Jimbo Smith | Venture Capital Careers

I'm a first year MBA student at UNC Kenan-Flagler and a member of the Investment Management, EVC, and Family Enterprise clubs. Before business school I spent two years as a commercial underwriter at W.R. Berkley in Charlotte, where I wrote $1.75M in new premium, managed over $8M in renewal accounts, and helped build the training program for new hires. I studied Risk Management at the University of Alabama, where I ran the Capstone Startup Association and grew it from 30 to 110 members in a year. I'm interested in venture capital and private equity, especially in sports and in buying and growing small businesses. Outside of school I'm a big golfer and skier.

Experience

Commercial Underwriter

W.R. Berkley

Jan 2024 – Jan 2026

Charlotte, NCFull time

I provided comprehensive property and casualty insurance services across new business, renewals, and agent support throughout the Southeast region. I produced $1.75M in new direct written premium and over $8M in renewal accounts while managing a book of business. I also helped design and implement a new-hire training program, collaborated with processing, audit, and billing teams, and mentored junior trainees across multiple lines of business.

Property and casualty insuranceCommercial underwritingNew business underwritingRenewalsAgent supportBook of business managementTraining program developmentMentoringExcel

Commercial Broker Intern

Higginbotham

May 2023 – Aug 2023

Austin, TXInternship

I completed a three-month learning and development program in commercial brokerage. I led a team of five interns tasked with integrating AI into the company’s business model and proposed a platform that was implemented into the company’s day two services.

Commercial brokerageArtificial intelligenceBusiness model integrationTeam leadershipPlatform development

Club President

Capstone Startup Association

Jan 2023 – Jan 2024

Tuscaloosa, AL

I grew membership nearly fourfold, from 30 to 110 members, by building a full calendar of speaker and networking events. I secured speakers including Jack Markwalter, Greg Byrne, and former Alabama quarterback Jake Coker. I doubled club reserves from $2,500 to $5,000 while funding eight events through member dues, alumni donations, and a university grant.

Club leadershipMembership growthEvent planningNetworkingSpeaker coordinationFundraisingBudget management

Commercial Broker Intern

Little and Smith Agency

May 2022 – Jun 2022

Atlanta, GAInternship

I analyzed and reorganized more than 50 client files in Excel, cleaning legacy data to streamline workflow for account managers. I joined producers on 10 client visits and shadowed sales, service, and account management staff to learn how a small agency wins, services, and retains commercial clients.

Commercial brokerageExcelData cleaningFile organizationSalesClient serviceAccount management

Education

Semester Abroad, Barcelona, Spain

Jun 2022 – Aug 2022

University of Alabama, Culverhouse College of Business

Bachelor of Science, Risk Management

2024

Dean’s List; Maxie Glen Jackson Endowed Scholarship (2023–24); 1st place of 200+ students, Business Strategy Game simulation

University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School

Master of Business Administration

2026

Investment Management Club; EVC Club; Family Enterprise Club

Chapel Hill, NC

Skills

Commercial underwritingProperty and casualty insuranceNew business underwritingRenewal underwritingAgent supportBook of business managementInsurance business fundamentalsTraining program developmentEmployee onboardingMentoringCross-functional collaborationBusiness strategyArtificial intelligence integrationTeam leadershipEvent planningStakeholder engagementExcelPowerPointPower BIQualtricsClaudeChatGPTData cleaningClient relationship managementPublic speakingFinancial analysisInsurance analysisMembership growthFundraisingMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft PowerPointCLCSCIABTraining The Street

Languages

English: Native or bilingual proficiency