Company
Profile
THOMAS
TITLE
“There are only a
handful of companies like
us in the entire country.”
– Frank Busch –
PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THOMAS TITLE
Company
Profile
Company
Profile
at big leaders in the commercial title insurance industry like Fidelity National Title, First American Title Insurance and Chicago Title Insurance, there’s another in the field that had a different approach, yet has still become a power player. /// Providing consistent performance within a new platform, and assisting in mass amounts of transactions within the commercial real estate business takes time and effort. That’s exactly what the executives of Thomas Title expected when they founded the company eight years ago in the Valley. /// “There are only a handful of companies like us in the entire country,” says Frank Busch, President and CEO of Thomas Title. /// It’s an accurate assessment of the marketplace. Uniquely, Thomas Title is simultaneously a competitor and a partner with national title insurance agencies, utilizing several underwriters for handling commercial transactions, to fit the best coverage to the transaction. /// “If you’re commercial, there’s complexity,” Busch says. “Sophisticated principals, multimillion-dollar decisions, going to a company that can offer flexibility on the underwriting for title insurance — it’s a no-brainer.” ///THE THOMAS TITLE TEAM. Of course, behind every great idea is a great mind, rounded out by Busch and executive vice presidents Diane Carpenter and Kevin Kinerk. The team solidifies their foundation by having wildly diverse backgrounds that bring different assets to the table. /// Busch started as a securities lawyer in 2000, before moving to in-house law at First National Bank of Arizona three years later. /// “I thought I might stay in banking, but through some interesting twists of fate found the title insurance industry was a good fit,” he says. “We serve lawyers, bankers, brokers – I was one of those, so I was a client dealing with these companies.” /// Kinerk started in commercial real estate in 1991 and moved into banking, where he was able to start Sunrise Bank of Arizona in 1998 and Western National Bank in 2005. /// “[Joining] Thomas Title was a combination of the banking industry changing, and me wanting to remain in commercial real estate,” Kinerk says. “I saw a great opportunity with a commercial focus and the ability to work my network.” /// Carpenter was approached by Busch while working at North American Title. Previously owning her own businesses in New England, she “didn’t like the corporate environment.” /// “I really saw a lot of entrepreneurial spirit in Frank and, with him being a lawyer, that was a huge asset to our company,” Carpenter says. /// Busch and Kinerk connected through the “small town feel” of Tucson, as both attended the same high school years apart and had ties through their parents. Both also cited Ray Lamb as a mentor in guiding their young careers, having worked with him on separate occasions. /// Lamb, former owner of First National Bank of Arizona, “mentored me in some ways that were invaluable,” Busch says. “And my former colleagues at Snell & Wilmer taught me how to be professional.” /// A UNIQUE BACKGROUND. Through their diversity, Busch says the clientele of their ecosystem includes a substantial number of brokers, banks, lawyers and development companies. Kinerk finds the attorney background helps them find the best resolutions for their clients. /// “The attorney angle we have speaks so well to our capabilities and focus,” he says. “We’re not doing small residential deals. Much of our work involves large, complex transactions. These deals require attorneys and, fortunately, a lot of attorneys are picking us as their team.” /// Carpenter agrees, “When we started, I worked with a lot of local real estate attorneys and because Frank was an attorney, it wasn’t difficult to transition. I think it helped a lot having an attorney background in this community already.”
LOOKING
“The attorney angle
we have speaks so well
to our capabilities and
focus. Much of our work
involves large, complex
transactions. These
deals require attorneys
and, fortunately, a lot
of attorneys are picking
us as their team.”
– Kevin Kinerk –
Company
Profile
14///commercialexecutivemagazine © Copyright 2014 by MP Media, LLC
If Thomas Title’s recent relocation to the Scottsdale Fashion Square isn’t an indicator of their success, they’ve also opened in Dallas over the last few years and are now seeing big returns. /// “We looked at California and Colorado, but Texas made the most sense,” Busch says. “Title insurance fees are good there and growth is good because it’s so business-friendly.” /// While Busch says there are no companies like Thomas Title in California, he plans to expand further in Texas before establishing a
presence in another state. /// “I would love to be in Houston. There’s so much opportunity for what we do in our industry in Texas,” he says. “You need a license in every state, so we might as well branch out in the markets of Texas.” /// While having multiple underwriters under their belt may be the biggest factor in their evolution, Kinerk credits Carpenter’s escrow experience as a large source of success. /// “Her experience in this marketplace is really unmatched, especially in an agency like this,” says Kinerk. “You don’t generally find people like Diane in smaller companies like this.” /// “We are a very different company from that perspective,” continues Busch. “I don’t think there’s anybody who’s ever done what we have and sustained it for over eight years, especially in a downturn, in creating an agency model.” /// While Kinerk and Carpenter live in the Valley, Busch relocated to Dallas to stay proactive in growing Thomas Title. /// “I’m in Dallas about 75 percent of the time. My wife misses it terribly in Arizona, but we’re settling in to be more active there,” he says. /// The move may not be in bad taste, as projections indicate they will double their Texas-based revenue in 2014. /// “One of the things that stands out working here is we’re very nimble. We have a great title staff that is really good at breaking down complex issues and that was really the main reason I came to this company,” Carpenter says. “I think getting things done quicker than if you had to go through corporate channels is a really critical part of what we do.”l
The Thomas Title team in Scottsdale, Ariz.
