Kirk has been an insurance professional for nearly 30 years and is a Partner of Conequity Resources, LLC, an executive management consulting firm. He became associated with Conequity in October 2006 after having lead Canal Insurance Company in achieving nearly seven years of unprecedented growth in policyholder surplus accumulation (owners equity).

At Conequity, Kirk works with executives and their management teams on strategic and operational opportunities for growth and bottom-line prosperity. He especially enjoys helping businesses and not-for-profit organizations be more successful through developing leadership capacity from within.

As the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Canal, a privately-held corporation in Greenville, SC, Kirk championed a comprehensive renovation that touched all aspects of the business. The dynamic transformation in the operations of Canal allowed the company to prosper considerably.

Canal, which was established in 1939, achieved significant growth as business increased tremendously as written premiums more than tripled and policy counts more than doubled during a 5 year period. Responding to the needs created by the exponential growth an exciting challenge, which required different thinking, different tools, and renewed processes. It involved all areas of the organization and was primarily accomplished by growing the leadership capacity of the organization.

Prior to becoming COO at Canal, Kirk held senior management positions at two international insurance carriers and has experience in both field operations and head office environments, including responsibility for developing and managing custom-tailored industry segment programs and initiatives. Earlier experiences include insurance agency management responsibilities as well. Kirk began his career as a commercial underwriter and maintains a fondness for that discipline because the principles and skills associated with underwriting are so transferable to other areas of endeavor.

A graduate of Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, Kirk earned the CIC designation in 1985 and the CPCU designation in 1992. He has completed executive development programs at both The Kellogg School at Northwestern University and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the Leadership South Carolina program.

Kirk has been a guest lecturer at the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business, Wake Forest University’s Calloway School, and was published in the spring, 1999 CPCU Journal. He has taught the Insurance Institute of America’s INS series in the local insurance community and speaks to industry groups and associations on various issues and challenges in today’s environment.

Active in several community initiatives as a volunteer. He is Wade Hampton High School’s adjunct coach for boys’ lacrosse. Kirk serves on the board of the Metropolitan Arts Council of Greenville County, where he is a past Chairman, and on the Palmetto Society Giving Board of the United Way of Greenville.