Trevor Burgess

Last updated
Trevor Burgess
Trevor Burgess.jpg
NationalityAmerican
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forFirst openly gay bank CEO
SpouseGary Hess
Children1

Trevor Burgess is an American entrepreneur. He was an investment banker and CEO of C1 Financial. [1] He is the founder of TRB Development and the president, majority shareholder and CEO of Neptune Flood Insurance. [2]

Contents

Early life

Burgess has been openly gay since his teenage years. [3] He graduated in 1994 from Dartmouth College. [4] He was a management consultant at Monitor Company, a Cambridge, Massachusetts firm, associated with Michael Porter. [5] Burgess spent ten years at Morgan Stanley as an investment banker in New York, Los Angeles and London, including "executing more than $50 billion in transactions for major clients, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, which he helped take public in 2006." [4] His last appointment was as a Managing Director in Global Capital Markets leading over 100 investment banking transactions such as the IPO for Chipotle. [6] [5] He then went on to be a partner at Artesia Capital Management, a private equity firm with investments in Brazil and the U.S." [5]

Industry environment for LGBT workers

In 2012 the Human Rights Campaign noted it was still an issue to be LGBT in the workplace as there were no openly gay CEOs in the Fortune 1000 and "U.S. Companies can still legally fire a worker for being gay in 29 states, and many subtle biases remain in the workplace." [7] Former BP chief John Browne noted that homophobic corporate cultures and board of directors keep people in the closet with corporations level of conservativeness rising with the company's size. [7] Todd Sears, founder of an annual LGBT leadership summit for the finance industry noted it was common for executives to not come out until they retired, or even be outed when they died. [7] The 'Wall Street journal' reported in March 2014 that it was still common for LGBT workers to stay closeted. [8]

On becoming the first openly gay banking CEO, Burgess told CNBC, “If that can help the next generation of leaders come out and feel comfortable being authentic, like kids who are in college and considering careers in finance or being entrepreneurs, I’m really lucky.” [9]

Businesses

Burgess is the founder and CEO of the former C1 Bank, and its bank holding company, C1 Financial (NYSE: BNK). Burgess served as a director of C1 after acquiring control of C1's predecessor bank, Community Bank of Manatee, in December 2009. [10]

C1 Bank was a $1.7bn bank [11] focused on the needs of entrepreneurs, and had 31 offices throughout Florida. Burgess was named the 2014 American Banker Community Banker of the Year [12] and was recognized as the 2013 Ernst & Young Florida Entrepreneur of the Year in the financial services category. [13] In 2014 SNL named C1 the 6th fastest growing bank [14] in the country over the prior five years. C1 Bank was acquired by Bank OZK in July 2016 generating a 47% return for its IPO investors in less than 24 months. [15] [16]

After selling C1 Bank in 2016, Burgess formed TRB Development with his business partner, Jon Carlon. TRB Development is focused on "acquiring and developing residential home sites to deliver great value-priced, move-in-ready new homes." [17]

In 2018, Burgess purchased a controlling stake in Neptune Flood Insurance. [18] Burgess and co-founder Jim Albert offer residential and commercial flood insurance. [19] Neptune filed a patent for its Artificial Intelligence engine in 2019 for which it was awarded the Novarica Impact award for Data & Analytics. [20]  Neptune has grown from 50 policies in January 2018 to over 35,000 in 2020. "It had $17 million in premium at the end of 2019, and Burgess projects $40 million to $50 million in premium, by the end of 2020 — even with the coronavirus-based business slowdown." [2] Neptune Flood Insurance was named to the CNBC Upstart 100 in 2018 of 100 promising start-ups to watch. [21] In August 2022, Neptune Insurance ranked 205 out of 5,000 on Inc. Magazine's fastest growing company list. [22]

In May 2023, Burgess's company Neptune Insurance sold a minority stake to private equity firms Bregal Sagemount and FTV Capital. [23]

Personal life

Trevor Burgess became the first openly gay CEO of a bank on the New York Stock Exchange when C1 Financial, which is based in St Petersburg, Florida, made a $44.7 million public offering in August 2014. [1] [6] [24] In the company's initial public offering filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission he disclosed that his husband, Gary Hess, held some shares thus confirming his sexuality in the disclosure. [3] Burgess and Hess have a daughter, Logan. [4] [25]

He has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek's "Out on the Street" and in the book, "The G Quotient-Why Gay Executives are Excelling as Leaders." [5] In 2013 he won Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award in Florida's financial services category. [4] In 2015 the Financial Times in conjunction with OUTstanding, named Mr. Burgess one of the leading global LGBT executives. [26] In 2016, NBC News named Trevor one of "11 Out Business Leaders You Should Know." [27] In 2019, OUTstanding and Yahoo! Finance listed Trevor as one of the top 100 global LGBT+ executive role models. [28]

Burgess and Hess are involved with multiple charities. In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, they donated 30,000, masks to the city of St. Petersburg. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gay village</span> Geographical area within a city that is inhabited or frequented by LGBT people

A gay village, also known as a gayborhood, is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establishments, such as gay bars and pubs, nightclubs, bathhouses, restaurants, boutiques, and bookstores.

