Jake Bowman, 39

In October 2019, about six months before the pandemic would cripple much of the business world, Jake Bowman started a new job at The Baldwin Group.

The Tampa independent insurance firm, then known as the BRP Group, was doing well when he joined and was about a month away from issuing an IPO. Its revenue that year was about $140 million.

Photo by Mark Wemple

But the pandemic was a scary time filled with uncertainty as much of the world shut down. Companies were laying off employees, people were locking themselves in their homes and Zoom was becoming a verb.

“To say I was concerned about my future was an understatement,” says Bowman.

But he needn’t worry about his professional life. During that time the company grew significantly and about three years after coming aboard as senior advisor Bowman was named partner — of what is now a much bigger firm: It had $1.2 billion in 2023 revenue and has about 2 million clients and about 4,000 employees. “To me, being a partner is recognition of a lot of hard work, sustained success,” he says.

Bowman grew up in a small rust-belt town in Ohio in what he describes as “pretty humble” circumstances. He lived in North Carolina and Virginia for about five years.

After graduating high school, he set off for Wittenberg University, a liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio, where was a tight end on the school’s football team under head coach Joe Finchman.

Football shaped Bowman, teaching him about hard work and preparation, as well as how to handle success and, more importantly, how to handle failure.

Lessons he’s carried into his professional life.

He got to Florida about more than a decade ago, finding his home here the way most people do. “I always envisioned living in a coastal town somewhere. But when I visited Southwest Florida 12 plus years ago, I fell in love with the area and felt the urge to take the plunge and make the move.”

Not long after, he met Garrett Gardi, the man who would become his mentor and help him land at Baldwin.

Bowman, working at his previous insurance firm, spent most days cold calling businesses trying to set up appointments. But he kept running up against Gardi’s name and reputation.

One day, a few months in, Gardi, who was still with the other firm but is now a senior partner at Baldwin, sent an email asking Bowman to coffee.

It turns out, Gardi had heard Bowman was calling on his clients. There were no hard feelings and Gardi admitted he would be doing the same thing.

“I think the most important thing I have learned from him is how to balance your current clients, focus on business development and staying on the vanguard with new and innovative solutions,” says Bowman. “It really is a juggling act, but if you are organized and efficient with your time, it's achievable.”