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Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/112509
40 4 0 U ND ER 4 0 2 01 3 20A Kate Turner Whiteley Age: 37 Vice President Kirvin Doak Communications K ate Turner Whiteley attributes her early success to hard work and ���great mentors. I am super fortunate.��� Whiteley met her future bosses ��� principals Dave Kirvin and Bill Doak and Vice President of Public Relations Terri Maruca ��� at various shoots while working in television. ���I thought they were great people,��� she recalls, ���and I liked what the company did, so I left TV and came over here. I just got really lucky. I know that sounds terrible, but there are very few people who are willing to take a chance and spend a lot of time really mentoring someone; not just teaching them things but being there for them, being an open book for them.��� What she likes about the company���s leadership, Whiteley says, ���is that they see everybody as a whole person, and not just as a cog. So if you���re having a day that���s rough, maybe not so much because of work but because of other circumstances, they���re open to listening about that, too, and helping you through that path.��� Whiteley says she loves the fact that Kirvin, Doak and Maruca all attended her wedding. ���They came all the way out to Colorado. It wasn���t down the street, and it wasn���t just an obligation. It was a trip, and they did it because they are invested in me as a person, and that���s the difference. If you get someone who is invested in you as a person then not only are they creating the employees and future leaders that they want, but they are also giving back and creating loyalty and engagement on the other side.��� ���H.R. 4 0 U ND ER 4 0 2 01 3 Quincy Branch Jesika Towbin-Mansour Age: 35 President and CEO Branch Benefits Consultants L ouisiana native Quincy Branch harbors an inherent interest in business, having been influenced by his father, an independent entrepreneur who worked in the insurance arena. ���I was convinced I was going to be a CPA, but then I took the first semester of courses and decided to go into business administration,��� said Branch, who has a B.S. in business administration-management from UNLV. ���My father was an old-school insurance agent, and I���d do ridealongs, and I thought ���this is definitely not for me.��� Well, God must have a good sense of humor, because here I am.��� After1 A launching his own company, Unity 20130304_VI01_I.indd 20 Age: 33 Director of Operations (Towbin Automotive), 1A Co-owner (Towbin Motorcars) Towbin Automotive and Tobin Motorcars 40 UNDER 40 2013 Sanitary Supply Inc., in 1999, Branch went on five years later to join his father to build one of Nevada���s most successful independent minority insurance agencies, Branch Hernandez and Associates, which has contracts with the state���s most prestigious gaming operators, Southern Nevada municipalities and small businesses. Then, in 2011, he achieved another milestone by spinning off the Branch Hernandez benefits department and launching his own insurance agency, Branch Benefits Consultants, which specializes in health care related to employee benefits. Under Branch���s visionary leadership, the company has grown more than 40 percent annually and has four employees. ���In 2013 our biggest scope is health care reform, and ensuring we are educated and we are educating our clients on what it means for individuals, small businesses and large employers,��� Branch said. Branch was asked to serve on the board of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America���s Young Agents Committee, the unified voice for the younger generation, and was also awarded the Agent of the Year for 2011-2012 by Nevada Independent Insurance Agents. ���D.B. F inding passion in the family business isn���t always easy. But Jesika Towbin-Mansour has done it ��� which accounts for her accomplishments. ���Finding what your passion and talents are helps when turning them into business,��� she notes. ���I believe being independent and staying motivated is very important in order to achieve success.��� Indeed, stoking that passion should, she believes, lead one to heights of accomplishment and even wisdom. ���Do what you love and the money will follow. Educate yourself, work hard and stay focused. Treat people with respect and dignity. Make a lot of friends and learn from others. Do good things for your community. Have fun while pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. Staying grateful to the people that support is you also key.��� It is far from surprising that Towbin-Mansour credits her father and mother with having been her primary mentors, ���especially while learning the ins and outs of the automotive business. I also did several internships in different fields, where I was able to study and read about people.��� Through her family, she continues, she has been able to see ���how valuable this business is, and how hard my parents worked to build it from the ground up. I am able to exercise all of the things I love to do and utilize all of my talents through this business. My family allowed me to grow and make mistakes while learning, while still staying supportive and understanding.��� Towbin-Mansour confesses to having ���big plans��� for the future. ���2013 will bring new chances to interact with and give back to our community, as well as build the Towbin Automotive business even more.��� ���H.R. 2/28/13 3:03:14 PM