East West Bank is the primary subsidiary of East West Bancorp, Inc. It is the largest publicly traded bank headquartered in Southern California, ranking 42nd on the list of largest banks in the United States.

The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is an American financial services company providing insurance and banking products exclusively to members of the military, veterans and their families. It was founded in 1922 in San Antonio, Texas, by a group of 25 U.S. Army officers as a mechanism for mutual self-insurance, when they were unable to secure auto insurance because of the perception that they, as military officers, were a high-risk group.

Likewize is a privately held American corporation founded in 1997 that operates in over 30 countries today. The company offers insurance, warranty, repair, trade-in, recycling, and premium tech support services to telcos, banks, carriers and retailers on smartphones, tablets, laptops and connected devices in the home.

Edward "Ed" Liddy is an American businessman who was chairman of the Allstate Corporation from 1999 to 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Nichols (activist)</span> American gay rights activist (1938–2005)

John Richard "Jack" Nichols Jr. was an American gay rights activist. He co-founded the Washington, D.C., branch of the Mattachine Society in 1961 with Franklin E. Kameny. He appeared in the 1967 CBS documentary, CBS Reports: The Homosexuals, under the pseudonym Warren Adkins.

Grand Central is an arts-entertainment district in St. Petersburg, Florida, located on Central Avenue and 1st Avenue North and 1st Avenue South two miles west of Downtown. It is located within the boundaries of Kenwood Historic District, a neighborhood of St. Pete. This locale was voted among the 10 best "cottage communities" in America by Cottage Living. Many new businesses have opened in the area, with a large influx from the creative class. The area is also known as a bastion for St. Pete's LGBT community, including gay-friendly nightlife. The annual St. Pete Pride event is held here, which is the largest single-day event for the whole city as well as the largest gay pride parade in all of Florida. The event attracts tens of thousands of people to the area. Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner, the first openly gay elected official in the region, was named Grand Marshal for the 2009 parade. Besides Pride, the neighborhood also hosts a weekly "Peddler's Market", similar to a more elaborate Farmers' market. Some controversy is brewing in the neighborhood regarding the marginalization of existing social services centers, and over a flag-hanging ordinance.

SoFi Technologies, Inc. is an American personal finance and fintech company. Founded at Stanford University in 2011, it operates as a direct bank and serves other financial institutions via its technology platform. SoFi reports 8.8mn users and 158mn platform accounts as of 2024, and is a top online lender in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph R. Swedish</span> American businessman (born 1951)

Joseph Robert Swedish is an American healthcare executive and leader. He is a former senior adviser to the board of directors at Anthem, Inc., a Fortune 29 company, and was the CEO of Anthem, Inc. from 2013 to 2017. For 12 years in a row Swedish was named Modern Healthcare’s one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture in San Francisco</span>

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) community in San Francisco is one of the largest and most prominent LGBT communities in the United States, and is one of the most important in the history of American LGBT rights and activism alongside New York City. The city itself has been described as "the original 'gay-friendly city'". LGBT culture is also active within companies that are based in Silicon Valley, which is located within the southern San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Fraser (executive)</span> British-American banking executive (born 1967)

Jane Fraser is a British-American banking executive who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Citigroup, a position she has held since March 2021. Educated at Girton College, Cambridge, and Harvard Business School, she worked at McKinsey & Company for 10 years, rising to partner prior to joining Citigroup in 2004. In 2019, she was named president of Citigroup and CEO of its consumer banking division.

Todd G. Sears, American businessman and advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, is the founder and CEO of Out Leadership since 2010. A former investment banker and private banker, he has served as Head of Diversity Strategy at Merrill Lynch from 2007-2008 and Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Credit Suisse from 2008-2010. Sears started the first team of financial advisors focused on serving the needs of the LGBTQ community in Wall Street history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. Vaidyanathan</span> Indian Businessman

V. Vaidyanathan is an Indian banker who is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IDFC First Bank, formed after the merger of IDFC Bank and Capital First. Prior to assuming this role, he held the position of Chief Executive Officer at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and was a member of the Board of Governors at ICICI Bank since 2006.

