM
CHAIRMAN, MARSH McLENNAN AGENCY MID-ATLANTIC , RICHMOND
Virginia Business //September 2, 2025//
Insurance 2025: BROWN, TOM
CHAIRMAN, MARSH McLENNAN AGENCY MID-ATLANTIC , RICHMOND
Virginia Business //September 2, 2025//
In 1916, Thomas Rutherfoord launched an insurance agency in Roanoke. Fast-forward to 1979, and Rutherfoord’s grandson, Brown, started his own insurance career at the family business.
In 1983, Brown moved from the Star City to Richmond to open a Rutherfoord office. He became president of the company in 1998 and CEO in 2004. In 2010, Brown helped to guide the company’s acquisition by Marsh McLennan.
Brown became chairman of Marsh’s mid-Atlantic operations six years later.
Marsh McLennan, which provides business insurance, employee health and benefits, retirement and private client insurance solutions, has more than 300 offices across the United States and Canada and in 2024 reported $24.46 billion in revenue, about an 8% increase over the previous year. The company has about 340 employees in Virginia.
With his sons Tucker and Thomas, Brown purchased Richmond specialty grocer Yellow Umbrella Provisions in 2020. In 2024, they added a location in the Libbie Mill shopping center. This year, the trio opened Ballast, a Scott’s Addition complex that includes a Yellow Umbrella market, a restaurant, Slack Tide Fish Co., and a Cirrus Vodka tasting room.
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