Arkansas Business

Chad Franks

After working in telecommunications for more than eight years, Chad Franks was ready for a career change. "I realized that I was looking for something much more fulfilling," he said. "I was looking for an opportunity where I could be in control of my future."
The opportunity came with New York Life, where promotion is based on "objective criteria, not subjective criteria," Franks said. After working for three years as an agent in Mississippi, Franks was promoted to partner. After three more years, he was promoted to senior partner.
"I took that role in 2008, and at the end of 2008 was offered the opportunity to move to Arkansas and become the managing partner for the state and grow the agency."
And that's exactly what he did. Franks has doubled new agent growth for New York Life every year since coming to Arkansas, and in 2010 led the state to the best production year in the 164-year history of the company. For Franks, though, it's not about the numbers.
"Most Americans are not saving what they need to," he said. "There's an amazing amount of opportunity that we have. We're not here just to drive numbers or drive sales. We're here to positively affect people and to change people's lives for the better."