Erin O'Flaherty is an American beauty pageant titleholder who held the title of Miss Missouri in the Miss America 2017 pageant. She is the first openly lesbian contestant to compete in Miss America.

Ramon Martin Chavez is an American investment banker and entrepreneur. He is vice chairman and partner of Sixth Street Partners. Previously, he served in a variety of senior roles at Goldman Sachs, including chief information officer (2014–2017), chief financial officer, and global co-head of the firm's Securities Division. Marty was also a partner and member of Goldman's management committee. He was the chief technology officer and co-founder of Quorum Software Systems and CEO and co-founder of Kiodex. He is chairman of the board of computational pharmaceutical company Recursion, Board Observer of biotech company Earli and longevity biopharma company Cambrian Biopharma, and board member of Alphabet Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UPC Insurance</span>

United Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc. is an American property and casualty insurance company with headquarters in Florida. It writes commercial, residential, homeowners’, and flood insurance policies in several coastal states. According to the most recent data available, UPC Insurance had about 159,170 active policies, accounting for just over 2.5 percent market share.

References

  1. 1 2 McCormick, Joseph Patrick (15 August 2014). "Wall Street welcomes first openly gay bank CEO on New York Stock Exchange". Pink News. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Flood insurance firm grows 366%, hits $7M in sales | Business Observer". Business Observer. 2020-05-08. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  3. 1 2 Ivory, Danielle (15 August 2014). "A Gay Chief Makes History as His Bank Goes Public". New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Kurpiela, Heidi. "Ask the Locals: Trevor Burgess of C1 Bank". CL Tampa Bay. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "C1 Bank Trevor R. Burgess Chief Executive Officer". Equality Florida & the Equality Florida Institute. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  6. 1 2 Feintzeig, Rachel (13 August 2014). "Openly Gay CEO Sets Milestone as Bank Goes Public". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Kwoh, Leslie (24 July 2012). "A Silence Hangs Over Gay CEOs". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  8. FEINTZEIG, Rachel (6 May 2014). "Why Gay Workers Decide to Stay in the Closet, Employers Are More Supportive Than Ever, but Some Workers Still Worry About Negative Perceptions". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  9. Scipioni, Jade (8 June 2021). "Trevor Burgess, first openly gay CEO of public bank: 'Success is the best revenge'". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  10. "See one bank | Business Observer". Business Observer. 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  11. "Bank of the Ozarks to acquire C1 Financial for $402.5m". NS Banking. 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  12. Bank, C1. "C1 Bank CEO, Trevor Burgess, named American Banker's Community Banker of the Year". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2020-07-09.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. LLP, Ernst & Young (2013-06-14). "Ernst & Young Announces Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) 2013 Award Recipients in Florida". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  14. "6th fastest growing bank". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  15. "47% return". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  16. "For CEO of C1 Bank, a bonanza payout from sale to Bank of the Ozarks". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  17. "Local Entrepreneurs to Transform Medical Building into Trendy Office and Restaurant". St. Pete Rising. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  18. "Burgess Returns to St. Pete with Disruptive InsurTech Enterprise". St Pete EDC. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  19. Manning, Margie (2019-12-23). "Big changes ahead for St. Pete insure-tech Neptune Flood". St Pete Catalyst. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  20. "Neptune Flood wins insurtech award". St Pete Catalyst. 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  21. staff, CNBC com (2018-10-09). "CNBC unveils its annual list of 100 promising start-ups to watch". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  22. "Neptune Flood Incorporated is a 2022 Inc. 5000 honoree". Inc.com. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  23. Ben-Hutta, Avi (2023-05-11). "Bregal Sagemount and FTV Capital invest in Neptune Flood". Coverager - Insurance news and insights. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  24. Cohn, Emily (15 August 2014). "Meet The First Openly Gay CEO Of A Publicly Traded Bank". Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  25. Stewart, James B. (2014-09-05). "Corner Closet Opens Up a Bit Wider". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  26. "The 100 out and proud heroes of the business world who have risen above barriers to success". www.ft.com. 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  27. "11 Out Business Leaders You Should Know". NBC News. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  28. "The OUTstanding Top 100 Role Model LGBT+ Executives 2019". finance.yahoo.com. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  29. "Dear St. Pete, help bring 30,000 more free masks to the Sunshine City". I Love the Burg. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-07-09.