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Burnham Benefits Hires Brian Faber as Vice President, Employee Benefits
By Burnham
06.29.22

Welcome, Brian Faber

We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Brian Faber as Vice President at Burnham. Brian joins our team with over 16 years of experience supporting high-growth companies across a variety of industries. Through his unwavering dedication and exemplary performance, Brian built lasting relationships with clients and carrier partners while fortifying teams with the knowledge and mentorship necessary to excel. As he moves into a larger leadership role at Burnham, he will focus on building a highly collaborative and curious culture that supports our clients, colleagues, and carrier partners’ strategic objectives and growth.

Regional President Kris Allison spoke on Brian’s appointment:

“Brian’s unabated ambition, authentic engagement, and advocacy for his clients make him a natural leader and vital member of our company. His commitment to growing clients’ success by instilling confidence in the decision-making process makes him a great fit for what we believe is the Burnham difference.”

“I’m mostly excited about being part of a growing team with highly talented and knowledgeable colleagues. I’m excited to build rapport with my team and clients by focusing on their success, not just my own,” Brian says, “As we look to find solutions, a lot of times, there can be 50 solutions for everything. To find the right one, we must vet everything and always remain curious about alternative solutions. This is the key to providing clients the service they deserve and helping them make informed decisions for their success.”

Congratulations Brian!

Please join us in congratulating Brian on his new role and welcoming him to Burnham!

We had the pleasure of sitting down and talking more with Brian about his experience and the expertise he will contribute to our team.

Full Interview:

We sat down with Brian Faber and Regional President Kris Allison to talk about his past experience, why Burnham, and just to get to know him more. A transcript of our interview can be found below:

 

Tell us a little bit about your past experience and how you got into the benefits industry.

Brian: In college, a friend’s dad recommended that I pursue a career in Human Resources since I liked helping people. I started out as an HR assistant, focusing on Training & Development. I then moved into employee relations before finally landing in benefits support. I ended up staying within the benefits realm for over seven years until I was appointed Assistant Vice President working with large manufacturers. I then landed an opportunity as Principal, which helped to expand my client base to the technology, medical, education, finance, transportation, and engineering industries.

Most recently, I took a call with Kris Allison about the possibility of working with Burnham and immediately felt like Burnham was such a nice fit culturally for me. I felt like there was an opportunity here where I could finally feel a sense of ownership, momentum, and just overall “good vibes”. Speaking with Kris really made tough decisions, less tough.

Kris: Brian is such an authentic person – he knows the business well and wants to help and mentor – which is exactly what the clients want. There’s diversity within Brian’s book that’s a real strength when so many today are funneled into industry-specific specializations. I love to see where people light up. Brian’s ability to mentor others and the comfortability they feel going to him for support is second nature. He’s never threatened by anyone else’s success – he grows alongside it, he’s proud of it, and he keeps the momentum going. You have to listen to clients, listen to teams, and in that regard, Brian is a no-brainer for our ecosystem here at Burnham, and it brings me joy to welcome him to our work family.

 

What are some noteworthy accomplishments from your career?

Brian: By far the largest or most noteworthy accomplishments within my career have been the relationships and friendships I’ve made over the years. It’s one thing to do your job well, it’s another when people want to continue to see you grow, evolve, and follow you along the way. When clients have followed me across positions, or when they are sad to see me leave, I always walk away feeling like I did my job and moreover, that I built upon their success. I’ve noticed that when I focus on relationships, I help instill confidence in benefit knowledge, which in turn instills confidence within their jobs and personal success. That’s how I’ve accomplished anything – focusing on the relationship, gaining trust and being on their team.

 

What aspects of Burnham’s culture were appealing to you and how did you hear about Burnham?

Brian: I’ve known about Burnham for quite some time! I’m connected with a few people that always had great things to say about the work environment. Beyond that, many people that I know and trust outside of Burnham had confidence in the organization, which only confirmed that I would fit right in. I also felt like Kris’ personality permeates throughout the organization, which helped to take any indecisiveness out of the decision.

Kris: From a business perspective, Brian had the right personality and the skillset we needed to help us grow. We really wanted to make sure we were putting the right clients and prospects with the right consultant, and Brian seemed like a natural fit. He embodies Burnham’s culture and it’s apparent in everything he’s done and continues to do.

 

Tell us a bit about your leadership philosophy. What do you think is the key to professional success?

Brian: I think the key to professional success is collaboration. Share information, train others, answer questions, ask questions and stay positive. It’s mostly all about sharing knowledge. My career hasn’t been a straight path, but I’ve gained a lot of perspective in terms of guiding and learning from others. My advice: be the person that you are, be authentic and genuine, and the success will come.

 

What do you look most forward to or what are you most excited about in your new role at Burnham?

Brian: I’m mostly excited about being a part of growing team with highly talented and knowledgeable colleagues. I’m excited to manage my team and clients, and build rapport with them by focusing on their success, not just my own.

It’s also important for me to build great relationships with carriers. That has always helped me to trust I was making wise decisions for my clients. I’m not going to work with someone or suggest a product or system I haven’t vetted myself. That’s helped improv my ability to be a consultant. As we look to find solutions, a lot of times there can be 50 solutions for everything. To find the right one, we must vet everything and remain curious about alternative solutions. This is the key to providing clients the service they deserve and to helping them make informed decisions for their success.

Kris: I agree whole-heartedly with this. Brian hears the pulse and it’s apparent in the relationships he’s built. As companies get larger, a lot of times clients can feel like they are slotted numbers in queue. At Burnham we always strive to do business better. Brian’s drive to seek out the best for clients and provide solutions tailored to their needs makes him the perfect fit for us.

 

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Brian: I have two sons, the oldest is 8 and the youngest is 5, so I spend a lot of time being a dad! Outside of that, my family and I love to get outdoors and go camping together in our RV. I also enjoy spending my weekends working on endless home improvement projects and keeping up with our garden!

 

 

About Burnham Benefits Insurance Services, LLC:

Burnham, a BRP Group, Inc. partner, consults with clients on employee benefits, property and casualty, and retirement and wealth management solutions. Burnham is a national full-service strategic consulting and brokerage firm based in Irvine, California. The company easily adapts to today’s rapidly changing business climate, investing in cutting-edge technology, tools, and resources, and creates customized programs to fit clients’ best interests. A cadre of highly skilled industry professionals and strategic partnerships provide unmatched personal service. Burnham is a Certified B Corporation (B Corp), holds national recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in Insurance by Business Insurance magazine for the ninth year and counting, and over the last decade consistently ranks as one of the Best Places to Work by the Orange County Business Journal, North Bay Business Journal, and Los Angeles Business Journal. For more information, visit BurnhamBenefits.com.