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School of Business Dean Sameer Vaidya moderates a talk with CEO and Chairman of Higginbotham Rusty Reid at Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth on Oct. 14, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\nWhen Higginbotham was celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023, the insurance, financial and human resources firm celebrated by purchasing Snoop Dog, a 1,343-pound black European Cross steer, for a record-setting $440,000 at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.<\/p>\n
It was a shoutout to the community that helped CEO Rusty Reid grow the insurance company from a single office to 140 offices in 25 states \u2014 the largest agency in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought this is the year that we were going to go in to really help out any and all things that happen in our backyard, which is Fort Worth,\u201d Reid said at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Community focus remains the hallmark of Higginbotham, an employee-owned firm that set up the Higginbotham Community Fund in 2010 as an employee-funded, donor-advised charitable fund that provides grants to nonprofits chosen by the staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two years after its big anniversary, Reid has yet more to celebrate as one of the 2025 Fort Worth Business Executives of the Year selected by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Texas Wesleyan University and the Fort Worth Report. Reid will be honored at the 2025 Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame event on Oct. 30 at the Omni Hotel in downtown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Business Hall of Fame began honoring businessmen and women of Fort Worth in 1970. In 1988, a scholarship component was added to award outstanding business students from the Texas Wesleyan School of Business via the Thomas H. Law Scholarship endowment.<\/p>\n
During 30-plus years of leadership at Higginbotham, Reid spearheaded initiatives contributing to the firm\u2019s impressive growth, expanded market presence and enhanced brand visibility, all the while building a sustainable company culture, according to the selection committee gathered by Texas Wesleyan to determine this year\u2019s honoree.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Higginbotham, now employing more than 3,000 people, has become a top 20 independent brokerage firm in the U.S. and reported upward of $1 billion in revenue in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From introducing the firm\u2019s groundbreaking single-source service model \u2014 enabling clients to access a full slate of insurance and financial services in one place \u2014 to building a culture of generosity, where employees combine philanthropic efforts, to establishing Higginbotham\u2019s employee ownership structure, Reid has demonstrated leadership at both the firm and in the industry, the award judges said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Texas Wesleyan has honored a top business executive every year since 1970.<\/p>\n
School of Business Dean Sameer Vaidya moderates a talk with CEO and Chairman of Higginbotham Rusty Reid at Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth on Oct. 14, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n
If you go<\/p>\n
What: Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth Report and Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce will honor Rusty Reid at the 55th Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame event. Dress is business attire, and attendance is open to the general public.<\/p>\n
When: 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel. The reception begins at 6 p.m., and the dinner begins at 7 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tickets: $400 per person.<\/p>\n
To make reservations and purchase tickets: Contact Amy Tate-Almy, development officer, at 817-531-5806.<\/p>\n
In 1986, Reid joined Higginbotham as the company\u2019s 12th employee to help run the business insurance practice. In 1989, already serving as CEO, Reid began to plant the seeds of an idea that came to him when he worked at American General: employee ownership.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had noticed that when agents did well, another company would hire them away and you\u2019d lose all that talent,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019d end up competing against them often as not.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That observation led Higginbotham to set up an employee stock ownership plan. It remains a business cornerstone that continues to attract and retain talent.<\/p>\n
Higginbotham also began to expand, first across Texas and now to both the southeast and west, bringing on board a variety of companies to expand the agency\u2019s reach geographically and add new services and technology to the company\u2019s portfolio.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking to students at Texas Wesleyan University on Oct. 14, Reid shared some of the leadership principles he has learned on his journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His number one rule: \u201cDon\u2019t be an arrogant leader.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reid said it can be hard not to be arrogant when you are leading a large company, but he sees that as a negative trait.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just have this belief in life, that when you do wrong things, it catches up with you,\u201d he told the students. \u201cConversely, if you do the right thing and try to be good, it actually benefits you. I think good things happen to good people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As an example, Reid told an anecdote about when the company was developing their single-source insurance model. Reid and a consultant were in an office struggling for a good catchphrase or slogan to communicate their message to clients. A clerical employee walked by and asked what they were doing. Reid and the consultant explained their objective.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The employee) said it needs to be \u2018Single Source for a Secure Future,\u2019\u201d Reid said. \u201cIt was perfect. If we had been arrogant, we never would have listened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reid, 62, has earned widespread recognition for his leadership both from his peers and the broader industry. He was named the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation\u2019s 2024 Philanthropic Leader. He received the Susan Halsey Executive Leadership Award from the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Reid was honored as CEO of the Year at the Business Insurance America Awards.<\/p>\n
Reid graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor\u2019s in business administration\/insurance. Reid and his wife, Molly, have three children and six grandchildren.<\/p>\n
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Disclosure: Higginbotham is a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n
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