John W. Glomb Jr.
president and CEO, Philadelphia Insurance Cos.
After more than a decade at AIG and Banc of America Securities, John Glomb began his tenure at Philadelphia Insurance Cos. Over the course of 13 years, he served as executive vice president, president and chief underwriting officer, before being named president and CEO in 2021. In addition to assuming that role at the Bala Cynwyd-based national property/casualty and professional liability insurance firm, he was also named CEO of Tokio Marine North America Services, both of which fall under the Tokio Marine Group. There, he is on the executive management team of one of the 20 largest property/casual carriers in the U.S. Philadelphia Insurance Cos. has more than 2,000 employees across the U.S. and specializes in over 120 niche markets. One of the largest insurers of U.S. nonprofits, the organization today has close to $4.5 billion in premiums.
Years as top executive: 3
Education: B.A., MBA, University of Pennsylvania
Originally from: Connecticut
Words that best describe me: Compassionately driven, prepared, approachable
A distinguished moment in my time as CEO: Coming into the role at the beginning of the pandemic and leading our team to four consecutive record years in a very stressful and ambiguous business environment.
My business philosophy: 1. Continuous improvement. What that requires is rather than fearing change, people embrace changes and the power that change can bring to individuals, workloads, the customer experience, and ease of doing business. 2. Treat the business as if you’re an owner. If you think about what it means and reflect – are you willing to put in extra time to achieve success? 3. The power of positivity and bringing a positive mental attitude to your job every day. People like to be surrounded by positive people. It gives you a much higher probability of achieving success in all aspects of your professional life.
To build trust with my team, I: Am transparent. I welcome different ideas and input from diverse skillsets and teammates to make better informed decisions. I invite anyone to ask me any question, so there’s a real sense of approachability and honesty that come with personal interactions.
When faced with a tough business decision, I: Don’t react emotionally. I gather as much info as I can to make an informed decision and rely on my team for input. Sometimes being decisive is important, other times slowing down to make a more informed decision is necessary. And in leadership that becomes more of an art than a science over time as to when which applies.
To maintain a competitive edge, I: Am never satisfied that we can’t do better. However, I take time to celebrate the wins of our team to inspire and promote an environment of creativity and connectivity.
How I measure success: By establishing very clear objectives and sometimes pivoting as conditions change. We establish objectives that are easy to understand, easy to track, and easy to determine if success was achieved. It’s also essential to consistently evaluate whether you’re on course and be nimble if the initial objective was not appropriately set to achieve success.
For fun I: Exercise, spend time with my family cheering on all four of my college-aged children in athletics, and spend time at Jersey Shore – specifically Avalon.
A daily part of my routine I can’t live without: Exercise
Go-to restaurant: Barclay Prime in Philadelphia
Go-to book: “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown