Leadership Team

Wade Reece

Chairman and CEO
BB&T Insurance Operations

Wade Reece provides strong, unified leadership for all BB&T Insurance Operations, serving as chairman of AmRisc LLP, American Coastal Insurance Company, BB&T Insurance Services Inc., BB&T Insurance Services of California Inc., CRC | Crump Insurance Services Inc., Crump Life Insurance Services, and McGriff, Seibels & Williams Inc.

A native of Boonville, NC, and a 1978 graduate of North Carolina State University, Reece began his financial career that same year in the BB&T Management Development Program in Wilson, NC.

Following this intensive training, he worked as a city executive and area manager on the banking side of BB&T until 1990, when he assumed the helm of BB&T Insurance Services in Raleigh, NC.

Reece is a member of the departmental advisory board for finance, banking, and insurance degreed programs at Appalachian State University. He is a past chairman of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, and serves as a board member for the Foundation of Agency Management Excellence.

Reece also serves as chairman of the board and executive committee member of The Institutes (American Institute for CPCU and Insurance Institute of America), and is an honorary campaign cabinet member for Appalachian Theater.

His love of the outdoors is reflected in his memberships in the North Carolina chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and his service as an ambassador for Land for Tomorrow, Trout Unlimited, Blue Ridge Conservancy and Preservation North Carolina. He is a member of the Raleigh Moravian Church.

David Pruett

Vice Chairman, CEO-Retail Insurance Division
BB&T Insurance Operations

David Pruett is vice chairman and CEO-Retail Insurance Division of BB&T Insurance. A 32-year insurance industry veteran, Pruett oversees all BB&T retail insurance units. Prior to this position, he served as chief administrative officer of BB&T Insurance Operations.

Pruett joined BB&T Insurance in 1999 when his family business, Blue Ridge/Burke Insurance Agency Inc. of Mount Airy, NC, was acquired by BB&T. At the time, Pruett was chairman of the agency’s leadership team.

A native of Mount Airy, Pruett has served on advisory boards for several insurance companies, including Aetna Life and Casualty, St. Paul Insurance Company and United States Fidelity and Guaranty (USF&G). He is a current board member of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers.

Pruett has served as president of his local United Way, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Merchant’s Association and Community Foundation. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC.

Wes Dasher

President
BB&T Insurance Services

Wes Dasher is president of BB&T Insurance Services Inc., which operates more than 100 agencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Dasher was named president in 2007 after serving as chief agency executive officer since 2003. He was promoted to regional agency manager for South Carolina and Tennessee in 2000.

In 1998, when BB&T Insurance Services acquired Columbia, SC-based Boyle-Vaughan Associates, Dasher was named agency manager. He worked as a commercial/corporate lender for the former NationsBank before joining Boyle-Vaughan as a surety producer in 1995.

Dasher earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina. He is an active member of his church in Columbia and serves on several local boards, including Hammond School, the South Carolina Youth Shooting Foundation and the South Carolina Transportation Council.

Randy Screen

Chief Insurance Marketing Executive Officer
BB&T Insurance Services

As chief insurance marketing executive officer, Randy Screen manages the Sales & Marketing unit of BB&T Insurance Services.

Screen is responsible for company relationships, and products and services sold by the agency’s sales professionals. The senior vice president also manages the Bermuda-based Captive and Market Security Committee for BB&T Insurance Services.

Screen, a 32-year insurance industry veteran, joined BB&T in 2001 after 21 years with the Beall, Garner, Screen and Geare (BGS&G) Companies in Cumberland, MD. He began his career with Chubb Insurance in 1978 and is a former board member of the USF&G National Agency Advisory Council.

Screen earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Wake Forest University in 1978. He is a member of Wake Forest Baptist Church in Raleigh and enjoys golf, travel, reading and attending athletic events.

Karyn Z. Hohmann

Chief Administrative Officer
BB&T Insurance Operations

As chief administrative officer of BB&T Insurance Services, Karyn Hohmann oversees the corporate and administrative units of all BB&T Insurance entities.

She joined BB&T Insurance Operations in 2003, through the merger of First Virginia Bank in Falls Church, VA. At the time, she was chief operating officer of First Virginia Insurance Services.

Hohmann is a Northern Virginia native and a 28-year veteran of the financial services industry, holding a number of leadership positions in banking and investment services.

She has been active in her local United Way and Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, and the American Bankers Insurance Association.

Hohmann earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Rhode Island. She is also a graduate of the Executive Insurance Program at Appalachian State and the Virginia Bankers Association School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia.

Southgate Jones III

Chief Sales Executive Officer
BB&T Insurance Services

Southgate Jones develops and implements sales strategies and support resources for BB&T Insurance Services client teams, and often serves as a relationship manager for large accounts.

Jones is responsible for the Risk Solutions Group, Large Account Strategy, Programs, and Integrated Insurance Relationships within BB&T Capital Markets banking. He serves as a liaison between BB&T Insurance Services and BB&T Corporation in various enterprise-wide sales initiatives.

Prior to joining BB&T Insurance Services, Jones was chief executive officer of Asura Corporation, a regional insurance brokerage based in Research Triangle Park (RTP), NC, which became part of BB&T Insurance in 2000.

He is a former chairman of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership and the NC Partnership for Economic Development. Jones earned his bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University and his CPCU designation from the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters.

Jim Farmer

Chief Financial Insurance Executive Officer
BB&T Insurance Services

BB&T veteran Jim Farmer directs the Life & Financial Planning division of BB&T Insurance Services.

With more than 30 years of insurance industry experience, Farmer is a Life and Qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table and is a Top of the Table qualifier.

Farmer is an executive board member for the Eastern Carolina Council for Boy Scouts of America and serves on the YMCA board in Wilson, NC. He is a member of First Baptist Church in Wilson and chairman of its board of trustees. Farmer earned his bachelor’s degree from Barton College (formerly Atlantic Christian College) and is a member of the school’s Executive Forum.

Mike Arnaud

Senior Vice President, Personal Lines
BB&T Insurance Services

Mike Arnaud manages the Personal Lines Division of BB&T Insurance Services, including the Family Risk Management Practice and Personal Lines Sales Center. He is responsible for developing and implementing personal lines strategy.

Arnaud also manages the Insurance Services Client Center, which provides support services to the Personal Lines and Small Commercial Business segments.

A 34-year insurance industry veteran, Arnaud joined BB&T in 2006 after serving in executive roles with Allstate, Fireman’s Fund and Hartford Financial Services.

Arnaud has served on the board of directors for State FAIR Plans and Neighborhood Housing Services. He has also served as an advisory board member for several insurance companies. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Belhaven University in Jackson, MS.