Jagler: Salzmann is the 'Pied Piper’ who is driving Acuity’s growth

SHEBOYGAN – In an industry driven by financial benchmarks such as premiums, deductibles and policies in force, property and casualty insurance is not exactly known for its merriment, creativity, spontaneity or levity.

But those are the contradictions that make Ben Salzmann, president and CEO of Sheboygan-based Acuity Insurance, such an interesting corporate freak of nature.

The Acuity campus has long been the curiosity for motorists from Milwaukee driving on I-43 on their way to a Green Bay Packers game or Door County: It’s that huge glass palace with the world’s largest free-flying American flag.

Step inside that palace, and Salzmann’s sense of whimsy is omnipresent. I’m convinced there are no other corporate headquarters quite like Acuity’s on this planet:

• Some employees are taking long power walks between the expansive wings of the glass-encased grounds.
• Other employees are climbing up the rock walls that adorn the central elevator shafts or playing rousing games of ping pong in the lower recreation center.
• Still other employees are getting fit in the company’s 27,000-square-foot workout facility.
• At the center of the headquarters is an honest-to-goodness, working Ferris wheel, which the CEO describes as the Charity Wheel.
• Near the Ferris wheel is a ceramic carousel horse that makes for some great photo opportunities for the children of Acuity’s employees — and Salzmann.
• Independent insurance agents gather in the company’s theater in the round for company meetings and concerts.
• Salzmann records a weekly company “gossip” message that is emailed to all of the firm’s employees.

In the elevators at Acuity, the lowest floor is marked, “TC.”

“What does that stand for?” asks the naive first-time visitor.

“That’s our torture chamber,” Salzmann says unapologetically without hesitation, pressing the button. “Want to see it?”

Moments later, we arrive on the lower level, replete with replica medieval torture racks and other implements of agony that are tongue-in-cheek props in a room where employees have their blood tested, get their flu shots and partake in other harmless human resources activities.

The eccentric CEO loves to have fun, and he’s not sorry if you don’t understand.

“I’m a Pied Piper. But instead of playing a demonic flute, I have hired 700 college grads in the last seven years (with) the ultimate opportunity and respect,” Salzmann says, looking out the windows of his corner office at the neighborhoods that adorn Sheboygan's rolling hillsides. “Rumors of my eccentricity are true. But there isn’t any employee here who would feel uncomfortable talking to me.”

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With Salzmann at the helm, Acuity was ranked No. 2 in Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2016.

It wasn’t always that way. When Salzmann was promoted from chief information officer to CEO in 1999, the property and casualty insurer was in a downward spiral.

At the time, the company was stalled with an annual employee turnover rate of 28%. The firm had lost a third of its annual sales, and its A.M. Best financial rating had been downgraded.

Even the numbers are happy

Salzmann would not be having so much fun today if he was not producing industry-leading results on the bottom line: Acuity’s written premiums (sales) grew to $1.45 billion in 2017 from $289.7 million in 2000. In that same time frame, the company’s net worth grew to $1.94 billion from $237 million.

The company completed a $250 million headquarters expansion project in 2017 to accommodate anticipated staffing and business growth. The firm plans to add another 100 employees in 2018.

Acuity writes property and casualty insurance across 26 states, with more than $4.4 billion in assets. The company has ambitious plans to expand its service territories into Texas, New Hampshire, Virginia, Oregon, New York, Washington and California.

Along the way, Salzmann continues to defy corporate norms.

• Acuity provides unlimited sick time for its employees.
• The company has no long-term disability benefit plans. Instead, if an employee becomes sick or disabled, the employee is paid regular wages — with twice-annual raises — until he or she returns to work, retires or perishes.
• The company sets no sales goals for its salespeople. “Sales goals encourage bad decisions just to keep your job,” Salzmann says.
• The firm has no dress code. At least one employee even works barefoot.
• The headquarters are adorned with exotic artwork, including gothic gargoyles on the exterior.
• Acuity donates $1.5 million annually to charities.

No wonder Acuity has become the preferred employer in the Sheboygan region.

“Sheboygan is blessed to have Acuity in our community. Acuity is a great community partner,” said Sheboygan Mayor Mike Vandersteen. “Acuity’s efforts in employee relations raises the bar in our community, which is fantastic for their employees and also improves the working environment for employees through the area.”

Steve Jagler is the business editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. C-Level stands for high-ranking executives, typically those with “chief” in their titles. Send C-Level column ideas to him at steve.jagler@journalsentinel.com.

Ben Salzmann

Title:  President and CEO 

Company: Acuity Insurance, Sheboygan 

Industry: Property and casualty insurance 

Hometown: Wausau

Education: Phi Beta Kappa graduate in liberal arts and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a computer information systems degree from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Family: Wife, Ann; son, Andy; daughter, Emily; and grandchildren

Best advice ever received: “I'm too feisty to follow just one piece of advice. My own favorite advice I give to others is, ‘Fail by action, not passive fear.’”

Favorite movie:  Franco Zeffirelli’s “Romeo & Juliet”

Favorite song: “Don't Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin 

Favorite Wisconsin restaurant: Lino Ristorante Italiano (Lino's) in Sheboygan 

Extra point: “I married my middle school sweetheart.”