Mike Pryor

Mike Pryor’s interest in the real estate title business grew out of time spent helping around the Conway County Courthouse while growing up in Morrilton. But initially he thought he might make a career in government.

Armed with a degree in political science from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Pryor worked in state government in Little Rock for two years before moving to Jonesboro, where he worked as an administrative assistant to the county judge and served three terms as the Craighead County treasurer. “By then, I knew courthouse operations and a little bit about real estate,” said the 56-year-old CEO and president of Lenders Title Co.

That led to his purchase of Craighead County Abstract & Title Co. in 1988, where he took the firm’s 2 percent market share and increased it to 35 percent. That deal was followed by his 1993 acquisition of the leading competitor in Jonesboro, Markle Abstract Co. The market share had grown to 72 percent by the time Pryor decided two years later to sell his business to Lenders Title Co. of Little Rock. He stayed aboard after the sale, rising to regional manager in 1996, chief operating officer in 1998 and president and CEO in 2001.

These days, Pryor oversees operations that include a staff of 279 and 32 offices producing $18 million in revenue. That’s a long way from 1988, when annual revenue totaled $110,000 and Pryor himself was one-third of the company staff.

Pryor is proud of establishing a legacy of customer service and of creating an office environment people enjoy working in and an atmosphere where people are free to do their best work. “No. 1: if you can’t take a joke, you can’t work here,” he said. A popular speaker among his peers, Pryor serves as president-elect of the American Land Title Association, the first Arkansan to hold the post in the national organization since 1911.

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