Mike Pryor

As a child, Mike Pryor was fascinated by the courthouse.

After serving three terms as Craighead County treasurer, Pryor returned to his childhood fascination and bought Craighead County Abstract & Title Co. in 1988.

That company went from a 2 percent market share to 30 percent in less than three years, he said. He would have 70 percent of the market after he bought Markle Abstract.

Then Pryor, who is 52 now, sold his company to Lenders Title Co. in Little Rock in 1995, and stayed on as a manager and became its president and CEO in 2001.

Pryor said the company’s revenue has stayed around $15 million to $17 million annually, even with the slowdown in the housing market.

Lenders is the largest independent title insurance and closing services agency in the state with more than 200 employees in 21 offices across Arkansas.

Pryor said one of the challenges he’s had to face was handling the acquisitions Lenders has made over the years and trying to merge the companies into a single cultural and administrative unit.

But he said his management philosophy revolves around being honest.

“It’s OK to be tough, focused, caring or any of the range of emotions as long as it’s honest,” Pryor said. “People deserve to see what honestly drives a manager.”

In his spare time, Pryor is involved with the American Land Title Association, where he is serving as the chair of the agents and abstractors section.

Previous Honorees