September 22, 2011 - Westminster, MD
The Barbour Group Hires Beth A. Woodring to Fill the Critical Role of Chief Underwriting Officer
The Barbour Group announces the recent hire of Beth A.Woodring to fill the position of Chief Underwriting Officer, an executive position at the agency. Woodring brings a diverse background to The Barbour Group, which includes business consulting experience, strong analytical and collaboration skills, as well as tenured experience with bank financing, process improvement, and process engineering.
In her role as Chief Underwriting Officer, Woodring will primarily be responsible for producing profitable contract and commercial surety bond business and provide The Barbour Group with additional strength in:
- Providing commercial and contract surety bonds expertise and ability to navigate proposals for surety bond programs
- Working with underwriter(s) for approval on bonds, from simple and to highly complex bonding projects
- Meeting with and guiding clients to strengthen business retention, build and maintain business relationships and develop new opportunities in support of growth objectives
- Continuing to build the agency’s relationships, and interpret and explain the products and services that are available to our client base.
“Being able to entice Beth Woodring to join The Barbour Group as Chief Underwriting Officer signifies an important foothold for the agency and its ability to scale. Her financial prowess and construction knowledge will empower both our company and our clients,” shared Karen Barbour, President of The Barbour Group.
Prior to joining The Barbour Group, Woodring’s experience has included senior leadership roles with the State of Maryland’s Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), working with clients specifically in the area of loan guaranty and bond financial incentive packages ranging in size from $500,000 to $5 million for municipalities and small to Fortune 100 commercial clients. A former commercial lender with Mellon Bank, Woodring also served as a Commercial Credit Officer for Equitable Bank and managed the Loan Review function at Bank of Maryland. Her bank experience includes middle market lending, private banking, loan administration, loan documentation and credit analysis.
“During the economic downturn much of my concentration centered on construction related clientele and providing intense counseling for owners. It was my responsibility to focus on helping them identify and implement critical operational, financial and strategic tactics to not only survive a potential collapse, but to strengthen and expand. I am excited to bring my knowledge and aptitude to The Barbour Group and truly look forward to working with our clients,” stated Beth Woodring.
Woodring received a Master’s in Business Administration from The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s in Economics and Spanish from Bucknell University, and was named a 2011 inductee in the Maryland SBDC Million Dollar Club with $1.9 million in client financings. As a client counselor with the SBDC, she achieved certification as a High Impact Client Counselor in the three-county Northern Region, winning acclaim for her efforts in programs she initiated such as The Launch Box™ and Business Development Network (BDN) leveraging access to worldclass coaches for growing businesses.
