Karen Barbour, The Barbour Group President & Founder
Ms. Karen Barbour, President & Founder of The Barbour Group, has
extensive underwriting experience, on which her surety expertise is built.
She began her career in surety in 1985, as a home office bond underwriter
for a major carrier overseeing many U.S. regions, including Canada. She
then served as a bond underwriter at the branch level, in charge of hundreds
of agents in the tri-state area. Building on her success in underwriting,
Barbour transitioned into surety brokerage and quickly rose to the positions
of Director of Surety and Assistant Vice President for two leading insurance
agencies. In both capacities Barbour was in charge of producing, marketing
and servicing her construction clientele. Barbour holds a Bachelor of
Arts degree from Loyola College of Maryland and a Masters degree in Business
Administration from the University of Baltimore, with induction into
Sigma Iota Epsilon, the University’s Honorary Management Fraternity.
Barbour is an active participant in many noteworthy construction trade associations and strongly believes that trade representation is an extremely effective vehicle to address the business issues impacting the construction industry. Her service as a board member and Program and Education Chair for the American Subcontractors Association of Baltimore resulted in the development of an award winning seminar program and insight into the development of the General Contractors Education Council. Barbour has also authored articles on construction and term contracts in several leading trade publications.
Chris Smith, The Barbour Group Vice President of Business Development
Mr. Chris Smith, Vice President of Business Development, brings a wealth of Fortune 500 sales and marketing expertise to The Barbour Group. His salesmanship and marketing skills have consistently brought notoriety, such as his ability to achieve consistent, top tier sales performance in challenging markets. Prior to joining The Barbour Group, Smith led a team responsible for the development of prescription drug insurance reimbursement programs for clients, such as CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, Wal-Mart, K-mart, Giant Supermarkets and Walgreens. Smith is a summa cum laude graduate of Adrian College and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
Smith is currently head of property and casualty insurance sales at The Barbour Group. He specializes in insurance issues affecting business owners, uncovering commercial liability and property exposures and building insurance programs to protect people and assets.
A strong advocate of Maryland’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Smith volunteers his time as an adjunct faculty member at both Harford and Carroll Community Colleges in the areas of property and casualty insurance, and small business risk management.
Debby Nash, The Barbour Group Vice President of Operations
Ms. Debby Nash, Vice President of Operations, is the primary point of contact for administrative accounting, bookkeeping, filing, payroll, tax reports and other office management responsibilities. She is an experienced staff member who is knowledgeable in construction, accounting, and office management and ensures timely delivery of bonds.
