Today’s conversation is a special one. I’m delighted to share my fireside chat with Markel Corporation’s Tom Gayner from our 26th Annual CSIMA Conference. With decades of industry experience, Tom joined us to share insights into how Markel has differentiated itself from others in the insurance industry and the investment approach and philosophies that facilitate its continued growth.

Thomas “Tom” Gayner is the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Markel Corporation. He oversees investing activities for the company, as well as the Markel Ventures’ diverse industrial and service businesses. Tom joined Markel in 1990 to form Markel Gayner Asset Management which provided equity investment counsel for Markel Corporation and outside clients.

In this episode, Tom and I discuss how he went from analyzing Markel to joining the team after its IPO, Markel’s three-engine business model, how Markel Ventures originated, why it’s essential to create an environment that’s supportive of the way you'd like to operate, and so much more!

Key Topics:

• Tom’s journey to joining Markel (1:28 )

• Markel’s three-engine architecture of insurance, investments, and Markel  Ventures (5:00 )

• How AMF Bakery Equipment became Markel Ventures' first investment (9:18 )

• The four lenses for assessing equity investments (13:33 )

• Markel’s nuanced approach to portfolio management (20:44 )

• Learning to improve your investment decision-making process (24:14 )

• Why Tom calls financial statements a donut truth (28:01 )

• Translating the language of GAAP accounting to real economic meaning (29:48 )

• Assessing a company’s debt levels (33:31 )

• How interest rates massively impact human behavior (35:05 )

• And much more!

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Markel Corporation Annual Reports

Thanks for Listening!

Be sure to subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And feel free to drop us a line at valueinvesting@gsb.columbia.edu.

Follow the Heilbrunn Center on social media on Instagram, LinkedIn, and more!